Two years later, in 1764, Catherine II. received a petition from the Little Russian nobles and elders, who, together with the hetman, pleaded for the restoration of the autonomous "ancient rights" of Little Russia, which had been grossly violated by the Russian Government. Out of the twenty clauses of the document, one refers to the Jews. The representatives of the Little Russian people declare that the law barring Jews from entering their province had inflicted great damage on the local trade, because the Jews, "being inhabitants of a neighboring state, take a very large part in Little Russian commerce, buying the goods of Little Russia at a much larger price, and the foreign goods at a smaller price, as compared with that now prevailing." The petition concludes with these words: That the above-mentioned Jews be granted domicile in Little Russia, with this we dare not trouble your Imperial Majesty. All we do is to plead most humbly that, _for the sake of promoting Little Russian commerce_, the Jews be allowed to visit Little Russia for free commercial transactions. The petition was not granted, for even Catherine II. "dared not" repeal the inquisitorial resolution of Elizabeth Petrovna against "the enemies of Christ." It was amidst conditions such as these that the event which marks a critical juncture in the history of the Jewish people took place. Starting with the year 1772, Russia began to acquire the inheritance of disintegrating Poland. The country which had stood in fear of a few thousand Jews was now forced to accept them, at one stroke, by the tens of thousands and, shortly afterwards, by the hundreds of thousands. Subsequent history will show in what way Russia endeavored to solve this conflict between her anti-Jewish traditions and the necessity of harboring in her dominions the greatest center of the Jewish Diaspora. FOOTNOTES: [208] See p. 36 and p. 37. [209] [In the present Russian Government of Vitebsk, to be distinguished from Plotzk, in Polish, _Plock_, the capital of the Government of the same name in Russian Poland, on the right bank of the Vistula.] [210] See pp. 153 _et seq._ [211] [Pronounced _ookaz_, with the accent on the last syllable. The original meaning of the word is "indication," "instruction." It is applied to orders issued by the Tzar himself or, in the name of the Tzar, by the Senate.] [212] Little Russia possessed at that time its own military organization, consisting of regiments and "hundreds," under the command of native officers. At the head of the organization stood the commander-in-chief, called hetman [see p. 143, n. 1]. [213] [The term "resolution" (in Russian, _resolutzia_) is applied to a decision written by the Tzar in his own hand on the margin of the reports submitted to him.] [214] [See p. 253, n. 1.] CHAPTER VIII POLISH JEWRY DURING THE PERIOD OF THE PARTITIONS 1. THE JEWS OF POLAND AFTER THE FIRST PARTITION