About this talk

Moscow, the capital of modern Russia, is home to the country's largest Jewish community, numbering around 100,000 people. Despite current political challenges, Jewish life continues to flourish, and visitors will find a rich landscape of historic and modern synagogues, community centers, and Jewish museums. While the community is now known for its vibrant religious and cultural life, this was not always the case.

This talk spans approximately 140–150 years, from the time Jews were first permitted to settle in Moscow to the present day. It explores the rise of Jewish business empires in the late 19th century and traces their legacy today, tells the story of a Jewish artist who became one of Russia's most celebrated landscape painters, and examines periods of restriction, including the expulsion of Jews from the city.

We will also visit key landmarks of Jewish heritage, including the Moscow Choral Synagogue and the Bolshaya Bronnaya Synagogue. The talk highlights the unique story of a modern "shtetl" established in the early 20th century that still exists today, and considers the economic life of Soviet Jews in towns around Moscow, where traditional intermediary roles often persisted despite the communist system.

Finally, we examine how the atmosphere and Jewish communal life in Moscow have evolved since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

About Evgenia

Evgenia Kempinski is a Russian Jew born and raised in St. Petersburg. Her family was originally from the Pale of Settlement - Poland, Ukraine and Belarus.

She was an official St. Petersburg tour guide for over 15 years, and she was the founder and owner of St.Petersburg Jewish Tours - a company offering Jewish travelers a unique experience of showcasing the best of the former Soviet Union and Scandinavia from a Jewish point of view.

Today, she is based in Barcelona, Spain, where she conducts both Jewish-themed and general interest tours in person.