St. Petersburg has handed over control of the city’s largest Jewish cemetery to local Jewish community leaders.
Dom Omoveniya, a synagogue-style structure, and the surrounding cemetery will be restored over the next two to three years, Mark Grubarg, the head of the Federation of Jewish Communities’ council in the city, told JTA.
The final documents to secure the transfer of the property to the Jewish community were completed last week, according to jewishpetersburg.ru.
Local representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities now control the cemetery.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is funding the rebuilding project. The cemetery had remained in a state of disrepair for eight years before city officials approached the Jewish community, Grubarg said.
“The restoration of Dom Omoveniya required huge funds which we did not have,” Grubarg said.
He said a public council will be comprised of community leaders in politics, science, culture and business.
