More than two centuries after the release of chassidic leader Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi from a S. Petersburg prison, corrections officers in the Russian metropolis joined Jewish community officials in dedicating a synagogue in the city’s newly opened Yablonevka Prison.

Known as the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman authored the foundational work known as the Tanya in 1796. He was released 213 years ago, on the 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, after being acquitted by a Russian commission of trumped-up charges rooted in his support of Jewish communities in the Holy Land.

The Dec. 12 ceremony included morning services presided over by Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, S. Petersburg Chief Rabbi Mendel Pewzner, and Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia military and law enforcement liaison Rabbi Aaron Gurevich, all Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries. Federal Penitentiary Service regional director I. V. Potapenko and the agency’s deputy in charge of social, psychological and educational programs, Vladimir A. Zatonsky, participated in the ribbon-cutting and dedication.

“There are no people lost to society,” declared Lazar. “When a person, even if he is in an institution, realizes that he can continue to evolve and to grow spiritually, that is a special moment. Hence, he is able to correct his previous mistakes.”

The new synagogue will host prayer services and Torah classes twice a month under the leadership of Rabbi Ifrah Abramov.


Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, center, presides over a prayer service Dec. 12 at the opening of the synagogue at S. Petersburg’s new Yablonevka Prison.


Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, left, and S. Petersburg Chief Rabbi Mendel Pewzner enter the new synagogue at the Yablonevka Prison.


“There are no people lost to society,” declared Lazar. “When a person, even if he is in an institution, realizes that he can continue to evolve and to grow spiritually, that is a special moment. Hence, he is able to correct his previous mistakes.”


Known as the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman authored the foundational work known as the Tanya in 1796. He was released from a S. Petersburg prison 213 years ago, on the 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, after being acquitted by a Russian commission of trumped-up charges rooted in his support of Jewish communities in the Holy Land.


Federal Penitentiary Service regional director I. V. Potapenko and the agency’s deputy in charge of social, psychological and educational programs, Vladimir A. Zatonsky, participated in the ribbon-cutting and dedication.


A Jewish prisoner dons the prayer boxes known as tefillin.


Rabbi Aaron Gurevich (holding plaque) serves as the military and law enforcement liaison for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.


Prisoners celebrate the synagogue opening with Jewish community leaders and corrections officials.