Excerpts from “Jews in Turov: History of a Shtetl in Mozyr’s Polesie Region” by Dr. L. Smilovitsky
Here are excerpts pertaining to the Muravchik family appearing in Dr. Smilovitsky’s work.
Military: Introduction of Conscription:
“Taught by bitter experience, the Jews of Turov on their own initiative in advance of check lists of recruits and parish registers before recruitment. Practice showed that this was far from over. December 19, 1892 newspaper Ha-Melits, published in St. Petersburg, published an article by Eliezer Muravchik from Turov, who reported on the preparation of the community for the next military conscription. The leaders of the community Shleme Goberman and I.S. Krugman was discharged from the lists of registered males of all deaths that were not previously deleted. With this number of young men drafted into the army in 1892 amounted to 60 people, including the eight holders of the privileges of the second and third digits.42 This was lower than ever before, which could not fail to please the Jews of Turov.43 “
[42] The privilege of the second category included the deferment only son of his father working in the age of 55 years, the third category – for his son, whose father was not less than 50 years, and he had another son aged 16 years or another – which consisted in active service, or dead (missing) in the army.
[43] ħa-Melits , 19 December 1892, (in Hebrew).
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Emigration: Canada
Bessie (Basha) Muravchik left Turov shortly after the pogrom of 1920, she was a milliner and manufactured women’s hats. In 1921, Basha married Alexander Raikhman in Warsaw, and soon the couple moved to Canada. They settled in Toronto, and later moved to New York.83
[83] Letters on September 24, 2002 and March 3, 2003, from Scott Richman.
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Zionist Movement: In Mozyr District
“Zionists protesting against the unspeakable persecution, hunger strikes, to petition the judiciary, prosecutors, SNK, of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). In the summer of 1926 Sholom Muravchik, Yankel Shvets and Shlome Eisenberg of Lyudenevichi went on a hunger strike in the Zhytkavichy House of Detention. They sought to expedite consideration of their case and how to release the innocent. Muravchik and Shvets wrote that they were the sole breadwinners in their families and asked for intervention of the prosecutor. Yudel Levin, Motel Rabinovich, Nohim Sheikhet, Jonah Shubov and Matus Svidovsky of Mozyr ispravdoma (prisons) sent a statement of protest to the Central Committee of the MOPR,50 with a copy to the supreme public prosecutor and the Council of Nationalities of the TsIK of the BSSR.
They wrote that the Ha-Shomer Ha-Zair, He-Halutz and other left-wing Zionist parties of the socialist direction would go hand in hand with the Soviet authorities. According to them, the GPU acts as “the most zealous western secret service agent”. In prison with political prisoners was treated rudely, put to the criminals, placed in solitary confinement. Zionists from Mozyr branded the regime in prisons, persecution, references in godforsaken region, where hundreds of young men lost their strength and health, awaiting their fate: “We do not consider themselves revolutionaries, demanding an open trial, release and legal activities”. From Moscow, the letter was forwarded to the OGPU BSSR resolution chairman of the Central Committee MOPR Lepeshinsky,51 who asked to take into account the accused youth (16-18 years) and consider the possibility of probation. Despite this, the authors of the letter were sentenced to three years in exile in Central Asia.52 ”
[50] MOPR – International aid to the fighters of the revolution, established in 1922.
[51] Panteleimon Nikolaevich Lepeshinskii (1868-1944) – Politician, doctor hist.Sciences, Chairman of the Central Committee of the MOPR (since 1925).
[52] Statement by the Zionists from Mozyr prison in 1926, AU KGB Gomel Oblast, d. 18959, l. 44.
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The Soviet Yiddish School
Several former Turov melameds applied to the Soviet Jewish school. Chaim Hirschevich Bregman even collected signatures from parents of pupils who were to testify about his serious approach to his duties. In the winter of 1920, Turov residents I. Lamden, M.I. Muravchik, J. Shusterman, M. Laitman, M. Shifman and G. Grenadier confirmed that H.G. Bregman taught their children in Jewish subjects, and they were very happy with them.21
[21] Letter to the Board of Education Turowski volispolkoma on December 11, 1920, ZGA v Mozyr, F. 293, op. 1, d. 96, l. 20.