Memorial Board Dedicated to Jews Opened at St.-Petersburg Cemetery

On May 5th, 2014, the granite memorial board dedicated to the “Sons and Daughters of the Jewish People, Defenders of the city of Leningrad and Victims of the Siege", was solemnly opened at the Piskarevski Memorial Cemetery.

A group of enthusiasts from all major Jewish organizations of St. Petersburg have come up with the idea of the memorial board at the cemetery dedicated to those Jews who lived, fought and died in the city under siege. The initiators decided to contact Izraeli Ambassador in Russia, Mrs. Dorit Golender. She, in her turn, submitted her formal request to St. Petersburg City Governor, Georgy Poltavchenko, who approved the installation.

All financial expenses were covered by a St. Petersburg businessman, Andrei Gorbenko. Daniel Agranov, consul of the Consulate General of Israel in St. Petersburg, has also proven to be very helpful and supportive at making things happen.

The Piskarevski Memorial Cemetary in St. Petersburg shelters remains of over 420,000 civilians and 70,000 Red Army soldiers. There are no records indicating the national origin of the buried, however the names and patronymics sometimes do tell their story. The estimated number of Jewish city residents buried on the cemetery totals up to 40,000 people.

By Dima Sharov