The persecution of Kobzars started in 1876 under Imperial Russia with the publication of the Ems Ukaz: stage performances by kobzars and bandurists were officially banned. Paragraph 4 of the decree was specifically aimed at preventing all music, including ethnographic performances in the Ukrainian language. As a result, blind professional musicians such as the kobzars turned to the street for their sustenance. In the major Russian speaking cities, they were often treated like common street beggars by the non-Ukrainian population, being arrested and having their instruments destroyed. The restrictions and brutal persecution were only halted in 1902 after a special delegation was sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the Imperial Archaeological Society.