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Balta town is in Russian, but has a link to translate
the page into English. There are many resources here, including
Balta citizens in 1914. They also have photos
from Balta's old cemeteries which includes
matseva [gravestone] pictures from two of four Jewish cemeteries. These are, apparently, only a
fraction of the thousands of stones still standing.
At Jewish History on the Web, there are a
series of articles
by Max Lilienthal, who was an early leader of the Haskalah in Russia. He left the country when he realized
that the government had no good intent towards even an "enlightened" Jewish population.
These reports were published in an American Jewish paper–The Occident– in 1847-1848.
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Among numerous other observations covered in the multi-series report is an analysis of the appeal of
training as skilled tradesman and as religious leaders among the Jews of Russia. Lilienthal gives a specific
report on teachers of children's religious classes there: "The three cities of Kaminiec, Balta, and Mohilev
in Podolia Oblast, alone give employment, according to strictly authentic records, to one hundred and
twenty-six Melammedim, who teach over sixteen hundred children, at an annual expense of 10,392 silver
rubles."
Sketches of Jewish Life in Russia: A General Survey of the Condition of the Jews in
Russia. By the Chief Rabbi Dr. Lilienthal, pub in American Occident Vol. V, No. 10 Tebeth 5608, January
1848.
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