As part of its ongoing activity, EnerJew, the FSU’s Jewish youth movement which reaches out to thousands of teenagers in over 50 locations, promotes profound acquaintance and study of selected topics in Jewish thought and tradition. Following a series of special classes and activities on the topic of kashrus and Jewish cuisine, a unique recipe contest was conducted resulting in a beautiful and fascinating kosher cookbook printed in the Russian language • Full Story, Photos

A new Children’s Сultural and Educational Center under initiative of the Jewish community opened in Tomsk on September 12. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the city’s Choral Synagogue. About 100 people attended the opening, including Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, leaders of FJC and city officials • Full Story, Photos

“Jewish religious organizations are doing a lot to facilitate Russia’s successful development, they devote tireless attention to fruitful social work and are actively involved in implementing highly popular educational, enlightenment, patriotic and charitable projects,” he said • Full Story

Rabbi Arie Reichman, Shliach of the Rebbe MH”M in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, was an honored guest at the grand celebration of the country’s 30th “National Day”, in which the small country celebrates its independence from the Soviet Union. There are less than 1,000 Jews residing in Kyrgyzstan to date.

The final JSummer Universal camp of this year came to an end. This summer, about two thousand Jewish children aged 5 to 16 enjoyed JSummer Universal camps in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Latvia and Estonia. Part of the FJC’s SmartJ informal educational network, JSummer Universal gave kids in 56 cities an opportunity to immerse themselves in an incredible atmosphere, to learn new things about their tradition and culture, expand their circle of friends and make lifelong memories • Full Story, Photos

More than 40 Jewish students from Russia and other former Soviet countries participated in YAHAD’s unique nine-day seminar, combining Yeshiva and vacation, immersing themselves in a deep and comprehensive study of fascinating topics in contemporary Judaism •  Full Story, Photos

Kazan Federal University and the local Jewish community join forces in a new partnership.  First of its kind Center for Jewish Studies will open this year at KFU, one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious Russian universities. This is a great gift for the Jewish community of Kazan and for the entire Republic of Tatarstan, revealed the Chief Rabbi of Tatarstan Yitzhak Gorelik • Full Story, Photos

The 2020-21 academic year posed an unprecedented challenge to students across the globe. Many of the lectures moved online and remote studying became the new norm. Nevertheless, nothing could stop the thousands of Jewish students from across the former Soviet Union from participating in FJC’s Jewish learning courses initiated by the YAHAD organization • Full Story

A touching memorial ceremony was held at the Old Jewish Cemetery of the Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) Synagogue community on Sunday. Once again, the widely known legend from the First World War was told. In a fierce combat, a Russian soldier was about to drive a bayonet through his enemy, when the German called out “Shema Yisrael…!”. The Russian soldier was also Jewish and answered his call. The slaughter ceased • Full Story

Eleven years after its establishment, the Jewish community on Moskovsky prospect in Southern Petersburg, Russia, has signed a contract for the purchase of a new building that will serve as a Synagogue and Jewish Community Center. Based in a central location, the new JCC will serve more than 5,000 Jewish families living in the area • Full Story, Photos

About 12 miles southeast of Moscow lies Malakhovka, a suburb surrounded by pine groves. This sleepy town holds some historic importance for Russian Jews, but what’s happening there today also says a lot about a long-persecuted community’s future • Full Story

“Bringing Heaven Down to Earth: 365 Meditations of the Rebbe”, a well-known book in communities throughout the world, is sold out in Russian bookstores. The price rose 22 times, but that didn’t lower the demand: an additional print run of 30,000 copies has been ordered and is expected to be snapped up within a month • Full Story

Perm, Russia: Shliach of the Rebbe MH”M, Rabbi Zalman Deitsch, received a vitally needed building permit from the municipality for the establishment of a magnificent Jewish center in center of the city. The long-awaited approval came two days ago on the 20th anniversary of his family’s arrival to the town, host to hundreds of Jewish families •

The Secret Room series combines comedy, adventure and educational elements to explore a variety of symbols and concepts from Jewish culture, history and lifestyle. The film is designed for preschool children and consists of 26 six-minute episodes performed in 3D and 2D techniques • Full Story

Just as every summer, Camp Gan Yisrael of S. Petersburg, Russia, directed this year by Shliach Rabbi Chaim Toluchensky ensured its campers would have an unforgettable experience. The camp provided its boys a summer of fun activities, trips, solid learning, and a Chassidishe atmosphere, all of which which helped provide them a very special summer 5781 • Photos

On June 23 the Jewish community of Volgograd held a funeral ceremony for Jewish civilians shot by the Nazis during the battle of Stalingrad in August 1942. Most of the victims were children, the youngest was only eight months old. Zalman Yoffe, Chief Rabbi of Volgograd and the Volgograd region, read the memorial prayer, and everyone who wished placed stones on the grave, as required by the Jewish tradition • Full Story, Photos

A new Rabbi has been appointed to serve the revived Jewish community of Taganrog, a port city on the north shore of the Sea of Azov in the Rostov-on-Don Oblast in Southern Russia. Rabbi Arie Leib Tkatch and his wife Mrs. Yehudit, formerly from the Jewish community of Krasnodar, will lead the community’s synagogue and religious services • Full Story, Photos

Tens of bochurim from Moscow and its surrounding areas gather each day in Moscow’s Central Marina Roscha Synagogue. The Temimim spend their summer days at home learning both with chavrusas, as well as hearing shiurim from local mashpiim and shluchim • Photos

Hamodia magazine published a 10-page article over the weekend about Kollel Torah, a learning initiative that teaches Torah to 7,000+ Jews in over 250 kollels across the former Soviet Union • Full Story, Download

The Rebbe’s Shluchim in the former Soviet, Muslim majority republic of Azerbaijan joined together for a special Shabbos Achdus before the 80th anniversary of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin’s arrival to American shores • Full Photo

Shluchim from various cities, towns and villages across Russia posed for a picture before Shabbos together with the Shliach and Chief Rabbi of Russia Rabbi Berel Lazar. The Shluchim are spending their third annual Shabbos Achdus together in the Chabad House of the Shliach Rabbi Zalman Zaklas in the city of Novosibirsk in Siberia, Russia.

A special project was initiated by Rabbi Berel Lazar, Russia’s head Rabbi, wherein tens of thousands of kits are distributed to Russian Jewry for the night of Pesach. Each set includes everything needed for the Seder, including a Kosher L’Pesach dishes, Shmura Matzah, the Simanim, food products, and a Haggadah with a detailed instruction booklet for the whole family • Full Story, Photos

Thousands of Jewish families across Russia and Belarus are receiving generous packages with food for Pesach. This project was done under the auspices of ‘Keren 770’ an organization dedicated to helping those in need • Photos

The London-based Arabic newspaper Rai Al-Youm, reports that Russia, in cooperation with the Syrian and under Israeli pressure, has been making “significant” efforts to locate the body of Israeli spy Eli Cohen in order to transfer it to Israel • Full Story

In recent years, Russia has seen a boost in production of kosher food with full factories making kosher products for the local communities and even exporting beyond the country, this week, the Shliach and Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar toured some of the factories to make sure they are operating on the highest standards of Kashrus. In addition Rabbi Lazar also visited a freshly built Mikvah • Photos