Jewish St Petersburg

The first Jews appeared in Saint-Petersburg at the same time when the city was founded. They were very few and were all converts belonging to Peter’s circle. The time of Anna the first there were severe repressions with respect to Jews. Empress Elisabeth made the conditions even harder for them. The Jewish population increased considerably in the 1850s − 1860s when Alexander the second who succeeded to the throne in 1855, issued a number of laws making things easier for Jews. Nicolas the second was very tolerant of other religions and nationalities. A number of Jewish Synagogues appeared in the city and most of them functioned through the Soviet time. Nowadays the population of Jews is about 100000 people. And there are a lot of places in Saint-Petersburg are connected with names of most famous ones in the history of the city.

Places we are passing and talking about

• the old district Kolomna that was the center of Jewish life in the 19th century;
• visit the Great Choral Synagogue;
• the Coservatoire founded by Anton Rubinstein;
• walking from Kolomna district to the downtown;
• walking from the down town along the English embankment there was the Society for the enlightenment of Jews in Russia and then crossing the Neva river to the Basil Island;
• walking to the street Bolshaya Raznochinnaya to the Jewish Community center YESOD.

Duration: 5 hours.

Price: 60 USD .

N.B. High active level.

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