Tsar Alexander III (1881-1894) was hostile to Jews; his reign witnessed a sharp deterioration in the Jews' economic, social, and political condition. His policy was eagerly implemented by tsarist officials in the "May Laws" of 1882. They officially blamed Jews for the Tsar's death. They banned Jews from inhabiting rural areas and shtetls (even within the Pale of Settlement) and restricted the occupations in which they could engage. The Russian imperial police strictly applied the anti-Semitic discriminatory laws, while the Russian media engaged in unrestrained anti-Semitic propaganda. In 1891, all Jews were systematically expelled from Moscow. These repressions embittered many Jews against Russian society, convincing many that Russia could no longer be their home.