Draft Exemption

Translation by Lena Gorina-Black

This document states that Komenteskii Mordukh Khaimovich, born in 1874, has the benefit of army exemption due to graduating from school/college. It is signed by the senior supervisor, a teacher of Russian Orthodox religion - a high-ranking Orthodox priest, by an art teacher, and by the head of the Jewish School /College in Lida. The dates is 1889. At the time, only about 20% of the population was literate. The Tsar was still all-powerful, so it would have been possible to ignore a document like this one at any time, should the government have chosen to do so.


This document has been handed down in Marjory Seltzer's family, and she's generously shared the image with us.