The Jewish community of Severodvinsk celebrated its 20 year anniversary on January 16. The Society for Jewish Culture was established two decades ago in this Arctic port city. This was the very first national and cultural organization in the Arkhangelsk region to undergo official registration, which provided a powerful impetus to representatives of many other nationalities to form their own communities.
In 1939, when this port city was being established, only 213 Jews were registered as living in Severodvinsk, though among this small group were many well-known and respected people. The official registration of the Society of Jewish Culture in 1990 was a clear indicator that changes were occurring in the social and political structure of the former Soviet Union.
In 2000, the Society of Jewish Culture was transformed into the Jewish community of Severodvinsk. Since that time, the organization has had four successive chairmen: Boris Miropolsky, Semen Laskin, Victor Nadel and Mikhail Simkin. The latter has been acting in this capacity since December 2003 to the present day.
According to the press secretary of the Arkhangelsk Regional Jewish National-Cultural Autonomy, Alexey Novikov, nowadays the community holds weekly Shabbat gatherings and celebrates all Jewish holidays. There are numerous clubs as well as classes for the in-depth study of the Torah. Another important aspect of the organization is its interaction with other national and cultural organizations operating in Severodvinsk and the nearby port city of Archangelsk, including the Council of Nationalities of the Arkhangelsk Region.