Chita, Russia
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Chita (Russian: ) is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Chita Oblast in eastern Siberia. It stands at the confluence of the Chita and Ingoda rivers and on the Trans-Siberian Railway, 500 miles east of Irkutsk, at
Population: 316,643 (2002 Census).
Known since 1653, the settlement achieved town status in 1851.
City of Exiles
After 1825 several of the Decembrists suffered exile to Chita, and thus, Chita is on occasion called the “City of Exiles”. Many of the Decembrists were intellectuals and members of the middle class, and consequently their arrival had a positive effect. The well-educated exiles made an effort to educate the citizens of Chita and pursue trade. Through these efforts, the City became a major trading portal in Siberia, particularly since the natural resources of the area included timber, gold and uranium. Perhaps due in part to the influence of the early revolutionary exiles, Chita was a center for worker unrest in the early years of the 20th century. After Father Gapon and his workers were massacred in St. Petersburg in January of 1905, Chita became a center for worker demonstrations, which led to armed revolutionaries taking control of the city and declaring the "Chita Republic." Troops sent by the Tsar quickly crushed the new government and its leaders were severely punished on the slope of Titovskaya hill.
In 1885 the population had reached 5,728, in 1897: 11,480.
Pre and Post WW II life
From 1920 to 1922 Chita served as the capital of the Far East Republic.From the 1930s through the end of communism, Chita was a closed city. During this period, foreigners were prohibited from travelling to Chita as were many Russians. The basis for the closing of the city was apparently its proximity to China and military installations. During World War II, a significant number of Japanese soldiers were taken by the Russians as prisoners of war. Through whatever machinations present at that time, they were put to work in the construction industry. In the centre of Chita you will find buildings with a definite hint of Japanese style. The buildings are not overtly Japanese, but they definitely differ from the other styles present.
Jews in Chita and its region
First Jews appeared in the region since the second half of the 19th century due to building of silver plants and mines plus closeness to the borders and beginning of international trade. There were three ranks of Jewish dwellers, such as top traders, specialists or craftsmen, soldiers (former cantonists and their families, political criminals. As a result, most of the Jewish population was males that led to establishment shadhanut (institution of Jewish matching). It was allowed to convert indegenious females. In 1836 Nicolas I let some Jews to sink their roots and become, unusually in Jewish history, agriculturists. Afterwards the authorities tried to prevent Jewish penetration into the region. According to the first census in 1897, Jewish population in Transbaikal was about 8,000 and in Chita more than 1,200. Chita was a spot of Jewish political Zionism and Socialist parties during first decades of the 20th century. Yaroslavsky (Gubelman), one of Bolshevik leaders, was born in Chita. Most of Jews in Chita were supporters of the White movement, despite of its antisemitism. In 1919 ataman Semyonov formed a Jewish regiment that took part in many anti-Bolshevik actions. In the time of the Far East Republic Jewish life existed without obstacles of the rest of the Soviet Union. During all these years Jews played a significant role in the economical developmet of the region. By 1929 Jewish community had been outlawed and the biggest synagogue in Asia was nationalized; and only in 2004 it was return to a tiny Jewish community. Most of Jews preferred to leave Chita for Harbin after Communists came to power in 1922. Present Jews of the city came here from different parts of Russia. Only 200 Jews live in Chita and there is a great amount of intermarriges. Most of them about 1,000 have repatriated to Israel since 1989.
Architecture
Chita is laid out in a grid pattern, which is rare in Russia.Architecturally, Chita is a clash of styles. Foremost, Chita is populated with five-storey communist concrete buildings. In contrast to these soviet signatures, Chita is also populated with individual homes made primarily out of wood, the equivalent of those you would see in any mountainous area.
Chita is a sister city (a brother city, in the Russian vernacular) of Boise, Idaho.
References
- Materials on Jewish life were taken from the Chita Oblast State Archives but most accoutable and reliable ones are still in the local KGB Archives.
External links
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