Moscow Hosts Awards Ceremony Honoring Contributions to Mountain Jewish Language and Cultural Heritage

At the end of last week, the annual Sergey Vainshtein Award ceremony, organized by the STMEGI International Charity Foundation, took place in the Under-Dome Hall of the Moscow Choral Synagogue. The event was attended by prominent business leaders, philanthropists, and politicians. The participants were addressed by Konstantin Blazhenov, Deputy Head of the Department of National Policy and Interregional Relations of the City of Moscow, and Galli Monastyreva, Chairperson of the Commission for the Development of Interethnic Relations, Interregional Relations, and Ethnotourism of the Council for Nationalities Affairs under the Government of Moscow. A welcoming letter from Igor Barinov, Head of the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs, was read by his deputy, Mikhail Ipatov.

This year's laureates of the award are director Irina Kandelaris (from "Kultura" TV channel) — recognized for her documentary film about the virtuoso composer Georgy Ismakov; Gennady Bogdanov, author of a modern textbook on the Mountain Jewish language; and Igor Babaev, President of the "Cherkizovsky" Agro-Industrial Complex, who authored a multi-volume historical study of his family lineage.

The award ceremony was also attended by Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow; Isay Zakharyaev, Vice-President of the STMEGI Foundation; Mikhail Chlenov, Head of the Strategic Council of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress; as well as representatives of the Mountain Jewish intelligentsia and officials from federal and Moscow agencies responsible for interethnic and interregional cooperation.

Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt also took part in the festive evening. Greeting the award laureates, he cited a quote from "Pirkei Avot" (Ethics of the Fathers), which contains the moral and ethical code of Judaism, and emphasized: "Our sages raise the question — who is respected? And they answer — the one who respects others. Sergey Vainshtein, the individual after whom this award is named, always showed immense respect for the unique and rich culture of Mountain Jewry. This formal evening is a tribute to his memory."

German Zakharyaev, President of the STMEGI Foundation and Vice-President of the EAJC, shared his assessment of the ceremony: "This evening demonstrated that the goals we set when establishing the Foundation have already been partially realized. Back in 2001, our dream was simply for our people to be recognized across this vast country. Yesterday, a key theme in the remarks of such distinguished speakers as Rabbi Goldschmidt and Mikhail Chlenov was that Mountain Jews have become not only highly visible on a national scale, but also — owing to their cohesion and commitment to traditions — a leading group within Russian Jewry. These words are the ultimate testament to the success of our efforts!"

The presentation of the Sergey Vainshtein Award is one of the most significant annual events for the Mountain Jewish community. Sergey Vainshtein played a pivotal role in the revival of Jewish religious life and national culture in modern Russia. From the early 1990s, he actively participated in the activities of Jewish organizations. The STMEGI Charity Foundation was established with his direct involvement, and he was also at the origin of the World Congress of Mountain Jews. The award was established in 2015. Since then, it has been bestowed upon many outstanding individuals whose activities have made an invaluable contribution to the development and preservation of Mountain Jewish culture, language, and traditions.