Brusilov

The earliest reference to the presence of Jews in Brusilov dates to 1622. In 1881, this town was home to 2,372 Jews, who made up about fifty-six percent of the total population. By 1914, the local Jews were actively involved in commerce, owning many of the town's shops, a timber warehouse, and two mills. A pogrom in Brusilov was narrowly averted in early April 1918, but the town did experience two subsequent pogroms, in mid-June and early July 1919. During the Russian Civil War, most of the Jews left Brusilov, with only two of them remaining in the town. After the end of hostilities, the Jews began to trickle back in, and by 1923 Brusilov already had ninety Jewish residents and an active Yiddish school. In 1929-1930, a Jewish agricultural cooperative named "Free Labour" operated in the town. In 1939, Brusilov had 171 Jewish residents, who made up about 3.5 percent of the total population. Brusilov was occupied by the Germans on July 10, 1941. The local Jews were shot in mid-October 1941. Brusilov was liberated by the Red Army in late December 1943.