People living in Soviet Russia since the Revolution who claim to be foreign citizens but failed to declare themselves as such by 1925, will be considered to be Soviet citizens and will not be allowed to leave Russia, the Soviet authorities have just decided.
This decision affects hundreds of Jews living in Russia, who were born in parts of the old Russian Empire which are now independent countries, like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, etc., and have been claiming recognition as citizens of those countries. Most of them did not make their applications, however, until 1928, after the collapse of the Nep policy, when the repressions against ex-traders and artisans were at their height. The applications have been pending for a considerable time and were supported by the Moscow Embassies of the countries concerned. The decision now adopted by the Soviet authorities disposes of all these applications.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
