Page:International law and the discriminiations practices by Russia under the Treaty of 1832 (IA internationallaw00kuhn).pdf/5



Article 1 of the Treaty with Russia, concluded December 18, 1832, provides:

"There shall be between the territories of the high contracting parties, a reciprocal liberty of commerce and navigation. The inhabitants of their respective States shall mutually have liberty to enter the ports, places and rivers of the territories of each party, wherever foreign commerce is permitted. They shall be at liberty to sojourn and reside in all parts whatsoever of said territories, in order to attend to their affairs, and they shall enjoy, to that effect, the same security and protection as natives of the country wherein they reside, on condition of their submitting to the laws and ordinances there prevailing, and particularly to the regulations in force concerning commerce. (U. S. Treaties in Force, 1904, p. 660.)"

The Government of Russia has taken the position that a treaty of commerce and intercourse, such as that of 1832 with the United States, grants no greater rights to citizens of the United States, than is accorded to Russian citizens of the same “class” in Russia. Accordingly, a citizen, whether native born or naturalized, professing the Jewish faith, is denied a right of entry upon the sole ground that Russian subjects of the same faith are likewise denied the privilege of free ingress, egress and residence in Russia.