Beilis Affair

The Beilis Case was a judicial trial accusing Menahem Mendel Beilis of the ritual murder of 12-year-old Andrei Yushchinsky, a student at the preparatory class of the Kyiv-Sophia Theological School. The murder occurred on March 12, 1911, and the perpetrator was never identified.

Beilis Affair
Beilis at the trial
Started	September 25, 1913
Decided	October 28, 1913
Verdict	Acquitted
Defendant	M.-M. T. Beilis

The accusation of ritual murder was initiated by activists of Black Hundred organizations and supported by several far-right politicians and officials, including the Minister of Justice Ivan Shcheglovitov. Local investigators, who believed the case involved a criminal murder motivated by revenge, were removed from the investigation. Four months after the discovery of Yushchinsky's body, Beilis, who worked as a clerk at a nearby factory, was arrested as a suspect and spent two years in prison.^[1]

The trial took place in Kyiv from September 25 to October 28, 1913,^[2][3][4] and was accompanied, on one hand, by an active antisemitic campaign, and on the other, by nationwide and international public protests. Beilis was acquitted. Researchers believe the true perpetrators were Vera Cheberyak, a fence of stolen goods, and criminals from her den,^{[1][5][6][7][8][9]} though this question remains unresolved.^[10][11] The Beilis Case became the most high-profile trial in pre-revolutionary Russia.^[12]

Victim

Andrei Yushchinsky in his coffin

Andrei Yushchinsky (1898 – March 12, 1911) was the illegitimate son of Kyiv townsman Feodosiy Chirkov and Alexandra Yushchinskaya, who sold pears, apples, and greens in Kyiv.^[13] He did not know his father: shortly after his birth, Chirkov abandoned his mother after living with her for only two years and was later drafted into military service. In 1905, Yushchinskaya married Luka Prikhodko, a bookbinder.

The boy grew up without proper supervision, as his stepfather, occupied with his workshop, only came home on Saturdays and Sundays. His upbringing was primarily overseen by his childless and relatively affluent aunt, Natalia Yushchinskaya, who owned a box-making workshop. She also paid for his education: at the age of eight, the boy was enrolled in a "shelter" or "kindergarten" at the Church of St. Theodore in Lukianivka, and the following year, he entered a teachers' seminary.^[14] Andrei was deeply attached to his aunt and, when asked by a friend if he loved his mother and stepfather, replied that he loved his aunt the most.^[15] The boy expressed a desire to become a priest ("he liked the uniform, he liked the position," explained his tutor, psalmist of the Church of St. Theodore, Deacon Dmitry Mochugovsky,^[16] who worked with the boy for about nine months). In 1910, he enrolled in the Kyiv-Sophia Theological School at the Saint Sophia Cathedral.

The boy was described as capable, curious, and brave. Because he frequently walked at night and was unafraid of the dark, he earned the nickname "domovoi" (house spirit); at the same time, he "was reserved, did not get close to anyone, and kept to himself."^[17]

Discovery of the Body

Cave where Andrei Yushchinsky's body was found

Twelve-year-old Andrei Yushchinsky disappeared on the morning of March 12 1911, while heading to school. On March 20, his body was discovered by boys playing in one of the small caves in the Lukianivka suburb, specifically by gymnasium student Yelansky. The body was covered with forty-seven stab wounds inflicted by a "shvayka" (a large awl). The corpse was significantly drained of blood. It was determined that the cave was not the site of the murder.^[18][19][20]

The corpse was found in a sitting position, with hands tied, wearing only underwear and a single sock. Nearby were his jacket, sash, cap, and notebooks, rolled into a tube and tucked into a recess in the wall. A piece of pillowcase with traces of semen was found in the pocket of his tunic; it was later determined that this pillowcase had been used to gag the boy during the murder.^[21][20]

The body was identified by inscriptions on the sash and notebooks. An expert analysis of the stomach contents (borscht from breakfast) established that he was killed 3–4 hours after eating, which, based on his mother's statement about the time of his last breakfast, indicated a time of death around 10 a.m. on March 12.^[22][23]

Bibliography

Russian language sources

• Bonch-Bruevich, Vladimir Dmitrievich (1921). Знамение времени. Убийство Андрея Ющинского и дело Бейлиса [The Sign of the Times: The Murder of Andrei Yushchinsky and the Beilis Case] (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: GIZ. p. 195. OCLC 10000.
• Buyanov, Mikhail Ivanovich (1993). Дело Бейлиса [The Beilis Case] (in Russian). Moscow: Prometey. p. 125. ISBN 978-5-7042-0724-5.
• Grutups, Andris (2007). Бейлисада: Дело об обвинении Менделя Бейлиса в ритуальном убийстве [Beilisiada: The Case of Mendel Beilis's Accusation of Ritual Murder] (in Russian). Translated by Rezone, V. Riga: Atēna. p. 472. ISBN 9984-34-295-5. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
• Katsis, Leonid Fridovich (2006). Кровавый навет и русская мысль. Историко-теологическое исследование дела Бейлиса [Blood Libel and Russian Thought: A Historical-Theological Study of the Beilis Case] (in Russian). Moscow/Jerusalem: Mosty kultury / Gesharim. p. 496. ISBN 978-5-93273-216-8.
• Reznik, Genry Markovich (1999). Дело Менделя Бейлиса: материалы Чрезвычайной следственной комиссии Временного правительства о судебном процессе 1913 г. по обвинению в ритуальном убийстве [The Mendel Beilis Case: Materials of the Extraordinary Investigative Commission of the Provisional Government on the 1913 Trial for Ritual Murder] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin. p. 393. ISBN 978-5-86007-197-1. OCLC 1000.
• Kerensky, Alexander Fyodorovich (1993). "Дело Менделя Бейлиса" [The Mendel Beilis Case]. Россия на историческом повороте. Мемуары [Russia at a Historical Turning Point: Memoirs] (in Russian). Moscow: Respublika. p. 384. ISBN 978-5-250-01571-4. OCLC 40000.
• Lurie, Lev Yakovlevich (2011). "Андрей Ющинский" [Andrei Yushchinsky]. 22 смерти, 63 версии [22 Deaths, 63 Versions]. Window to History (in Russian). St. Petersburg: BKhV-Peterburg. pp. 151–163. ISBN 978-5-9775-0549-9.
• Maklakov, Vasily Alekseevich (2016). Krasheninnikov, Pavel Vladimirovich (ed.). Из воспоминаний [From Memoirs]. Lawyers Who Changed Law, State, and Society (in Russian). Moscow: Statut. p. 320. ISBN 978-5-8354-1246-4.
• Petrzhitsky, Lev Iosifovich (1913). О ритуальных убийствах и деле Бейлиса [On Ritual Murders and the Beilis Case] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Typography of the "Public Benefit" Partnership. p. 32.
• Pidzharenko, Aleksandr Mikhailovich (2006). Не ритуальное убийство на Лукьяновке. Криминальный сыск Киева в нач. XX в. [Not a Ritual Murder in Lukyanovka: Criminal Investigation in Kyiv at the Beginning of the 20th Century] (in Russian). Kyiv: KVITs. p. 219. ISBN 978-966-7192-89-1.
• Popov, Vyacheslav Leonidovich (1995). Профессор Д. П. Косоротов (Попытка реабилитации) [Professor D. P. Kosorotov (An Attempt at Rehabilitation)] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: S. M. Kirov Military Medical Academy.
• Reznik, Semyon Efimovich (1991). "Истоки: дело Бейлиса" [Origins: The Beilis Case]. Красное и коричневое [Red and Brown] (in Russian). Washington: Vyzov. pp. 12–46.
• Samuel, Maurice (1975). Кровавый навет. Странная история дела Бейлиса [Blood Libel: The Strange History of the Beilis Case] (in Russian). Translated by Monas, R. New York: Waldon Press. p. 294.
• Stepanov, Sergey Aleksandrovich (2005). "Глава VII. Популизм и антисемитизм" [Chapter VII: Populism and Antisemitism]. Чёрная сотня [Black Hundred] (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Eksmo, Yauza. pp. 360–395. ISBN 978-5-699-08156-1.
• Tagar, Aleksandr Semyonovich (1934). Царская Россия и дело Бейлиса [Tsarist Russia and the Beilis Case] (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: OGIZ. OCLC 10000.
• Shub, David Natanovich (1969). "Владимир Короленко и Советская власть" [Vladimir Korolenko and Soviet Power]. Политические деятели России (1850-х—1920-х) [Political Figures of Russia (1850s–1920s)] (in Russian). New York: Waldon Press. Archived from [ldn-knigi.lib.ru/JUDAICA/Shub_Korolenko.htm the original] on 2007-12-11. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
• Shulgin, Vasily Vitalyevich (2002). "Бейлисиада" [Beilisiada]. Последний очевидец: Мемуары. Очерки. Сны [The Last Eyewitness: Memoirs, Essays, Dreams]. Epochs and Fates (in Russian). Moscow: OLMA Media Group. p. 587. ISBN 978-5-94850-028-7.
• Ettinger, Shmuel (2001). "Глава пятнадцатая: Правительственный антисемитизм в России и в Восточной Европе до Февральской революции" [Chapter Fifteen: Government Antisemitism in Russia and Eastern Europe Before the February Revolution]. История еврейского народа [History of the Jewish People] (in Russian). Jerusalem/Moscow: Gesharim/Mosty kultury. p. 688. ISBN 5-93273-050-1. OCLC 3000.

Other languages

• Kuras, I., ed. (1994). Справа Бейліса. Погляд із сьогодення [The Beilis Case: A View from Today] (in Ukrainian). Kyiv: Varta. p. 112. ISBN 978-5-7702-0792-7.
• Beilis, Mendel (1992). Scapegoat on Trial: The Story of Mendel Beilis. CIS Publishers. ISBN 1-56062-166-4.
• Leikin, Ezekiel (1993). The Beilis Transcripts: The Anti-Semitic Trial that Shook the World. Jason Aronson. ISBN 0-87668-179-8.
• The Beilis Case: Modern Research and Documents. 1999. ISBN 5-7349-0016-8.
• Lindemann, Albert S. (1992). The Jew Accused: Three Anti-Semitic Affairs (Dreyfus, Beilis and Frank), 1894–1915. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44761-4.