Krychaw is the center of the eponymous district of the Mogilev region of Belarus. It was first mentioned in sources from the 12th century. The first mentions of Jews in Krychaw date back to the 15th century.

In the 1740s, the local Jewish community suffered during the uprising of Vasily Voshchilo. Prince Hieronim Radziwiłł, who owned the settlement, increased taxes exorbitantly, which caused the uprising. The prince appointed Jews as tax collectors, so the anger of the rebels was directed at them. Voshchilo proclaimed himself the grandson of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and set the task of freeing Krychaw from the Jews. In 1744, Radziwiłł attracted regular troops to suppress the uprising.

After the division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772, Grigory Potemkin became the owner of Krychaw. He came up with the idea of ​​using Jews for military service. At the end of 1787, the prince began to create the Israel Cossack regiment. According to the prince's plan, Jewish Cossacks could be used to liberate Jerusalem.

By 1788, two squadrons were assembled, but five months later, the prince disbanded the regiment. According to historiographical legend, Potemkin did not think to use the Jewish regiment for clashes with the Turks. Recruited volunteers after training worked for the prince as scouts.

In the 1850s, the Moscow-Warsaw railway passed through the Krychaw volost, which contributed to the economic growth of the region. By 1897, there were 2,566 Jews in Krychaw, who constituted 38.6% of the population.

By the beginning of the 20th century, there were 5 synagogues in Krychaw, a Jewish male school and a savings and credit and charitable society.

Local Jews had a difficult relationship with the Soviet regime. In 1927, there was a serious conflict over the Jewish cemetery. The regional executive committee placed it at the disposal of the Krasny Kirpichik artel for the construction of a tile factory. Rabbi Leiba Yeselev Krendel, on behalf of the community, appealed to the authorities with a request to leave the cemetery to the community. When the authorities did not respond to the appeal, local Jews occupied the cemetery and obstructed construction work. There was a scuffle with the participation of the chairperson of the district executive committee. The incident was examined at the level of party and trade union organizations.

In 1929, the community tried to resist the confiscation of one of the synagogues by the authorities.

After the occupation in Krychaw, the Nazis created a ghetto, the prisoners of which were killed in the fall of 1941.

It is known that in the postwar years, believers gathered for ceremonies in private houses.

According to the 2009 census, Jews make up 0.04% of the 27,000 population of the district center.