Post Soviet Era

This is the second story in a series of articles on Jewish life in the former Soviet Union in the 25th year since the formal dissolution of the USSR on Dec. 26, 1991. ZHUKOVKA, Russia—The Jewish community center in this uber-wealthy village some 40 minute...

The entire notion of this wedding was surreal – actually, unthinkable. Over 2,000 people from around the world had flown into Moscow to celebrate a Jewish wedding, aided by the Russian authorities.

I was looking forward to what promised to be a new and fascinating experience. And Dnepropetrovsk isn't just any European city—it is the city where the Rebbe spent much of his childhood...

Misha is still sullen, taciturn and lost in thought. A life spent as an officer in the Soviet army has left him numb to ritual. Yet something drew him to this place . . .

His one hand held a wooden cane, the other somehow was suddenly on my shoulder. "Can you davven?" he whispered

In the course of the First World War, the huge Russian Empire succumbed to Communist rule; a generation later, half of Europe was consumed, and enslaved behind a curtain of iron. For the next half-century, people lived in a world hegemonized by two Superp...

I suppose every twenty-year-old should have an eighty-eight-year-old friend

Fresh snow covers the ground, thinking I’m too young to know. On the other side of the pit four Russians dressed like railroad or construction workers look me up and down. I try not to look back.

Jewish artifacts and property were stolen and stored away by the Soviet Government. Now changes are sweeping across Russia, and this should make it easier to retrieve what has been lost.

A conversation in Russian. Through your newspaper, you must reach out to every Jew and encourage them to increase their observance of Torah and Mitzvot. Teach them about the commandment of charity.