Beilis Affair

The Beilis Affair (Russian: Дело Бейлиса) was a judicial trial accusing Menahem Mendel Beilis of the ritual murder of 13-year-old Andrei Yushchinsky, a student at the preparatory class of the Kiev-Sophia Theological School. The murder occurred on March 12, 1911, and the perpetrator was never identified.

The accusation of ritual murder was initiated by activists of the Black Hundreds and supported by several far-right politicians and officials, including justice minister Ivan Shcheglovitov. Local investigators, who believed the case involved a criminal murder motivated by revenge, were removed from the investigation. Four months after the discovery of Yushchinsky's body, Beilis, who worked as a clerk at a nearby factory, was arrested as a suspect and spent two years in prison.

The trial took place in Kiev from September 25 to October 28, 1913, and was accompanied, on one hand, by an active antisemitic campaign, and on the other, by nationwide and international public protests. Beilis was acquitted. Researchers believe the true perpetrators were Vera Cheberyak, a fence of stolen goods, and criminals from her home, though this question remains unresolved. The Beilis Case became the most high-profile trial in pre-revolutionary Russia.