activity was not enough to sustain all Jews, which led the Tsarist authorities to create 17 Jewish agricultural colonies: In Soroca County Dumbrăveni (now part of Vădeni commune) Brăciova (Bricevo, now Briceva, part of Târnova commune in Dondușeni district) Mărculești (Starăuca/Starovka, for some period) Vârtojani (Vertiujeni, Șteap for some period) Lublin (later Nemirovka, now Nimereuca) Căprești Zguriţa Maramonovca Constantinovca In Orhei County Șibca (now Șipca) Nicolaevca-Blagodaţi (now Neculăieuca) Teleneștii Noi In Chișinău County Grătiești and Hulboaca under joint administration (both now part of Grătești commune within Rîșcani sector of Chișinău) In Bălți County Alexăndreni (now part of Alexăndreni Commune in Sîngerei District) Valea lui Vlad (now part of Dumbrăvița Commune in Sîngerei District) In Hotin County Lomacinţa (now in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine) In Tighina County Romanăuţi (Romanovca) (now within city limits of Basarabeasca) 10,589 Jews were settled in these villages, forming 1,082 households. This plan was borrowed from the ideas of Emperor Joseph II of Austria in regard to Bukovina Jews, but it became impractical as there Jews preferred to leave Bukovina than to settle in villages. The impression that Jews would not stay in the rural areas was proved wrong by the Russian Tzar, as his colonization at first seemed a success. However, after several years, Jews in these rural colonies preferred merchant activities with cattle, leather, wool, tobacco, while their agricultural land was mostly rented out to Christian peasants. After more years, many of these Jews moved to fairs and sold their land to Moldavians. During the 1856 census, there were 78,751 Jews in Bessarabia (about 8% of the total population of 990,000). Late 19th and early 20th centuries 1889: There were 180,918 Jews of a total population of 1,628,867 in Bessarabia, or 11.11% 1897: The Jewish population had grown to 225,637 of a total of 1,936,392, or 11.65% 1903: Chișinău (then known as Kishinev), in Russian Bessarabia had a Jewish population of 50,000, or 46%, out of a total of approximately 110,000. Jewish life flourished with 16 Jewish schools and over 2,000 pupils in Chişinău alone. Kishinev pogrom 16 February 1903: Kishinev pogrom. In 1903, a Christian Ukrainian boy, Mikhail Ribalenko, was found murdered in the town of Dubossary (Dubăsari in Romanian), about northeast of Kishinev; the town is on the left bank of the river Dniester and formally was not a part of Bessarabia. Although it was clear that the boy had been