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History of the Jews in Kislovodsk

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Kislovodsk Jews
יהודי קיסלובודסק
Кисловодские евреи
Total population
600-700
Languages
Hebrew (in Israel), Judeo-Tat, Russian
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Ashkenazi Jews, Mountain Jews.

The Jewish Community in Kislovodsk are the Jews who have ever lived in the territory of modern-day Kislovodsk, the city in Stavropol Krai, in the North Caucasus region of Russia. Kislovodsk was one of the cities in the North Caucasus with a large Jewish community. In 1890, a synagogue and a rabbi's house were opened in Kislovodsk on Kuibyshev Street, which was later requisitioned by the Soviet authorities.[1] According to the census of 1912, 16 people of Jewish nationality lived in Kislovodsk, 6 women and 10 men. The total population as of January 1 of that year was 13,758 people. There are opinions that these figures were clearly underestimated, since by that time there were two prayer houses, and two Jewish cemeteries operated in Kislovodsk.[2]

History

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Until 1917, a rabbi and his family lived in Kislovodsk, and the community meetings were held in his house. Now this building is known as the cultural and architectural monument of the early 20th century, the "Rabbi's House".[2]

After the October Revolution in the 1920s and 1930s, intensive construction of a health resort complex was underway. The Soviet government did not prevent the emergence of highly qualified Jewish specialists in Kislovodsk. In 1926, 640 Jews already lived in Kislovodsk, which constituted 2% of the city's total population. In 1939, 766 Jews lived in Kislovodsk.[3][4]

In 1913, Jews owned a kerosene shop and two ready-made clothing shops. In the 1920s, there was a community of Mountain Jews in Kislovodsk. The shochets in Kislovodsk in the 1920s and 1930s were the Lubavitch Hasidim, Aryeh-Leib Gorelik (1888–?), who died during the Holocaust, and Yosef Gurfinkel, who died in exile in Fergana.[3][4] In 1929, the board of the city branch of OZET published the newspaper “Voice of OZET”.[3][4]

In 1936 the synagogue was closed. Later the synagogue buildings were used for shops, a drug addiction clinic, and various Soviet organizations.[5]

In August 1942, after the city was occupied by the Wehrmacht,[4] a Judenrat was created in Kislovodsk,[2] headed by Moisei Samoylovich Beninson (1878–?). On August 18, 1942, the registration of the entire Jewish population was announced. Jews aged 16 to 60 were sent to forced labor and were required to wear a yellow Magen David star on their chest.[4] On September 7, 1942, about 2,000 Jews were sent from Kislovodsk to Mineralnye Vody, where they were shot along with Jews from Yessentuki and Pyatigorsk.[2][3] In total, about 6,300 people were killed.[3]

After September 9, 1942, a raid was announced on the surviving Jews. Some local residents in Kislovodsk hid Jewish families and helped them secretly leave the city for the mountains.[2]

After the mass shooting of Jews in Mineralnye Vody, another 323 people were shot at Koltso-Gora [ru] in the vicinity of Kislovodsk.[2][3]

In 1948, a petition from Jewish believers to open a synagogue in Kislovodsk was rejected.[2][3] The same year, the Committee for the Support of the State of Israel was created. The members of this committee were subsequently repressed, and Jewish life in the city went underground. The Jewish community was also not spared the famous "Doctors' plot."[2]

In the 1980s and 1990s, Mountain Jews increasingly began moving to Kislovodsk from Derbent, Makhachkala, Khasavyurt, Nalchik and Grozny.[2]

In 2000, a religious community was created in Kislovodsk,[2] where the leader was Victoria Mikhailovna Lanovaya (b. 1947).[6]

In 2002, about 1,500 Jews lived in Kislovodsk.[3]

Since November 2003, a Sunday school for children has been operating in the community. Children study Hebrew language, history, and traditions of the Jewish people. The community actively operates youth and family clubs.[2] In 2009, Tatyana Viktorovna Yakubovskaya became the chairperson of the community.[6]

In 2017, a monument was erected at the site of the execution of Jews during the Holocaust.[4]

In 2019, the synagogue, requisitioned during the Soviet era, was returned to the community. The Jewish Community in Kislovodsk has appointed Akiva Khudainatov as the rabbi of the synagogue.[5][6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "How we bought the Kislovodsk synagogue". JEPS News. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Solomonova, Milana (5 August 2012). "Jewish Community of Kislovodsk". STMEGI Media Group. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Кисловодск :: Федерация Еврейских общин России". Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Dedicated to the memorable date of the Jewish community". Our Kislovodsk Media Group. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Spreading Warmth and Light: How the Synagogue in Kislovodsk Was Built and Is Being Restored". kislovodskiy - Kislovodsk Portal. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Kislovodsk Jewish Community Participates in National Unity Day Celebration". STMEGI Media Group. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
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