May, 2009 we reached an emblematic date in the recent Jewish history – the twenty years anniversary of the All-Union Round Table on the problems of Soviet Jewry.

The New York newspaper “My Zdyes”(We Are Here) has recently published an extensive analytical report on the matter, prepared by a group of Israeli and Russian experts speaking on condition of anonymity, ordered by Moscow entrepreneurs who are deeply involved in Jewish philanthropic activities.

Lack of an intellectual elite, of a tradition of learning and interpreting texts, and of a common cultural canon, relevant to the given place and time, leads to atrophy of the cultural languages and therefore to loss of values and blurring of moral and ethical boundaries.

The Jewish community has three pillars to stand on: prayer in synagogues, Torah studies, and burial according to Jewish customs.

Russian-speaking Jewish communities nowadays consist of those who we call “Russian Jews”- they are the Jews of the USSR.