Siberian mikvah is dedicated

Lenin Square and Epiphany Cathedral in Tomsk, Russia.

A new mikvah to replace one destroyed by the Soviets was dedicated in the Siberian community of Tomsk, Russia.

The dedication of the ritual bath last week came just months after the grand reopening of Tomsk’s historic Choral Synagogue and its Rohr Sanctuary and Jewish Community Center.

Soviet authorities had destroyed the mikvah, built in 1928, and replaced it with a 10-story apartment building.

The new mikvah was funded by S. Paulo, Brazil’s Ateret Ruth Foundation, with assistance from the Rabbinical Council of Europe in Brussels. It was named after Fridah Vogel and Esther Shur.