Penitentiary 7 of S. Petersburg will now have its very own synagogue. By order of the prison director, Victor Bochkov, a special room was reserved in the building for this purpose. Jewish prisoners will have the opportunity to pray, study Torah and relax there. “While there are no more than 10 Jews here, they need a synagogue! There is an Russian Orthodox chapel in the penitentiary, so Jews must also have the same opportunity,” stated the prison’s Deputy Head for Education, Ludmila Kairys. The ceremony for the new synagogue was opened by Rabbi Ifrah Abramov, who has, for many years, been dealing with the problems of Jewish inmates in the S. Petersburg region.
“I am glad that we have found supporters at this correctional facility. As for the Jewish inmates, they are very enthusiastic about the synagogue,” explained Rabbi Abramov. “In prison, as elsewhere, self-identification is important. A person must understand who he is. A sense of belonging to Judaism provides tremendous moral support.” Thanks to Rabbi Abramov, inmates have already been participating in discussions about Judaism, Torah classes, and learning about the basics of prayer. Now that they have their synagogue, they can take things to the next level! The inmates are so inspired about this that they have volunteered to perform all the necessary renovations themselves, while the Jewish community of S. Petersburg will contribute the funds for the materials.
Of course, the synagogue will be equipped with Aron-Kodesh for storing the Torah scrolls, a Bima for reading the Torah, a bookcase, and holy books. Everything is just like in a conventional synagogue.
“Events in the synagogue will be held at a time when there are no scheduled activities, from about 1:00 to 3:00p.m. We do not limit inmates’ right to practice their religion. The only condition is that religious ceremonies should not affect discipline regarding such things as labor, food and bathing,” emphasized Ms. Kairys.
In March of this year, a synagogue also opened in the Butyrskaya Prison in Moscow. The Butyrskaya Prison synagogue was Russia's first synagogue at a detention center and was established just a few months after a cooperation agreement was signed between the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia and the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation. The project was initiated by Rabbi Aaron Gurevich, the head of FJC Russia’s Department for Cooperating with the Military, the Ministry of Emergency Affairs and Law Enforcement Agencies.