Ki inev or Linkuva? Rumors and threats against Jews in Lithuania in 1903

:Over Easter 1903, a large-scale anti-Jewish riot in Ki inev, capital of the Russian governorate of Bessarabia, left dozens of Jews dead and hundreds injured, thus leading to a massive wave of emigration. A product of social discontent and anti-Semitic agitation, the riots of Ki inev became notoriously famous as the onset of a wave of pogroms of hitherto unprecedented brutality, which only subsided after the end of the Russian Revolution of 1905/06. This article analyzes the incidents by emphasizing cultural transfers between Ki inev and Lithuania, using the histoire croisée approach in order to provide for the different ethnic, social and political backgrounds and motivations of the actors. It also compares the disturbances in the rural north of Lithuania and in the Bessarabian industrial city of Ki inev in order to contextualize anti-Jewish violence in Lithuania on the larger scale of the Russian pogroms. When Lithuanian Jews were sometimes threatened to be killed “as in Ki inev” and at other times to be treated “as in Linkuva”, the significance of analyzing cultural transfer while keeping the regional context in mind becomes apparent.Rezumat: n perioada Pa telui anului 1903, o revolt antievreiasc la scar larg izbucnit la Chi in u, capitala guberniei ruse ti Basarabia, l sa n urma sa zeci de evrei mor i i sute de r ni i, ceea ce a condus la un val masiv de emigrare. Rezultat al nemul umirilor sociale i al agita iilor antisemite, revolta de la Chi in u a devenit foarte cunoscut ca marcand debutul unui val de pogromuri, de o brutalitate f r precedent pan n acel moment, care s-a diminuat abia dup ncheierea Revolu iei Ruse din 1905-1906. Articolul de fa abordeaz incidentele prin studierea transferurilor culturale dintre Chi in u i Lituania, utilizand metodele histoire croisée n scopul de a oferi explica ii pentru diferen ele ce apar n ceea ce prive te mediile etnice, sociale i politice i motiva iile actorilor. Acesta compar , de asemenea, tulbur rile din partea rural de nord a Lituaniei i din ora ul industrial basarabean Chi in u, n scopul de a contextualiza violen a anti-evreiasc din Lituania la scara mai larg a pogromurilor ruse ti. Atunci cand evreii lituanieni au fost, uneori, amenin a i c vor fi uci i ca la Chi in u” i n alte momente c vor trata i ca n Linkuva”, semnifica ia analizei transferurilor culturale, p strand n acela i timp n minte contextul regional, devine evident .