Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, left, with Rabbi Yisroel and Deborah Melamed, and their children, in front of the new mikvah in Astrakhan, Russia.
Historic Home to Khazars and Cantonists, Astrakhan Gets a Mikvah
The Jewish community of Astrakhan has roots that go back to the dawn of recorded history in Eastern Europe. Situated near the salt mines of Lake Baskunchak, northwest of the Caspian Sea in the southernmost reaches of Russia, Astrakhan has experienced the historical ebbs and flows of Jewish trade and settlement. But for the last century, Astrakhan has been without one of the most central and important features of any Jewish community: a mikvah.
