Under the reign of Nicholas I, the prosecution of Jews become official. The major provisions regarding Jews under his reign included conscription of Jews, including their children, which was passed in 1827, provisions regarding travel and settlement restrictions, signed to law in 1835, abolition of Qahal system in 1844, as well as expulsions of Jewish population from Kyiv, Kherson, and Sevastopol and bans regarding usage of Hebrew and Yiddish in public. The tsar also issued a decree in 1844 providing for creation of new Jewish schools, which were similar to district and governmental schools and which were aimed at assimilation of Jews. The population of Jews grew nevertheless, but its share dropped.