Of main Yiddish dialects in Europe, the Litvisher Yiddish (LithuanianYiddish) dialect was spoken by Jews in Lithuania, Latvia, and Belarus (Russia), and in the northeastern SuwaÅki region of Poland.
The Jews who dwelt in smaller towns and villages were not in need of such privileges at this time, as Abraham Harkavy suggests, and the mode of life, the comparative poverty, and the ignorance of Jewish learning among the LithuanianJews retarded their intercommunal organization.
Under the charter, the LithuanianJews formed a class of freemen subject in all criminal cases directly to the jurisdiction of the grand duke and his official representatives, and in petty suits to the jurisdiction of local officials on an equal footing with the lesser nobles (szlachta), boyars, and other free citizens.
A distinction is sometimes made between LithuanianJews in a restricted sense (from the provinces of Vilna, Kovno, and the northern parts of the provinces of Suwalki and Grodno) and the Belorussian Jews ("province of Russia").
Lithuanian Jewry was relatively less affected by the Chmielnicki massacres that devastated the Jews of Ukraine in 1648-49, and those perpetrated by the Haidamacks during the 18th century.
Jews were prohibited from moving from their house or place of residence without permission from the district or city commisioner; using the sidewalks; using public transportation; residing in spas; visiting parks and playgrounds, theaters, cinemas, libraries, museums, or schools; owning cars or radios.
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