Alternate names: Boguslav [Rus], Bohuslav [Ukr], Bohslov [Yid], Bohusław [Pol], Boguslaw, Boslev, Ukrainian: Богуслав. Russian: Богуслав. 49°33' N, 30°53' E, 63 miles SSE of Kyyiv (Kiev), 38 miles ESE of Bila Tserkva (Belaya Tserkov). 1900 Jewish population: 7,445.
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 165: "Boguslav".
- Shtetl Finder (1989), p. 9: "Bohslov, Boslev".
- Gelber in Sefer Drohobycz ve-ha-Sevivah (1959), 171-6; K. Holzman, Be-Ein Elohim (1956); T. Brustin-Berenstein in Bleter far Geshikhte, 6, no. 3 (1953), 45-100;
- Sefer Zikkaron le-Drohobiz, Borislav, ve-ha-Sevivah (1959), Heb. with Yd.
- Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), I, p. 288-291: "Bohusław".
Until 1939 in Galicia, Poland. Borislav supplied 75% of the oil in Poland in 1920, an industry pioneered by Jews and employing about 3,000 Jewish workers from the vicinity. In 1898 some of the unemployed workers petitioned the Second Zionist Congress to grant them the means to immigrate to Ereẓ Israel. The Alliance Israélite Universelle assisted approximately 500 workers to leave for the United States. The Jewish community of Borislav was part of the Drogobych kehillah until 1928. From 1867 to 1903, Borislav formed part of an Austrian parliamentary electoral district in which the majority of the constituents were Jewish. Jewish population: 1860 - about 1,000; 1890 -9,047 (out of a total of 10,424); 1910, 5,753 (out of 12,767); 1921, 7,170 (out of 16,000); and in 1939 over 13,000. When the Soviets took Borislav on August 7, 1944, about 200 Jewish survivors were found. Another 200 Jews later returned from the Soviet Union and from German concentration camps. A Holocaust monument was erected but was allowed to fall into disrepair. The Jewish cemetery closed in 1959. In 1970, the number of Jews in Borislav was about 3,000 with no synagogue. Most Jews left in the large-scale emigration of the 1990s.
photos. [October 2000]
CEMETERY: Stadionnaia St. Established in the 17th century. photos. [May 2010]
From the town square (WW2 tank) in the old town, head out of town towards Kiev, away from the new part of Boguslav. Travel 1/2 to 1 mile and turn left on to a side road. Go about a half mile. The cemetery is on the right behind a white fence with a cement factory on the left. Park in a small lot just past the cemetery.
The cemetery is on a hill overlooking a wide expanse of a valley and surrounding farms. Parts of the cemetery are completely overgrown. Access to the stones is extremely difficult. Other areas have been kept clear, probably by local animals grazing . Most of the about 200 remaining gravestones are in original location, but some have been knocked over or only the base remains. Some have all Hebrew inscriptions while some post WW2 are all Russian. The gravestones are in pretty good condition, but worn. The stones are very light in color making them difficult to read. A visitor painted many of the stones with black paint where the letters are. [October 2000]
fencing, vegetation clearance done. photos. [May 2010]