Soviet Union

Soviet Union (in Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; also known by the initials S.S.S.R in Hebrew translation: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), was established as a result of the Communist Revolution or October Revolution that took place in Russia in 5678 (1917) by the Chairman of the Bolshevik Party Vladimir Lenin after the February Revolution in which the liberal provisional government seized power.

The USSR was a superpower that stretched across about 15% of all land on Earth, spanning Eastern Europe and North-Central Asia. Under its rule lived approximately half of the world's Jews. The Soviet Union was ruled by the Communist Party, and its rule was characterized by persecution and suppression of the Jewish religion. Many Jews, including numerous Chabad chassidim, sacrificed their lives to sanctify Hashem's name during the Soviet era, as part of the constant struggle against the government to maintain Jewish identity and observe Torah and mitzvos. The Rebbe Rayatz and the Rebbe waged a powerful battle to sustain Judaism and Chassidus in the Soviet Union throughout the entire period of Communist rule.

Background

The Soviet Union was the leader of the Eastern-Soviet bloc in the world and effectively controlled all Eastern European countries, leading the communist ideology that denied all religion. It was established on 11 Teves, 5683 (December 30, 1922) following the victory of the Red Army in the Russian Civil War, as a union between Soviet Russia and the Soviet republics of Transcaucasia, Soviet Ukraine, and Soviet Belarus, which were also established during the war. After World War II, the Soviet Union became one of the world's two superpowers (alongside the United States). The Soviet Union was ruled by the Communist Party and at its peak consisted of 15 sub-states called "Socialist Republics," some of which were conquered at a later stage during World War II.

Soviet Union Republics

1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Belarus
4. Moldova
5. Azerbaijan
6. Uzbekistan
7. Kazakhstan
8. Tajikistan
9. Kyrgyzstan
10. Turkmenistan
11. Moldova
12. Georgia
13. Lithuania
14. Latvia
15. Estonia

Soviet Economy

The Soviet Union's place in international institutions, including the United Nations, was taken by Russia, which was the largest of the republics and constituted the political and cultural center of the Soviet Union.

The communist system is based on the Marxist method. That is, absolute equal rights among all citizens. Therefore, there could not be an upper class and a lower class, but everyone was equal. For this purpose, during the first period of communist rule, the property of the country's wealthy was confiscated while they were killed or sent to Siberia. Food was received with vouchers, not through money, which led to a flourishing black market where food and other items were obtained illegally.

The authorities worked to erase the differences between religions and persecuted anything connected to religion.

Tens of millions of Jews lived in the Soviet Union. Today, the number of Jews living in Russia alone is estimated at 150,000, though some cite higher numbers.

Suppression of Religion

Laws Against Religion

The Communists advocated atheism, meaning a belief that there is no higher reality (Heaven forbid), and therefore with the revolution, the Communist regime began imposing restrictions on all religions, especially Judaism.

Among the laws designed to harm the observance of Jewish mitzvot were:

• Prohibition against providing Jewish education to more than three children together, alongside mandatory education in government schools. This prohibition was intended to prevent Jewish education for children.
• Prohibition against closing factories on Shabbat, which resulted in Shabbat observers losing their livelihoods, making it impossible for them to work in regular workplaces. Exceptions were private businesses managed from home.
• Many synagogues and mikvaot were closed by the authorities, and kosher slaughter was prohibited.

During that period, the "Iron Curtain" was imposed (prohibition of entry and exit), which turned the Soviet Union into one large prison and prevented any possibility of leaving the country.

KGB and Yevsektsia

The G.P.U. (the secret police of Russia) established the Yevsektsia (Jewish Department), composed of Jews who had strayed from the path and tried in every way to persecute religious institutions. They sealed mikvaot, locked synagogues, and spied on all religious institutions in order to arrest the Chassidim who operated religious services. Those who were arrested were sentenced to many years of exile in Siberia with hard labor, and those considered more "dangerous" were executed. The situation worsened when Stalin came to power after Lenin's death in 5684 (1924) and began harsh tyranny against all his opponents.

Underground Yeshivot

The Rebbe Rayatz sent shluchim to every possible place to open underground "chadarim" with Jewish education. He also warned all Soviet Jews not to send their children to government schools ("shkoles") due to the enormous spiritual danger, despite the risk of severe imprisonment and exile imposed by the authorities on those who broke the law. He also opened a network of underground yeshivot in many cities throughout the Soviet Union.

Arrest of the Rebbe Rayatz

The Rebbe Rayatz was arrested on 15 Sivan 5687 (1927) and sentenced to death. After a diplomatic campaign, the sentence was commuted to three years of exile in Kostroma. Eventually, he was released on 12 Tammuz. This ultimately led to his expulsion from Russia at the beginning of 5688 (1928).

On his first day in Riga, the Rebbe Rayatz established a committee to help Russian Jews from outside by sending money, food, and means for observing Judaism. Within Russia, several Chassidim were appointed to manage the network of underground Talmud Torahs and Tomchei Tmimim yeshivot. The Chassidim would receive valuable items through various emissaries, which they sold on the black market to earn money for operating the underground network of yeshivot and chadarim. He also worked to organize shipments of matzot for Pesach and the four species for Sukkot.

Waves of Arrests

During the 5690s (1930s), the secret police carried out waves of arrests in which many Chassidim throughout the Soviet Union were detained:

In 5690 (1930), a wave of arrests in Leningrad. In 5695 (1935), the NKVD conducted a wave of arrests in Moscow and Rostov of key figures involved in spreading Judaism. All were sentenced to three years of exile in Kazakhstan. Most survived the exile except for R' Yaakov of Skalik, whose whereabouts were lost.

During the following years (5695-5699/1935-1939), there were many waves of arrests.

The wave of arrests in 5698 (1938) took place in Leningrad, where about twenty-five Chassidim were arrested in one night, later called "the night of the ten martyrs of the kingdom." Twelve of them were executed, and all the rest were sent to Siberia for many years. The families of the murdered did not know the fate of their loved ones for a long time because they were told that they too had been exiled, and only years later were they told the bitter truth. On 9 Nissan 5699 (1939), Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the Rebbe's father, was arrested. As a result of the arrests, many Chassidim were forced to flee from the authorities and go underground.

World War II

During World War II, many Jews fled from the front lines in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus to the cities of Tashkent and Samarkand, where the Yevsektsia (Jewish Section of the Communist Party) did not operate with the same intensity as in the interior cities of Russia. As a result, Chassidic life flourished relatively in these cities, although even there they had to maintain secrecy. During the war, there were years of material shortages and severe hunger that claimed the lives of many Anash (Chabad Chassidim) who died of starvation. Later, there were years when livelihood became more abundant. During that period, the Rebbe Rayatz (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn) was engaged in sending packages to the Chassidim there, especially for sending matzos for Pesach.

The Exodus from Russia

Extended article – The Exodus from Russia 5706 (1946)

After World War II ended at the beginning of the year 5706 (1946), a rare opportunity arose to leave Russia. Russia allowed all Polish refugees to return to their country, as well as Russians who were married to Poles. The Chassidim identified the potential in this opportunity – it was possible to forge documents or purchase passports of Poles who had died or been exiled to Siberia and use them to leave Russia. The Russian government preferred to ignore the forgery industry so as not to publicize the fact that many Poles had died in Russia. After receiving approval from the Rebbe Rayatz, a special committee was established to organize documents for Chassidim so they could leave Russia. The method was to "assemble families" – allegedly Polish families that would leave the country in groups. Indeed, most of the Chassidim managed to leave Russia, but the last group that tried to leave was caught, and all its members were arrested and exiled to Siberia, among them was Reb Mendel Futerfas. The Chassidim who left Russia arrived in Germany and from there to New York and Eretz Yisrael.

During that period under Communist rule, many were murdered, thousands were exiled, and tens of thousands were imprisoned for studying Torah and observing mitzvos. Even after 5707 (1947), a large number of Chassidim remained in Russia. A small portion of them only left after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

In the Seventh Generation

Aid to Soviet Jews

The Rebbe worked throughout the years in various ways to help the Jews of Russia, whose situation under Communist rule was dire. Among other things, the Rebbe established a network of agents who entered the borders of Russia disguised as tourists, and through them, the Rebbe introduced tefillin, mezuzos, and other sacred items into Russia. Some of the shipments were transferred through Jewish collaborators who worked in various embassies in the Soviet Union.

However, the Rebbe firmly rejected open struggle against the Russian government, such as demonstrations, which not only led to no benefit but greatly hindered operations for Russia, to the extent that after one demonstration, the Rebbe said that the demonstrations prevented about a hundred families from leaving the Soviet Union.

Due to the Rebbe's extensive connections with Soviet Jews and his actions to help them, the KGB sent investigators to 770 to monitor the Rebbe. The Rebbe knew about this and took precautionary measures.

Prophecy of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union

On the second day of Shavuos 5724 (1964), at the end of the farbrengen, the Rebbe told the crowd to say l'chaim for the merit of the Jews of Russia. The crowd's response was apathetic, and after a few minutes, the Rebbe said that if they had said l'chaim for the merit of the Jews of Russia, they could have caused all of them to leave Russia.

On 6 Tishrei 5727 (1967), when no one dreamed of it, the Rebbe prophetically announced that the Soviet Union would disintegrate, and this would be a breakthrough and preparation for the coming of Moshiach. On Lag B'Omer 5740 (1980) at the parade, the Rebbe spoke about the permission according to the Russian constitution for Torah study and that every parent should educate their children in the way of Torah.

In 5746 (1986), the Rebbe began to take practical steps toward the fall of the Communist regime. He instructed to build immigrant housing for the many immigrants expected to come to Eretz Yisrael following the opening of the Iron Curtain. Following the Rebbe's words, the Shamir housing project was built in Jerusalem.

Collapse of the Soviet Union

In the late 1980s, cracks began to appear in the Soviet Union's "Iron Curtain." In 5747 (1987), Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced the "Perestroika" (restructuring) and "Glasnost" (openness) programs, which reduced Communist oppression and brought relative freedom to the Soviet Union. In 5749 (1989), Gorbachev signed an agreement with George Bush, the leader of the United States, which announced the end of the prolonged Cold War between the superpowers and a significant reduction in weapons development.

In 5751 (1991), the Soviet Union faced an economic crisis that threatened to collapse the country. In order to reduce government expenses, the government agreed to relinquish its technical control over the annexed countries. During this time, the Soviet Union also experienced coup attempts that led to the resignation of President Mikhail Gorbachev. This caused the additional countries to declare complete separation from the Soviet Union and hold general elections, resulting in the world's largest superpower dissolving without war.

With the dissolution of the state, the Russian Federation was established, which removed the Iron Curtain and permitted the departure of all Russian Jews. All restrictions on Jews were removed, and since then, it became possible to openly maintain Jewish life. During these years, the Rebbe's shluchim (emissaries) began arriving en masse to Soviet cities to rebuild Jewish life that had been desolate for so many long years.

In the month of Elul 5751 (1991), members of the Communist Party and the KGB attempted to stage another coup and take control of government buildings in Moscow. This caused great panic among citizens, and many of the Rebbe's shluchim who were in Soviet countries during that period (including bochurim who were sent to run summer camps) urgently asked the Rebbe what to do. The Rebbe's response was: "With the greatest astonishment I received the question - they should simply continue with all their programs, including the camps, until completion, and Hashem will grant them success and they will share good news." Within two days, the government succeeded in stopping the revolutionaries, and the coup attempt was prevented without bloodshed.

On 9 Tevet, 5752 (December 16, 1991), the collapse of the Communist regime occurred, which led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union into independent states, with capitalist economies and most declaring themselves as democratic or semi-democratic. Some of them operate with partial dictatorship.

The Rebbe's References to the Topic

Many times during the years 5750, 5751, and 5752 (1990-1992), the Rebbe referred to the overthrow of the Soviet Union as a redemptive process, accomplished through the power of the Rebbe Rayatz as the Moshiach of the generation.

In the month of Menachem Av, a convention of shluchim from the Soviet Union countries was held in Moscow, during which they visited the gravesites of our Rebbes in Lubavitch and the Rebbe's father's gravesite in Alma Ata. In the Shabbos Parshas Va'eschanan talk, the Rebbe referred to this and said:

Including also the "wonder" that is happening in these very days: a gathering of Anash and the shluchim in the country of Russia... this event is a matter of "wonders," that the same country that fought against the activities of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, the leader of our generation (and similarly regarding the activities of the Baal Hilula of the tenth of Av) in spreading Torah and the wellsprings outward, is now hosting and honoring his students and emissaries and those who follow his ways and paths in spreading Torah and the wellsprings outward - These "wonders" (which have already been seen in actuality) awaken and emphasize that immediately we will see the greatest wonder - the true and complete Redemption about which it is said "As in the days of your exodus from Egypt, I will show you wonders."

In the month of Shevat 5752 (1992), the Soviet Union signed an agreement ending the Cold War with the United States and on reducing expenditures on weapons production. The Rebbe dedicated a special talk to this, explaining that the event is a taste of the prophecy "They shall beat their swords into plowshares," which will be fulfilled in the Redemption.

The Rebbe referred to the exodus of Russian Jews and their immigration to Israel as a taste of the Redemption's promise of the ingathering of exiles.

Today

Following the fall of the communist regime and the establishment of a democratic government that permits and even supports Jewish studies, hundreds of shluchim (emissaries) are operating in countries that were under communist rule.

According to official data, approximately 205,000 Jews currently live in Russia and former Soviet Union countries, and experts estimate that there are over a million more Jews who are not registered or are unaware of their Jewish heritage.

The Shluchim

In the former Soviet Union countries, hundreds of the Rebbe's shluchim currently operate within various institutions and organizations including:

• Or Avner
• Ezras Achim
• Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia
• Agudas Chasidei Chabad in the Commonwealth of Independent States
• CHAMAH

In parallel, various other Jewish organizations operate in cooperation with the shluchim.

See Also

• Russia
• KGB
• Secret Shluchim to Russia

For Further Reading

• Rabbi Shalom DovBer Levin, History of Chabad in Soviet Russia, Kehot, 5749
• Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Gottlieb, Judaism of Silence
• Rabbi Zushe Wolf, Diedushka - The Lubavitcher Rebbe and Russian Jewry, Or Avner, 5767.
• Menachem Ziegelboim, Storming in Silence - Wives of Chassidim in Soviet Russia (2 volumes), 5765.
• Rabbi Menachem Zalmanov, Mi Armia Admura - The Rebbe's talks and the shlichus enterprise in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Ezras Achim, 5774.
• Russian Jews are Very Dear to My Heart, in the 'Chayei Rebbi' section, Kfar Chabad weekly 1949 page 50
• The Secret Emissaries Who Created a Quiet Revolution in Russian Jewry, Beis Moshiach weekly 8 Tammuz 5781 page 14

External Links

• 20 Years to the Miraculous Revolution in Russia ● Fascinating Overview -
• That Country, in the wedding memento of Tamarin-Margoliot, 12 Adar 5781
• Even an Iron Curtain Cannot Separate, Ki Karov periodical Parshas Balak 5783