Chișinău, also known as Kishinev, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The "Kishinev butchery" that became one of the bloodiest Jewish massacres in history began Exactly 115 back (on April, 19, 1903).

Pogrom

The most popular newspaper in Kishinev, the Russian-language anti-Semitic newspaper Бессарабец (Bessarabetz, meaning "Bessarabian"), published by Pavel Krushevan, regularly published articles with headlines such as "Death to the Jews!" and "Crusade against the Hated Race!" (referring to the Jews). When a gentile Ukrainian boy, Mikhail Rybachenko, was found murdered in the town of Dubossary, about 25 miles north of Kishinev, and a girl who committed suicide by poisoning herself was declared dead in a Jewish hospital, the Bessarabetz paper insinuated that both children had been murdered by the Jewish community for the purpose of using their blood in the preparation of matzo for Passover. Another newspaper, Свет (Svet, "Light") made similar insinuations. These allegations, and the prompting of the town's Russian Orthodox bishop, sparked the pogrom.

The pogrom began on April 19 (April 6 according to the Julian calendar then in use in the Russian empire) after congregations were dismissed from church services on Easter Sunday. In two days of rioting, 47 (some put the figure at 49) Jews were killed, 92 were severely wounded and 500 were slightly injured, 700 houses were destroyed, and 600 stores were pillaged.

The New York Times described the first Kishinev pogrom:

The mob was led by priests, and the general cry, "Kill the Jews," was taken- up all over the city. The Jews were taken wholly unaware and were slaughtered like sheep. The dead number 120 and the injured about 500. The scenes of horror attending this massacre are beyond description. Babes were literally torn to pieces by the frenzied and bloodthirsty mob. The local police made no attempt to check the reign of terror. At sunset the streets were piled with corpses and wounded. Those who could make their escape fled in terror, and the city is now practically deserted of Jews

Funeral of copies of the Sefer Torah which were damaged in the Chişinău pogrom

Butchery in the light holiday of Easter

To the moment of massacre about 50 thousand jewries lived in Kishinev.

Vladimir Короленко writes in an essay «Дом № 13». ("House № 13")

"Among this reckless hell from a crash, ringing, wild cackling, laughter and yammering of horror - thirst of blood"

With great difficulty, the police managed to calm down the crowd by the evening of April 20. The Chisinau pogrom claimed the lives of 49 people, mostly Jews. Suffered more than 500. About a third of houses in the city were destroyed. The court was betrayed by about 300 people.