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Shtetls of Belarus

Orsha, Orsha uyezd, Mogilev gubernia

Latitude: 54º31' Longitude: 30º26'

From the Jewish Encyclopedia, pg. 439: ORSHA: Town in the government of Moghilef. Orsha is mentioned in the Russian chronicles of the eleventh century. In 1579 Isaac Yakubovich, a Jew of Brest, farmed the customs duties of Orsha, Moghilef, and other places. In 1643 Nikolai Kishka, assistant treasurer of the grand duchy of Lithuania, having been empowered by the diet to collect taxes throughout the grand duchy, entrusted their collection to Shaye Nakhimovich of Orsha, among others.
According to the census of 1880 the town had 837 houses (of which 431 were owned by Jews), one synagogue, and ten houses of prayer. Its present (census of 1897) population is 13,161, including about 7,000 Jews. Of the latter 950 are artisans and 273 are day-laborers. The local Talmud Torah affords instruction to 200, the Jewish elementary school (with industrial annex) to 105, and the two girls' private schools to 140 pupils. The city school has 30 Jewish pupils on its rolls. The charitable institutions of Orsha include a bikkur holim, a gemilat hasadim, and a poor-aid society.
Bibliography: Regesty I Nadpisi, 1., No. 595, St. Petersburg, 1899; Demobetzki, Opyt Opisaniya Mogileveskoigubernii, ii. 95, Moghilef, 1884. H.R. S.J.
There is an article about Orsha in the Encyclopedia Judaica. The article can be found in volume XII, page 1479-1480, and is 17 lines long. (contributed by Joel Spector)
There is an article about Orsha in the Jewish Encyclopedia. The article can be found in volume IX, page 439, and is 21 lines long. (contributed by Joel Spector)
There is an article about Orsha in the Russian language Jewish Encyclopedia (Evreiskaya Encyclopedia). The article can be found in volume XII, page 140, and is 38 lines long. (contributed by Joel Spector)

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Yizkor books		The Yizkor Book Database lists where you can find memorial books for Orsha.
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Links for the shtetl of Orsha

Click here for an article by Alex Friedman
Click here for Memories from a childhood in Orsha by Harry Kalkin (1898-1998)
Click here for The Epstein family from Orsha by the Dnjepr River, by Abraham Epstein
Click here for the Jewish population of Mogilev gubernia in uezds, towns, and shtetls (1777-1926), Data compiled by L.Plotkin, Mogilev, Belarus
Click here for The Jews of Belarus: Information about the current Jewish community

Links for the uyezd of Orsha

Click here for the Jewish population of Orsha uezd according to the 1897 census, by Alex Friedman

Links for the gubernia of Mogilev

Click here for a 1845 map of Mogilev published by Charles Knight & Co. in London
Click here for a list of Mogilev Gubernia Records Found in National Archives of Belarus (Minsk)
Click here for Mogilev gubernia page of the Belarus SIG. Includes a list of all the known shtetls for this gubernia.
Click here for the 1903 and 1911 Vsia Rossiia - Mogilev Gubernia - data compiled by members of the Belarus SIG
Click here for the Jewish agricultural colonies in Western Russia, prior to 1904, by Lou Goldman
Click here for the Jewish population of Mogilev gubernia in uezds, towns, and shtetls (1777-1926)
Click here for the Mogilev Regional Library

Orsha. Jewish street is in the market now. (2/27/98 by Vitaly Pruss of the Belarus Jewish community)

Shtetls of Belarus

Orsha, Orsha uyezd, Mogilev gubernia

Latitude: 54º31' Longitude: 30º26'

Discussion group archives

Yizkor books

Links for the shtetl of Orsha

Links for the uyezd of Orsha

Links for the gubernia of Mogilev

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