The Cantonists

Before 1917, the Russian Tsar wielded absolute power over a vast empire, where more than 5 million Jews lived in isolation and segregation.  Under the rule of Tsar Nicholas I (1825–1855), policies toward Jews became especially oppressive. Nicholas sought to erase Jewish identity by forcing their conversion to Christianity and promoting assimilation through mixed marriages. One of his most ruthless strategies was the implementation of the Cantonist system, which conscripted Jewish boys under