Amid Siberian Snowstorm, Honoring Victims of Soviet Persecution
Members of the Jewish community in Irkutsk gathered at a memorial site in a Siberian forest to recite Tehillim and Kaddish for Jews executed under Soviet rule, continuing a 20-year tradition.
by COLlive Editor · COLliveDespite a heavy snowstorm and freezing temperatures, members of the Jewish community in Irkutsk, Siberia, gathered this week at the Pivovarikha forest outside the city to commemorate Jews who were executed during the Soviet regime’s purges in the late 1930s.
The annual memorial gathering, now in its 20th consecutive year, brought community members to the site of mass graves where victims of Soviet persecution were buried. Participants ensured that a full minyan was present for the recitation of Kaddish and tefillos.
Before the group departed from the city’s central synagogue, Chief Rabbi of Irkutsk Rabbi Aharon HaKohen Wagner addressed the participants with words of chizuk and inspiration. As a Kohen, Rabbi Wagner was unable to enter the mass grave area.
Rabbi Wagner spoke about the importance of preserving the memory of those who perished and emphasized that the continued growth of Jewish life in Irkutsk represents a victory over the Soviet regime’s efforts to suppress Yiddishkeit. He encouraged community members to honor the kedoshim through increased Torah learning, tefillah, and mitzvos.
At the memorial site, participants walked along the snow-covered forest paths, stopping at the entrance memorial stone, the central Jewish monument, and the graves of individual victims.
Among those remembered was Reb Yitzchak Brodutzky HY”D, who served as the shamash of Irkutsk’s historic synagogue and was executed in 5698 (1938).
Reb Yitzchak was also a noted talmid chacham who maintained Torah correspondence with prominent rabbonim, including the Rogatchover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosen. He was involved in raising and transferring funds for Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim and the Mir Yeshiva before his arrest and execution by Soviet authorities.
Another moving moment came when community member Mrs. Yelena Ivanova visited the memorial plaque bearing the name of her grandfather, Reb Z. D. Tepper HY”D, born in 1891.
Reb Tepper worked as a leather cutter in a shoemaking cooperative before being arrested on false accusations of spying for Poland. He was executed in the Pivovarikha forest in Tishrei 5699 (October 1938).
Throughout the visit, participants lit memorial candles, laid wreaths, and recited chapters of Tehillim in memory of the victims. The gathering concluded with the recitation of Kel Maleh Rachamim and Kaddish.
The annual commemoration has been maintained for two decades under the leadership of Rabbi Wagner and the local Jewish community, helping connect younger generations with the history of Jewish life in Siberia and those who suffered under Soviet persecution.
Following the memorial service, participants returned to the central synagogue, resolving to increase in Torah, tefillah, and good deeds in memory of the kedoshim and to continue passing their legacy on to future generations.
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