The New-York Times, By Ellen Barry

A stream of elegant visitors stopped in their tracks on Thursday as they toured Moscow's new Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, a sprawling, state-of-the-art complex underwritten by oligarchs close to President Vladimir V. Putin. They had never seen a shtetl like this one.

Rijeka elegantnih posjetitelja  se uputila,  u četvrtak,  u moskovski novi "Jewish museum and Tolerance center"  u Moskvi- umjetnički kompleks koji su "potpisali" oligarsi bliski predsjedniku Putinu. Nije se nikada do sada vidjelo "štetl" sličan  ovome. Putim je i sam donirao  svoju mjesečnu plaću  za izgradnju, koja je stajala oko 50 milijuna dolara. Organizatori kažu da je to najveći židovski muzej na svijetu- projekt koju  želi dati snažnu poruku Židovima čiji su preci emigrirali iz Rusije- Rusija  vas želi natrag.

Predsjednik Izraela Shimon Peres, koji je sudjelovao na otvaranju, rekao je da ga se duboko dojmilo. " Moja mi je majka pjevala na ruskom i prilikom ulaza u taj muzej, preplavile su me uspomene na djetinjstvo i glas moje majke je zaigrao u mom srcu", rekao je Peres (89), koji je rođen u području koje je danas Bjelorusija. "Došao sam ovamo da Vam kažem hvala - hvala Vam za tisuću godina gostoprimstva".

Postoje praktični razlozi predsjednika Putina za rehabilitaciju slike Rusije među židovskom dijasporom, čiji potomci mogu imati mračnu sliku o Rusiji. Židovi u toj  zemlji su bili prisiljeni živjeti u gusto naseljenim štetlima dugo vremena pod carskom vladavinom. Zatim je 70 godina komunizma  bilo bez židovskog života i religijskih učenja , uz "ugrađeni" antisemitizam.

Jedan od donatora,  bilionar Viktor Vekselberg je rekao da se nada da će muzej dovesti do dobrog "zdravlja"  židovskog društva u eri Putina i možda olakšati posljednje tenzije između Moskve i USA.

dalje ćitajte u originalnom članku:

...Mr. Vekselberg said the project had a personal aspect, since his father's relatives, who lived in western Ukraine, were all shot in a single day during World War II. He said it was a "conscious decision" not to focus the museum on the Holocaust, as many such museums in the West do. The displays here mingle brighter historical material, about thriving village life and the high status of Jews in the Soviet intellectual firmament, with darker chapters.

...On Thursday, Russia's chief rabbi — a close ally of Mr. Putin's — said that Jews "have never felt as comfortable in Russia as today," and that 100,000 Jews have returned from Israel as conditions in Russia have improved. He gave a guided tour of the museum to Mr. Peres, noting instances when Moscow acted in Jewish interests.

"This is the story of World War II, and what the Soviet and Red Army did to save the Jewish people," the rabbi, Berel Lazar, said. He then pointed out a Soviet T-34 tank, saying "with this tank, which was built by a Jewish person, Jews were saved from concentration camps."

...Whether Russia has become fully welcoming to Jews is a matter of opinion. The country's Jewish population began to melt away because of emigration after the collapse of the Soviet Union. More than 500,000 citizens identified themselves as Jews in 1989, according to the census; by 2010 the census count had dropped to 150,000, or 0.11 percent of Russia's population, though Jewish organizations say the actual number is far higher...

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