Nova Ushytsia


Nova Ushytsia is an urban-type settlement in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast of western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of the Nova Ushytsia Raion, housing the district's local administration buildings. The town's population was 4,557 as of the 2001 Ukrainian Census and 4,404 in 2011.
It is located in the historical region of Podolia.
The settlement was first founded in 1439 as Litnivtsi and was part of the Podolian Voivodeship of the Kingdom of Poland. From 1702–1703, Litnivtsi was granted the Magdeburg rights. It was a royal city of Poland. In 1829, Litnivtsi was renamed to "Nova Ushytsia" to differentiate it with the town of Stara Ushytsia. In 1924, the town was granted the status of an urban-type settlement after it became the Nova Ushytsia Raion's administrative center.

The Ushytsia Case (Oyshits Incident)

Nova Ushytsia's name has become synonymous with the murder of two Jewish men by a group of men from their own Jewish community. The two men were accused of informing on fellow Jews who avoided paying taxes and serving in the military. Between 1838 and 1840  the Kiev governor, General Gureyev, seized the participants – 80 members of the local Jewish community including Rabbis and community leaders. They were all tried by a military court. Most were convicted of murder and sentenced to flogging and exile to Siberia.
Rabbi Yisrael of Ruhin was accused of allowing the murder of these two men to take place and was banished from his Hasidic court. He was later absolved of these accusations