A merchant from Moscow in 1648 reported that Jews robbed and abused Ukrainians, including taking property and forcing wives and children to work for them.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 10 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 30%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
No provided source mentions the 1648 Moscow merchant's report or quotes him, so the claim cannot be checked against the sources. The scholarly sources describe Jews as the principal victims of the 1648 Khmelnytsky uprising, but they do not address whether Jews robbed or abused Ukrainians in the way the quoted merchant allegedly described.
What we found
Context. Multiple sources (YIVO, Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Gutenberg history, Wikipedia, Hanover's Abyss of Despair) document Jews as the main victims of massacres during the 1648 uprising. None of them addresses the specific merchant's report that Jews robbed and abused Ukrainians.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Context. The Jewish Encyclopedia article notes complaints by Christian merchants in Lemberg, Kamenetz, and Kiev about Jewish control of commerce before the uprising. This is a related grievance, not confirmation of the merchant's account of robbery and forced labor.[10]
Context. The fact-checking sources returned (PolitiFact listing, Reuters About page, Snopes collection) contain no ruling on this claim, so no fact-checker has examined it.[1][2][3]
Sources
10 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 5 not rated
- 1Latest Fact-Checks In Russiapolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2About Reuters Fact Checkreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Russia-Ukraine war: 30 claims we've investigated over the ...snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 4What Actually Happened to the Jews of Ukraine in 1648?home.uncg.edu · primary source · cited for: context
- 5Abyss of Despair • by Rabbi Nathan Hanoverpenelope.uchicago.edu · primary source · cited for: context
- 6The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europeencyclopedia.yivo.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Jews - Encyclopedia of Ukraineencyclopediaofukraine.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 8The Project Gutenberg eBook of History of the Jews In Russia ...gutenberg.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 9History of the Jews in Ukraine - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 10COSSACKS' UPRISINGjewishencyclopedia.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
- The Pete Quiñones Show · “There's a merchant from Moscow in 1648 who was there at the time of the rebellion, says, "The Jews robbed and abused the Ukrainians. As soon as they distilled vodka or brewed beer without telling a Jew, he did not take off his hat in front of one, the Jews assaulted him, robbed and ruined him, taking his property forcibly, and his wives and children to work for him."”Post →
Related claims
- Jews in Poland owned most of the land and most of the religious institutions in Ukraine in the name of their lords.False
- Jews served as tax farmers for Polish estates in Ukraine.True
- The Board of Agreement of 1649 and 1650 demanded that Jews and Polish landlords be prevented from returning to the region.Can’t tell
- Jews in the Polish Empire were granted rights over taverns, trade duties, mills, fishing rights, bridge tolls, dams, and Orthodox churches.True
- The island of Kaffa in the Black Sea was a Jewish island and the main slave mart.Mixed