In 2025, the Moscow publishing house "Knizhniki" (together with the publishing house "M. Greenberg Library", Jerusalem) published the book by Meir Badkhen and Evgeny Levin "Jewish Professions and Professions of Jews" – an interesting study about what kind of work Jews performed inside their communities, what kind of work they were allowed to do outside them, and what kind of work was performed only by Jews. The study also looks into what the Jews used to become when breaking the boundaries of community life. This book is a publication of excellent quality, where the text is reinforced by illustrations provided by private collections, our Museum among them. Several dozen images in the book are of unique documents and objects from the Museum of Jewish History in Russia collection, and not all of them are available for viewing in the exhibition.
Unfortunately, some lapses occurred during the book's publication, which left several our exhibits without proper attribution. Taking this opportunity, we would like to correct this oversight and inform the readers of the objects belonging to our Museum:
- the hearse (p. 119);
- the tzedakah box (p. 122);
- the funeral bier (p. 124);
- Amshey Nurenberg. "The Tailor" (p. 175);
- the typewriter with Yiddish letters (p. 244).
Also, in the description of the drawing "The Tailor" on p. 175, the artist's surname is misspelled; the correct spelling is: Amshey Markovich NURENBERG.
Nevertheless, we warmly recommend this book to the reading public for its novel approach to discussing the subject of Jewish professions! From a shoemaker to a goldmine owner, from a soda maker to a member of a ritual burial society – the diversity of Jewish professions allows one to look at the history of Jews in the Russian Empire from a particularly wide angle.

On March 8th we announced a new virtual photo exhibition - “A Portrait with a Wife” - made possible through a partnership with the “Russian History in Photographs” project. All the women protagonists have one thing in common: they came to our collection as wives of their more famous husbands; all the photos exhibited were included in personal archives, where the husband plays the lead role. However, there is more to that story. These women were wives and partners, faithful to their choice. Some made their way in the world, some became a pillar of support to their men. Studying the biographies and archives revealed their own faces and stories. 
You can view the virtual exhibition here, and for more detailed biographies – visit our social media.

Emperor Alexander II went down in history as a reformer. He began his reign with a wide range of reforms that gradually affected all spheres of public and economic life in Russia. These complex, sometimes radical, measures became known as the Great Reforms. They also affected all ethnic groups represented in the Russian Empire.
Already in his coronation manifesto on August 26,1856 Emperor Alexander II abolished the institution of cantonists: all Jews under the age of 20 were returned from military service to their parents. That move can be pinpointed as the beginning of military reforms that lasted almost until the end of 1874. Changes in the military department affected not only the functionality of the ministry apparatus but also the system of relationships between military personnel in the active army.
In 1866, a circular was issued prescribing the exemption of Jews from service on important Jewish holidays. The circular was supplied with a holiday calendar for the said year.