Communal riots between rival religious and ethnic groups were not unknown in the modern Russian Empire. However, only in 1881 did they resemble a mass movement, with the widespread outbreak of anti-Jewish riots throughout the southwestern provinces of the empire. The name applied to the riots—pogroms—came into widespread usage in Russia and abroad, and evolved into a generic term for any attack on an ethnic or religious minority.

The pogroms of 1881 and 1882 are widely regarded as the major turning point in modern Jewish history. Among Jews the pogroms prompted disillusionment with a solution to the Jewish question based on civic emancipation and social integration. They inspired new forms of Jewish politics of a nationalist form, such as Zionism and socialist organizations aimed at Jewish proletarians. The Russian state, in turn, moved away from policies designed to promote Jewish acculturation and integration.