Jewish Communities Mark Victory Day in Former Soviet Union

Jewish communities throughout the former Soviet Union marked Victory Day by honoring their countries' Jewish veterans who fought in World War II.

In the west Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, students from the local Jewish school visited the homes of 80 veterans, where they recited poems and serenaded the residents.

Likewise, in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, students at the Ohr Avner Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn Day School went to the Beit Baruch seniors' home to recite poems and distribute flowers to the institutions' veterans.

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After the event, which was attended by old men and women clad in olive green and grey uniforms, bedecked in campaign ribbons and military honors, Ohr Avner junior school teacher Victoria Pliner said that children should remember the sacrifices of veterans.

"Residents of Beit Baruch are our grandparents," she said. "These are people who endured terrible times, and it is our duty to congratulate them with such a bright and joyful celebration. I would like to wish them welfare, health and long life."

Rabbi Shaul Adam, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to Lipetsk, Russia, was on hand for the Victory Day celebration in his city. Held in Lipetsk's central Heroes Square, the ceremony featured a performance veteran Mikhail Bronshetin.

Meanwhile, in Barnaul, Russia, the local Jewish community led by Rabbi Yisroel Kamenetsky, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the country's Altay Republic, turned out for a celebration that featured a dance performance by the Jewish youth club.

Victory Day, which officially falls out on May 9, commemorates the surrender of Germany to Allied forces and the end of World War II in Europe.