Yisroel has been researching the history of the Vladivostok Jewish community, and discovered some very interesting things.
The first rabbi in Vladivostok was a Chabad rabbi, Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi. He was originally from some other part of Russia, and was drafted into the army. He served for 5 years, until he was granted an exemption by a doctor. He was released from the army, but couldn't go back, so he came to Vladivostok. He sent for his bride who was patiently waiting for him in his hometown, and he became the rabbi here.
By all accounts, he was a very special man. Russia became embroiled in a war of the Czars vs. the Communists. One day, two Jewish communists came to his home seeking refuge from the government. He insisted on helping them, because, after all, they were Jewish. Later, it became too dangerous for him to stay in Vladivostok, but it was impossible to leave at that point. His wife enlisted the aid of these two Jews, who now held positions of power in the new Communist regime, and they helped him escape.
In it's heyday, the Jewish community consisted of about 3,000 Jews. (It's interesting that today, it is estimated that double that number live here.)
Vladivostok was one of the last places to fall to the Communists, and therefore, had the last functioning Jewish community in all of Russia.
For a while, various countries had armies stationed here, as they were helping the Czarist White Army. In 1923 or 1924, a pogrom was planned against the Jews of Vladivostok. There was a large Jewish community in Harbin, about 300 miles from Vladivostok. The Jews there got in touch with an embassy of a country stationed in Vladivostok, who threatened to take over control of the city if the pogrom was not canceled. The plans for the pogrom were canceled.
When I get to New York and we have proper internet service, I will post some pictures, please G-d.
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2 comments:
Could you elaborate please on some of the things you mentioned in the post?
How do you know that it had the last functioning community? Surely, they were places that communists didn't rush to dismantle the Jewish infrastructure. (Remember Hoffman's Red Shtetl. Although that was extraordinary in that the community was never touched, there must have been other places that lasted for a shorter period.)
When did the first Jews move to Vladivostok? (I have found that the best way to find that out is to check the earliest dates on graves in the cemetery.) It might turn out that were some there earlier than documented.
The truth is that this post was entirely based on the conversations that Yisroel had with various people, including Rabbi Askenazi's relatives, and the president of the Iggud Yotzei Sin. This is the most detailed information we have gotten yet. As far as the cemetery, the Jewish cemetery was unfortunately torn up and paved over. A local historian told us that the first Jews arrived in the early 1900s. He is not Jewish himself, but is fascinated with the Jewish history of the city, because, as he says, it is a Jewish city, built basically by Jews.
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