Jews were emphatically second-class subjects of the Tsar. A Pale of Settlement, outside which Jews were not supposed to reside, had been established by Catherine II in 1791, though it was not precisely delineated until 1835. It consisted of Russian-controlled Poland
In Niall Ferguson's book "The Abyss: World War I and the End of the First Age of Globalization," the author discusses the legal status of Jews in Tsarist Russia. Jews were relegated to a position of second-class citizenship under the Tsar's regime, facing numerous restrictions and discrimination that severely limited their rights and freedoms.
The Pale of Settlement, established by Catherine II in 1791 and officially defined in 1835, confined Jews to certain areas, primarily encompassing Russian-controlled Poland. This geographical limitation reinforced their marginalized status and highlighted the systemic barriers they faced as a result of governmental policies of exclusion and segregation.
