The Choral Synagogue () is a former

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, that is located at Ulitsa Isakovskogo 9, in

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, in the

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Designed by Nikolai Zaputriaev in the

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

style, the synagogue was completed in 1914. However, by 1922, the building and its contents were confiscated by Soviet authorities. The site of the former synagogue has subsequently been used as a

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

and is owned by the Smolensk College of Telecommunications. There are now two synagogues and five chadarim in Smolensk.

History

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were first recorded in Smolensk in the 15th century, when Prince

Vytautas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

of Lithuania got Smolensk in 1404 and granted it the

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

and other privileges. 1728 the Jewish businessmen acquired the right to come in Smolensk on trading affairs. 4,600 Jews, 10% of the total population, were mentioned in Smolensk in the 19th century. Though Smolensk was not included into the

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

, in the 18th and 19th centuries the number of Jews in the city gradually increased and in 1896 had reached 4,651 people (about ten percent of the city's population). Jews traded in wood, flax and grain and were engaged in financial activities. In the beginning of the 20th century in Smolensk there were two synagogues and five chadarim and a Jewish initial school created on the basis of the Talmud. The society of the help to the poor Jews was founded in 1898. In 1910, the Jews of Smolensk were victims of a bloody

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

; in city there were rabble-rousing conditions. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

a large number of Jews arrived in Smolensk, who had fled or were evicted from the front line, in particular from Latvia. After an establishment in Smolensk under the Soviet authority (November, 1917) a gradual liquidation of the Jewish establishments began. In 1922 the Choral Synagogue was confiscated by the Soviet authorities. By 1926, the number of Jews in the city reached 12,887 people (16.2% of all population). The Jewish pedagogical school working under the aegis of

Yevsektsiya A Yevsektsiya ( rus, евсекция, p=jɪfˈsʲektsɨjə; ) was the ethnically Jewish section of the Soviet Communist Party and its main institutions. These sections were established in fall of 1918 with consent of Vladimir Lenin to carry Part ...

was moved from Gomel to Smolensk in 1929. 13,000 Jews, 8% of the total population, were in Smolensk before the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In days of fights for Smolensk many Jews were lost, the part ran from city. After Smolensk was occupied, the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

created a

Jewish ghetto Jewish ghetto(s) can refer to: *Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany *Jewish ghettos in Europe of early Modern Era *Jewish quarter (diaspora) worldwide *Shanghai Ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stat ...

in the suburb of Sadki and drove there about two thousand the Jews remaining in the city and its vicinity. By December 1941 all of them were destroyed. According to population census, in 1959 there were 3,929 Jews in Smolensk; in 1970 there were 3,662; in 1979 there were 3,223; and in 1989 there were 2,645 Jews. There were no synagogues in the city during the post-war period. The number of Jews in the Smolensk area in 1959 was 5,991 people; in 1970 there were 5,316; in 1979 there were 4,451; and in 1989 there were 3,536 Jews. Today the former Choral Synagogue is used as a vocational school.

References

External links

{{Synagogues in Russia 20th-century synagogues in Russia Buildings and structures in Smolensk Oblast Culture of Smolensk Oblast Former synagogues in Russia Moorish Revival architecture in Russia Moorish Revival synagogues Synagogue buildings with domes Synagogues completed in 1914

History

See also

References

External links