Mala Bahachivka Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery of Mala Bahachivka appears on a Russian topographic map from the 1860s, which means that the cemetery presumably was established soon after the colony’s foundation. It also appears on a map from 1941. Most likely, the cemetery was demolished during the post-war Soviet period. According to local residents, the cemetery was bulldozed, and tombstones were taken away or buried in the forest.

Bogachevka (the name of Mala Bahachivka before 1945) was founded as a Jewish agricultural colony by settlers from Podolia and Volyn’ in 1850. When it was founded, 418 individuals (84 families) lived in the colony. 146 dozen plots of land were given to the colonists (a minimum of two per family). By 1869, the population had grown to 671. Many colonists were engaged in domestic crafts and petty trade. In 1870, of the 40 families actively farming, only two cultivated their land with their own equipment and animals. In 1897, a synagogue and a heder were operating. The entire population of 506 individuals was Jewish in 1897. During the Civil War, the Jewish community was subjected to pillage by the hands of robbery gangs. In 1925, a Yiddish elementary school operated. In 1926, the Jewish population had decreased to 326 (13% of the total population), as the youth migrated to the cities. In 1929, the kolkhoz Pyatrychka was created. In August 1941, Romanian troops occupied Mala Bahachivka. By that time, many members of the community had been evacuated or mobilised. In autumn 1941, the remaining Jewish community, 131 individuals, were murdered. After 1945, nearly a dozen Jewish families were residing in Mala Bahachivka. Today it is practically (and most likely formally) a non-existent village. According to the locals, now only one person lives there.