Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jewish Congress
At the Center of Jewish life
in Russia since 1996
If I am not for
myself, then who
will be for me?
And if I am only for
myself, then what
am I?
And if not now,
when?
(Hillel)
Contents
Contact
information:
46 Bolshaya Pereyaslavskaya St.,
Building 2 (third floor), Moscow,
Russia, 129110
Tel. +7 (495) 777-65-75
Fax: +7 (495) 777-65-74
E-mail: info@rjc.ru
www.rjc.ru
Opening remarks
Structure
Budget
Main activities
The Holocaust
Cultural projects
Museums
Charitable activities
10
Educational projects
11
Informational activities
12
13
14
RJCs objective
We are Jews and we live in Russia. We are part of Russia,
and we are part of the Jewish people. We shall not give
up either of these elements because both are integral to
our reality. We value them both, we want reasons to be
proud of both, and these reasons should be obvious to
both others and ourselves.
RJC Structure
BUREAU OF THE PRESIDIUM
The supreme body in the Funds management,
which determines the Funds strategy and
takes decisions about its work.
Annual contribution
$370,000
VICE PRESIDENTS
Manage and oversee specific projects.
Annual contribution
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Coordinates the work of projects and their
direction.
Annual contribution
PHILANTHROPISTS
Board of Directors, as well as vice-presidents, are negotiated individually, but amount to at least $50,000 per person.
RJC budget
2012
$9,500,000
$8,720,000
$6,770,000
RJC Board Members simultaneously oversee the RJC and other major charitable
funds; the volume of financing considerably exceeds the RJCs budget:
Genesis Philanthropy Group
Phoenix Fund
Charity Fund of Mountain Jews (STMEGI)
Jewish Agency for Israel
Wolfson Foundation
Account information
American Friends of Russian Jewish Congress
First Tennessee Bank Memphis,TN
SWIFT: FTBMUS44 ABA routing number: 084000026
Beneficiary: EAGLE BANK Beneficiary account: 100247994
Bank Address: 7815 Woodmont Avenue ,Bethesda, MD 20814,301-986-1800
Routing or ABA # 055003298
Address: 2020 K Street, NW, Suite 7800, Washington, D.C. 20006
Account # 200050334
2011
2010
Visual of a
Synagogue in
Saratov
Synagogue
in Voronezh
Synagogue in Tomsk
Contact
information:
46 Bolshaya Pereyaslavskaya St.,
Building 2 (third floor), Moscow,
Russia, 129110
The RJC is also involved, together with the regional
Boards of Trustees and the Jewish Agency Sochnut, in
providing financial, organizational and methodological
support for 18 Sunday schools.
Unveiling of a
commemorative
monument in
Lubavitchi
the framework of RJC interfaith relations. Thus, as part of the Restore Dignity project, a memorial to Holocaust
victims was established in the city of
Lubavitchi together with Russian Protestants. The search for burial sites is
also taking place within Russia, and
reconstruction works are being carried
out in the Stavropol Region. The RJC
regularly cooperates with leading organizations in terms of researching the
Holocaust, including the Holocaust
Center in Moscow, the Yad Vashem memorial complex in Jerusalem, and many
others.
A
i
A
C
Fi
S
B
B
R
A
A
Victory Memorial
in Israel
The RJC is main sponsor of the Israels National memorial marking the Red Armys Victory over Nazi Germany
to be erected in the city of Netanya (Israel).
This is the first monument to the Red Army erected outside the former Soviet bloc. Its establishment marks
an important event in the life of Russian-speaking Israel, especially for those veterans living there, and for
Russia as a whole with respect to relations between
our two countries and peoples. Its dedication will be
held in Summer 2012 and will involve Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Account
information
American Friends of Russian Jewish
Congress
First Tennessee Bank Memphis,TN
SWIFT: FTBMUS44 ABA routing number: 084000026
Beneficiary: EAGLE BANK Beneficiary account: 100247994
Bank Address: 7815 Woodmont Avenue ,Bethesda, MD 20814,301-986-1800
Routing or ABA # 055003298
Address: 2020 K Street, NW, Suite 7800, Washington, D.C. 20006
Account # 200050334
Cultural support
The development of ones national culture is essentially the task of the people
to whom it belongs. There is nobody in Russia except the Jews who will take
care of Jewish cultural issues. For any Jewish organization, with the exception
of the RJC, taking care of secular Jewish culture is not part of its profile.
We should interpret Hillels quote literally: If not us, then who? Without any
exaggeration, we can say that the fate of Jewish culture in Russia depends
on us. That is, on you too because without your participation, we would not be
able to implement any major projects.
The International Festival of Jewish Culture. This is the most ambitious RJC
project in this sphere. The Festival shall feature performances by the most prestigious theaters and concert ensembles, outstanding performers, film screenings
on Jewish themes, and exhibitions of prominent artists works. Plans involve
this festival becoming a regularlyheld event. It will be an important event
in the cultural life of Russia and the world of Jewish culture. Sponsorship of
this event is an honorable and prestigious mission.
We also intend to continue to support existing RJC projects, as follows:
Jewish Mens Choir under the direction of Alexander Tsalyuk - This is the only
classical mens choir in all of Russia. The RJC supports both the group itself and
some of its special projects, in particular, the joint program of the Jewish Male
Choir and Peoples Artist of Russia Tamara Gverdtsitelis Songs in Yiddish.
Supporting Jewish theater is an important area of the RJCs work. Providing
support for individual theater companies on an ongoing basis (such as the
Shalom Moscow Jewish Theater under the artistic leadership of Peoples Artist
of Russia Alexander Levenbuk), as well as tours to Russia by Israeli groups:
The Gesher Theater is one of Israels leading theaters, founded by a group of
emigres from Russia and currently under the leadership of Director Yevgeny
Arye. The Gesher Theater performs mainly in Hebrew with Russian subtitles.
Geshers tours to Moscow, the last one of which was highly successful, was made
possible thanks to the RJCs sponsorship.
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta is one
of the finest symphony orchestras in the world. The RJC is involved in financing
the only concert given by this celebrated group in Moscow, which will be held
in May 2012.
Contact
information:
46 Bolshaya Pereyaslavskaya St.,
Building 2 (third floor), Moscow,
Russia, 129110
Tel. +7 (495) 777-65-75
Fax: +7 (495) 777-65-74
E-mail: info@rjc.ru
www.rjc.ru
Museums
school curriculum for teaching history, which was largely made possible through
the RJCs efforts.
The RJC is currently interested in expanding the museums educational activities and restructuring its exhibits - this is a sizable task. You can take part in
making this possible. Improving the exhibits will boost attendance and increase
the emotional impact on visitors, who are mostly non-Jews. An understanding
of the tragedy experienced by the Jewish people during the Holocaust will
serve to promote tolerance within society, which is important for both our
generation and our childrens. In Russia, unfortunately, the problem of xenophobia and anti-Semitism is always omnipresent.
Museum of the History of Jews in Russia. This unique museum, with exhibitions comprised of more than 5,000 original artifacts, was established in May
2011 by RJC Presidium Member Sergey Ustinov, who is also the Chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the Holocaust Museum at the Poklonnaya Hill. We are (and
also hope you will be) interested in having as many Jews and non-Jews as possible learn about and visit this museum, so that as many people as possible, both
from Russia and elsewhere, will become acquainted with the history of Russian
Jewry and realize the contribution that Jews have made to advancing cultural
life in Russia. This also requires investment.
President Boris Yeltsin at the historic ceremony for the opening of the
Memorial Synagogue at Poklonnaya
Hill. September 1998
10
Charitable
activities
The moral health of a society is defined in terms of its relationship with the
elderly, the sick and children. Helping the weak and those who really need support and care is one of the most important national traditions of the Jewish
people - it is also one of the key objectives of the RJC.
This activity is carried out through a system of Chesed charity organizations.
In Russia, there are 56 Chesed organizations operating under the auspices of
the RJC, which collectively offer assistance to 100,000 people on an ongoing
basis. But the structure of Chesed needs support, including your own. It will
take a lot greater resources in order to carry out this work at a decent, modern
level, and costs continue to rise. Thank G-d, the life span of Russias Jewish
population of Russia is high, exceeding the national average. Due to this fact,
there are many elderly Jews today and not all of them are able to care for themselves physically or provide for themselves financially.
In todays Russia there are no hungry Jews, but the overall level of consumption
has grown, social standards have changed, prices are constantly rising - and it
is becoming more and more expensive every year to ensure a decent standard of
living for the elderly, chronically ill, disabled, and children from disadvantaged
families. We would be ashamed to look away from the eyes of people who
need our help people who we are unable to help due to a basic lack of
resources.
It is inevitable that the costs of operating Chesed organizations continue to
rise - so here we are counting on your support. We are talking about our general
elderly, our physically challenged (disabled) and our children. Often they have
nobody other than us that they can turn to for help. Tzedaka is the most im
portant Jewish tradition, and is no less important than observing kashrut, abstaining from leavened bread during Passover, and having fun on Purim. While
many of us do not follow all of these traditions, one thing is certain: we cannot
simply ignore a neighbor in need.
At the upcoming meeting of RJC Officers, participants will discuss how elderly
people may be best assisted - by building senior citizens homes or developing
a home caregiver system. While the latter seems to be the most rational approach, either of these solutions would require additional expenditures.
The RJC also provides aid to Jewish children from disadvantaged families. The
childrens home (orphanage) Anita Center-Big Family orphanage operates in
Moscow (in 2011, the RJC allocated $385,500 for this project).
Educational
projects
Contact
information:
46 Bolshaya Pereyaslavskaya St.,
Building 2 (third floor), Moscow,
Russia, 129110
Tel. +7 (495) 777-65-75
Fax: +7 (495) 777-65-74
E-mail: info@rjc.ru
www.rjc.ru
11
If we do not do this ourselves, nobody will do it for us. In becoming connected to the solution to this challenge, together we will certainly have a greater
chance of success. All of this costs a considerable amount of money, but its
definitely worth the investment. We need to increase the level of investment
in this area, and are counting on your support to achieve our common national
objectives.
12
Informational activities
There is significant public interest in the RJCs work and
the organizations website is visited by about 500 people
per day.
The RJCs activities constantly pay attention to leading
Russian and foreign media. Reports on the RJCs most
important initiatives and actions are broadcast on such
major news agencies as RIA Novosti, Interfax and ItarTASS, the newspapers Kommersant, Vedomosti, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Novaya Gazeta, Novye Izvestia, Vechernyaya
Moskva and Komsomolskaya Pravda, the TV channels TVC,
Dozhd, Russia Today, Zvezda and Stolitsa, the radio stations Echo Moskvy, Russian Service News, Vesti FM, City
FM, as well as dozens of other print and electronic media
sources.
Recently, RJC activities have also received coverage by
famous foreign media: the American edition of the New
York Times, TV BBC World, the TV sites CNN and EuroNews,
and leading Israeli media.
Contact
information:
46 Bolshaya Pereyaslavskaya St.,
Building 2 (third floor), Moscow,
Russia, 129110
Tel. +7 (495) 777-65-75
Fax: +7 (495) 777-65-74
E-mail: info@rjc.ru
www.rjc.ru
13
VicePresidents
Aleksandr Chudnovskiy
Mikhail Simonov
Rabbi Yakov Tipograf
Sergey Ustinov
Aleksandr Verhovsky
German Zaharyaev
Board of Directors
Alexander Merman
Boris I. Mints
Executive Director
Benny Briskin
Presidium of the RJC Foundation
Alex Blavatnik
Len Blavatnik
Mikhail Fridman
German Khan
David Iakobachvili
Yury I. Kanner
Boris Kiperman
Eugenia Lvova
Leonid B. Melamed
Boris I. Mints
Mikhail M. Mirilashvili
Shlomo Neeman
Rabbi Yakov Tipograf
Elena Rachkova
Andrey N. Rappoport
Mark Shabad
Gregory Shtulberg
Mikhail Simonov
Sergey Ustinov
Yury Zelvensky
Anna Zhuravel
German Zaharyaev
Yury Zelvensky
Past Presidents
Vladimir Goussinsky
Leonid B. Nevzlin
Evgeny Satanovsky
Vladimir Sloutsker
Vyacheslav Kantor
1996 - 2001
2001
2001 - 2005
2004 - 2005
2005 - 2009
Public Council
Eugenia Albats
Aleksandr Asmolov
Mikhail Berger
Natalia Bestemyanova
Yakov Brand
Mikhail A.Chlenov
Vladimir Dvinskiy
Zlata Elbaum
Greta Elinson
Igor Elkis
Dmitry Elyashevich
Matvey Ganapolskiy
Aleksandr Gelman
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt
Tankred Golenpolskiy
Evgeniy Gontmakher
Yuly S. Gusman
Rabbi Dovid Karpov
Gennadi Khazanov
Rabbi Zinovi Kogan
Arkady Kovelman
Rabbi Berel Lazar
Aleksandr Levenbuk
Aleksandr Militarev
Aleksandr Minkin
Victoria Mochalova
Sergey Parkhomenko
Mark Rakita
Henri Reznik
Mark Rozovski
Rabbi Adolf Shaevich
Vladimir Shapiro
Pyotr Shelisch
Vladimir Solovyev
Vladimir Vishnevskiy
Mikhail Zhvanetsky