Tag #146139 - Interview #78190 (evgenia shapiro)

There were over 3,000 Jews in Borisov in the 1850s. Jews had lived in Borisov since the 16th century. They were selling bread and timber to Riga transporting it on the Zapadnaya Dvina River. There were seven synagogues in the town in the middle of the 19th century including Hasidic [1] synagogues. At the end of the 19th century there were tailors and weavers and traders of agricultural products in town. Jews owned sawmills and a match factory - the biggest enterprise in Borisov. There was a Jewish school, in which all subjects were taught in Russian. A Jewish hospital was opened at the beginning of the 20th century. There were private trade schools in town. The town was divided into two parts - a Jewish and a Belarus neighborhood, separated by the Berezina River.