The city's name comes from the Greek name of the river Dniester - Τύρας and ancient Greek. πόλις - «city».
The Treaty of Iassy [Jassy] was signed by both Russia and Ottoman Empire on
December 27, 1791 after the end of Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792. As a result
of this agreement, Russia acquired the Ochakov region between the west bank of
the river South Bug and the river Dniester. Dniester River became the border
between two territories. In 1792, to strengthen the new borders of the empire
Russia began the construction of a series of forts along the left bank of the
Dniester River (while on the right bank stood two powerful fortresses of Bender
and Akkerman that belonged to the Turks).
At the conclusion of Treaty of Jassy first Russian settlers in Sucleya were Cossacks
of Ekaternoslavskaya cavalry, who on their way back home asked permission from
Suvorov to settle in this area. [i]
In 1792, following the special order of Aleksandr Suvorov[1], Sredinnaya [Middle]
Fortress was founded on the bank of the river Dniester. Construction was carried
out under the leadership of de Ribas[2] and engineer de Vollan[3]
In January 1792 Katherine II ordered Yekaterinoslav governor Vasily Kakhovsky to
induct new territories to the Yekaterinoslav region, and to explore their
resettlement plan. In September of the same year he made a number of proposals,
including the suggested rise of a new town in the Sredinnaya Fortress. That is how
Tiraspol was founded. Due to the construction of the city, the residents of the village
of Sucleya had to move three miles further along the Dniester river.
The Tiraspol fortress was built among the other fortresses that were built after
Treaty of Iassy [Jassy] was signed. The Tiraspol fortress was raised in front of the
former Turkish fortress, Bendery. At the site of the present Tiraspol was a Moldovan
farm of 6 small houses, whose residents were engaged in fishing. In 1793 Tiraspol
was built near the fortress.
The city is split into two parts: the east and west, by a wide ravine, called the estuary, into 2 parts. The east was the larger of the two and was built on a low-lying valley, which was covered with spring flood water. The Dniester River washes the city from the south. There are two ferries crossing the river, each of which can take 50 people. Tiraspol, since it is located on a large river and on the main route from Bessarabia, is quite a significant city and a great strategical object allowing to defend the border of Russian Empire. i
By 1795 there were more than 2.5 thousand settlers in the new town. From 1792 to 1795 Tiraspol was the center of Ochakov district.
Tiraspol Uezd
From 1795 to 1797 Tiraspol, along with the Balta and Olgopol Uezd, was a part of Voznesensky Governorship. Around this time, Tiraspol became the center of Tiraspol Uezd.
From 1797 to 1802 Tiraspol Uezd was a part of Novorossiya Governorate that was created by Pavel the First. During this period Tiraspol Uezd included towns such as Odessa, Balta, Dubossary, Ovidiopol, and Grigoriopol.
From October 8, 1802 to May 15, 1803, Tiraspol Uezd was a part of Nikolaevsky Governorship that was created by Alexander the First. In 1803, the Governorship was renamed from Nikolaevsky to Kherson Governorate. It is unknown, however, what Gubernia the Tiraspol Uezd was under during the three-year span of 1802-1806.
In the year of 1806 the Tiraspol Uezd became part of the Kherson Gubernia.
Odessa Uezd was formed from 1825 to 1827. The Odessky Uezd acquired 21,806 residents and 578,325 acres of land, while Tiraspol Uezd acquired 5640 residents and 268840 acres of land from Olgopol Uezd. In the Fall of 1834, the Tiraspol Uezd (990 acres of land) was again divided, and approximately half of its territory became the foundation for the newly reinstated Ananevsky Uezd.
From the very beginning of its creation Tiraspol Uezd had a diverse class system. Tiraspol Uezd became home to Jews from Kiev, Podolia and Volyn Governorates as well as many gypsies.
In 1835 Tiraspol fortress was abolished, but the city continued to grow, now as a Uezd center, performing mainly administrative and commercial functions.
City Tiraspol in 1849 was the town of Kherson Gubernia, on the left bank of the Dniester. It had 6436 inhabitants, 740 houses, 2 synagogues, county government offices, etc. [ii]
City Tiraspol in 1849 was the county town, built on the left bank of the Dniester at 45 gr. 50 min. north latitude and 47 degrees. 18 min. east longitude, distance from St. Petersburg 1690 miles from Moscow in 1393 a mile from the city of Kherson Governorate 270 miles.
There were 3274 males and 3162 females for the total of 6436. They consisted primarily of Russian Orthodox. Little Russians, Moldovans, Jews and Gypsies were a very small part of the population.
City Tiraspol in 1896: the county town on the left bank of the Dniester River [had] 2 synagogues, 4 Jewish prayer houses, 2 Jewish prayer schools, [..] 1568 families, 19176 residents (9670 men, 9506 women). i
Tiraspol in XX century
At beginning of the XX century, town occupied only the central part of modern Tiraspol. Pokrovskaya Street (now October 25th) was the main street, it housed the administrative and commercial offices and houses of wealthy citizens. Military barracks were located in the north-western outskirts, while railway station was situated in the north-east. At that time, the town had 31,000 inhabitants.[iii]
Tiraspol had more than 300 trading companies with an annual turnover of more than 2.4 million rubles and about 1900 industrial enterprises with a turnover of 450,000 rubles. Tiraspol had a significant grain trade, concentrated almost exclusively in the hands of the Jews. The city had several churches, a synagogue, musk and female gymnasia and more than a dozen other schools, two libraries, bookshops and several printing houses. i
In early 1918, Bessarabia was annexed by Romania, and the river became a line of demarcation. The city repeatedly passed from hand to hand, and finally the cavalry brigade of Kotovsky[4] established Bolshevik supremacy in the city.
From 1929 to 1940, Tiraspol was the capital of the newly formed Moldavian ASSR that was part of USSR.
During the WWII, Romanian authorities created Transnistria Governorate. Tiraspol that was occupied on August 10, 1941, became its center. The city was a deployed camp for Soviet prisoners of war. During the occupation more than 4,000 people were killed in Tiraspol.
Before the war, in 1926 Jews accounted for 29% of Tiraspol’s population or 6398 people. The city had several synagogues and two Jewish schools. During the Nazi occupation, the majority of Jews were killed or deported to death camps. After the war (1959) the only remaining synagogue was closed.
The city was liberated in April 12, 1944 by the troops of the 37th army of the Third Ukrainian Front under the command of Lieutenant-General Sharokhin. On the 40th anniversary of Victory Tiraspol was awarded with the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree for the courage and resilience shown by the city residents during World War II. During the WWII five Tiraspol natives became Heroes of the Soviet Union title; one of them was Pavlotskiy Mikhail Arkadiyevich who was born in a Jewish family.
The first post-war decade was a recovery period for Tiraspol. Later the formation of new industries began: machine building and light industry.
On September 2, 1990 Tiraspol became a capital of Transnistrian Moldavian Republic.
According to latest census conducted in 2004, Jews make up about 0.4% of the city’s population. There is currently one synagogue in the city.
Cemeteries
There is one Jewish Cemetery in Tiraspol and two mixed cemeteries where Jews were buried among the rest of the residents.
[1] Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov November 24, 1729 or 1730 – May 18, 1800) was a Russian military leader and national hero.
[2] Josep de Ribas y Boyons was a Spanish military officer in Russian service, who founded the city of Odessa
[3] François-Paul Sainte de Wollant was a Flemish engineer.
[4] Grigory Ivanovich Kotovsky June 24, 1881 – August 6, 1925) was an adventurist, Soviet military and political figure, participant of the Russian Civil War.
[i] (11th volume Military Statistical Review of the Russian Empire)
[ii] 1849 Calendar of Novorossiysk
[iii] Wikipedia.org
