Metadata : Vilnius conscience court
Collection
- Country:
- Lithuania
- Holding institution:
- Lithuanian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas
- Postal address:
- Mindaugo 8, 03107 Vilnius
- Phone number:
- +370 5 219 5320
- Email:
- istorijos.archyvas@lvia.lt
- Country:
- Lithuania
- Holding institution:
- Lithuanian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas
- Postal address:
- Mindaugo 8, 03107 Vilnius
- Phone number:
- +370 5 219 5320
- Email:
- istorijos.archyvas@lvia.lt
- Reference number:
- 456
- Title:
- Vilnius conscience court
- Title (official language):
- Vilniaus sąžinės teismas
- Creator/accumulator:
- Vilnius conscience court
- Date(s):
- 1833/1858
- Language:
- Russian
- Extent:
- 742 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
- The collection contains materials of the Vilnius Conscience Court including regulations, instructions, decisions and journals of court sessions. Numerous files include Jewish-related materials on crime, and civil cases referring to judicial disputes over property, intra-family conflicts, and the desire to convert. Among the criminal cases in the collection there are many records regarding theft. Jews appear in these cases as victims and as defendants. For example, a file from 1838 contains materials on a case of theft from peasant M. Vinnik by a Jew Shlomo Gshinsky (inventory 2, file 60). In 1844 Shmuilo Beirak, Miha Shmuilovich and Abram Bikur were sentenced for theft (inventory 2, file 216). A criminal case from 1845 contains papers about the trial of a Jew who was involved in a robbery carried out by a nobleman Ignatii Lukashevich and others (inventory 2, file 255). A case from 1847 contains documents that a Christian nobleman Iulian Bihovets stole from a Jewish woman Kats (inventory 2, file 466). The collection also includes cases of Jews accused of murder, rape and other criminal offences. For instance, the collection includes documents about suspicions against Hirsh Gilels concerning the murder of Ivan Zen’kevich in 1848 (inventory 2, file 562). A file dated 1845 includes materials on charges that Tsipka Beniaminova was responsible for the death of a Jewish baby (inventory 2, file 219). A number of cases deal with accusations and trials of Jews regarding arson. A case from 1844 includes judicial materials against Jewish resident Rozmin regarding the burning of a tavern, which belonged to the state tax-farm (inventory 2, file 224). These documents may also highlight economic tensions connected to Jewish activities in the field of tavern-keeping and tax-farming of distilled spirits. An important part of the collection are documents concerning the conflicts of Jews within families, which shed light on gender relations and the relations between parents and children. A case from 1843 deals with a dispute over property between Sara Shenkman and her children (inventory 2, file 385); another example is Berka Aniokh’s trial in 1853 for insulting his father (inventory 2, file 1260). Several cases discuss the desire of Jews to convert from Judaism to Christianity. A file from 1847 includes papers about Abram Ziseliovich (inventory 2, file 703), and a file from 1851 about Hannah Negel’nitskaia (inventory 2, file 900). These sources illustrate both the motives of those seeking to convert from Judaism and the difficulties they encountered. A file from 1846 includes documents about Zelman Dvoretsky, who decided to convert to Russian Orthodox Christianity and later repented (inventory 2, file 312).
- Archival history:
- Information about the archival history of the collection is unavailable.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- In 1833 conscience courts were established in the Western provinces of the Russian Empire. The Vilnius conscience court heard civil cases and criminal cases involving minors, mentally ill persons and vagrants. The court heard cases on illegal detention in prisons, cases of abuse of parents and cases of persons who became criminals through a combination of unfortunate circumstances. Among the civil cases were mainly those related to disputes on property as well as cases entrusted to the court by mutual voluntary consent of the parties. According the decision of the State Council from 1852 the conscience courts in the Russian Empire were abolished and their functions were transferred to provincial chambers of criminal and civil courts.
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of two inventories that are arranged in chronological order.
- Finding aids:
- Detailed inventories are available on the website of the Lithuanian Chief Archivist Service.
- Links to finding aids:
- https://eais-pub.archyvai.lt/eais/faces/pages/forms/search/F3001.jspx
- Author of the description:
- Ilya Vovshin, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2020
- Reference number:
- 456
- Title:
- Vilnius conscience court
- Title (official language):
- Vilniaus sąžinės teismas
- Creator/accumulator:
- Vilnius conscience court
- Date(s):
- 1833/1858
- Language:
- Russian
- Extent:
- 742 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
- The collection contains materials of the Vilnius Conscience Court including regulations, instructions, decisions and journals of court sessions. Numerous files include Jewish-related materials on crime, and civil cases referring to judicial disputes over property, intra-family conflicts, and the desire to convert. Among the criminal cases in the collection there are many records regarding theft. Jews appear in these cases as victims and as defendants. For example, a file from 1838 contains materials on a case of theft from peasant M. Vinnik by a Jew Shlomo Gshinsky (inventory 2, file 60). In 1844 Shmuilo Beirak, Miha Shmuilovich and Abram Bikur were sentenced for theft (inventory 2, file 216). A criminal case from 1845 contains papers about the trial of a Jew who was involved in a robbery carried out by a nobleman Ignatii Lukashevich and others (inventory 2, file 255). A case from 1847 contains documents that a Christian nobleman Iulian Bihovets stole from a Jewish woman Kats (inventory 2, file 466). The collection also includes cases of Jews accused of murder, rape and other criminal offences. For instance, the collection includes documents about suspicions against Hirsh Gilels concerning the murder of Ivan Zen’kevich in 1848 (inventory 2, file 562). A file dated 1845 includes materials on charges that Tsipka Beniaminova was responsible for the death of a Jewish baby (inventory 2, file 219). A number of cases deal with accusations and trials of Jews regarding arson. A case from 1844 includes judicial materials against Jewish resident Rozmin regarding the burning of a tavern, which belonged to the state tax-farm (inventory 2, file 224). These documents may also highlight economic tensions connected to Jewish activities in the field of tavern-keeping and tax-farming of distilled spirits. An important part of the collection are documents concerning the conflicts of Jews within families, which shed light on gender relations and the relations between parents and children. A case from 1843 deals with a dispute over property between Sara Shenkman and her children (inventory 2, file 385); another example is Berka Aniokh’s trial in 1853 for insulting his father (inventory 2, file 1260). Several cases discuss the desire of Jews to convert from Judaism to Christianity. A file from 1847 includes papers about Abram Ziseliovich (inventory 2, file 703), and a file from 1851 about Hannah Negel’nitskaia (inventory 2, file 900). These sources illustrate both the motives of those seeking to convert from Judaism and the difficulties they encountered. A file from 1846 includes documents about Zelman Dvoretsky, who decided to convert to Russian Orthodox Christianity and later repented (inventory 2, file 312).
- Archival history:
- Information about the archival history of the collection is unavailable.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- In 1833 conscience courts were established in the Western provinces of the Russian Empire. The Vilnius conscience court heard civil cases and criminal cases involving minors, mentally ill persons and vagrants. The court heard cases on illegal detention in prisons, cases of abuse of parents and cases of persons who became criminals through a combination of unfortunate circumstances. Among the civil cases were mainly those related to disputes on property as well as cases entrusted to the court by mutual voluntary consent of the parties. According the decision of the State Council from 1852 the conscience courts in the Russian Empire were abolished and their functions were transferred to provincial chambers of criminal and civil courts.
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of two inventories that are arranged in chronological order.
- Finding aids:
- Detailed inventories are available on the website of the Lithuanian Chief Archivist Service.
- Links to finding aids:
- https://eais-pub.archyvai.lt/eais/faces/pages/forms/search/F3001.jspx
- Author of the description:
- Ilya Vovshin, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2020
