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Created page with "{{short description|Umbrella Jewish organisation in Russia, founded 1996}} {{Infobox organization | name = Russian Jewish Congress | native_name = Российски..."

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{{short description|Umbrella Jewish organisation in Russia, founded 1996}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Russian Jewish Congress
| native_name = Российский еврейский конгресс
| native_name_lang = ru
| type = Non-profit charitable fund and umbrella organisation
| formation = January 1996
| headquarters = Moscow, Russia
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = Alexander Gentsis (since May 2025)
| website = https://rjc.ru/
}}

'''Russian Jewish Congress''' (Russian: '''Российский еврейский конгресс''', abbreviated as '''REK''' or '''RJC''') is a non-profit charitable fund and the largest indigenous Jewish umbrella organisation in Russia, founded in January 1996 in Moscow by a group of Jewish businessmen, activists, and religious figures with the goal of reviving Jewish life in post-Soviet Russia and unifying Jewish organisations.<ref name="RJC founding">Russian Jewish Congress, [https://rjc.ru/istoriya-sozdaniya-rek/ История создания РЕК] ''rjc.ru'', accessed February 26, 2026.</ref><ref name="YIVO">YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article.aspx/Russian_Jewish_Congress Russian Jewish Congress] ''encyclopedia.yivo.org'', accessed February 26, 2026.</ref>

== History ==

The Russian Jewish Congress was established in 1996 as the first major post-Soviet national Jewish organisation in Russia, created by an initiative group of prominent Jewish businessmen and community leaders to coordinate and revive Jewish communal life after the collapse of the USSR.<ref name="RJC founding" /> Vladimir Gusinsky, a prominent media tycoon and oligarch, was elected its first president and played a central role in its founding.<ref name="Gusinsky founding">Britannica, [https://www.britannica.com/money/Vladimir-Gusinsky Vladimir Gusinsky] ''britannica.com'', accessed February 26, 2026.</ref>

In its early years, the RJC positioned itself as the main representative body of Russian Jewry, focusing on cultural revival, education, welfare, and international Jewish ties. It was more liberal and had stronger connections to Zionist and Western Jewish organisations compared to the later Chabad-dominated Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR).<ref name="Moment 2015">Moment Magazine, [https://momentmag.com/putins-jews/ Putin's Jews] ''momentmag.com'', 5 November 2015.</ref>

Following Vladimir Gusinsky's conflict with the Putin administration in 2000–2001 (including the takeover of his Media-Most empire and his subsequent exile), the RJC's influence significantly declined. The Kremlin shifted its preference to the Chabad-led FJCR under Rabbi [[Berel Lazar]], which became the de facto state-recognised Jewish representative body.<ref name="Forward 2017">Forward, [https://forward.com/news/384236/chabad-feuds-with-jewish-leaders-over-cozy-ties-to-eastern-european-autocra/ Chabad Feuds With Jewish Leaders Over Cozy Ties To Eastern European Autocrats] ''forward.com'', 8 October 2017.</ref>

The organisation continued to operate under subsequent presidents, focusing on charitable work, Holocaust education and memory projects, support for children with special needs, elderly care, and cultural programmes.<ref name="RJC 2025">RIA Novosti, [https://ria.ru/20250721/gentsis-2030317626.html Александр Генцис обрисовал свои задачи во главе Российского еврейского конгресса] ''ria.ru'', 22 July 2025.</ref>

== Leadership ==
Presidents of the Russian Jewish Congress:

* [[Vladimir Gusinsky]] (1996–2001)
* [[Leonid Nevzlin]] (briefly 2001)
* [[Yevgeny Satanovsky]] (2001–2005)
* [[Vladimir Slutsker]] (2004–2005, overlapping period)
* [[Viacheslav Kantor]] (2005–2009)
* [[Yuri Kanner]] (2009–2025)
* [[Alexander Gentsis]] (since May 2025)

Notable board members and associated figures have included Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, David Yakobashvili, Yevgenia Albats, and others from the Russian Jewish business and intellectual elite.<ref name="RJC board">Russian Jewish Congress official reports and historical listings, 2004–2025.</ref>

== Funders ==
The RJC was initially funded primarily by Russian Jewish oligarchs and businessmen who emerged in the 1990s. Key early funders included:

* [[Vladimir Gusinsky]] (founder and major personal contributor through his business empire)
* Members of the Alfa Group circle ([[Mikhail Fridman]], [[German Khan]])
* [[David Yakobashvili]] and other oligarchs who formed the core founding group
* Companies linked to the Troika Laundromat network donated nearly US$2.6 million to the RJC between 2004 and 2012.<ref name="OCCRP">Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, [https://www.occrp.org/en/project/the-troika-laundromat/russian-jewish-congress Companies in the Laundromat network donated almost US$2.6 million to the Russian Jewish Congress] ''occrp.org'', accessed February 26, 2026.</ref>

Later funding came from a broader base of Jewish businessmen and philanthropic structures, though the organisation has operated with more modest budgets in recent decades compared to its peak in the late 1990s.<ref name="RJC reports">Russian Jewish Congress annual reports, 2019–2025.</ref>

== See also ==
[[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]]
[[Berel Lazar]]
[[Vladimir Gusinsky]]

== External links ==
* [https://rjc.ru/ Official website of the Russian Jewish Congress]
==Notes==
[[Category:Jewish organisations in Russia]]
[[Category:Organisations established in 1996]]
[[Category:Russian Jewish Congress]]

Russian Jewish Congress - Revision history

David: Created page with "{{short description|Umbrella Jewish organisation in Russia, founded 1996}} {{Infobox organization | name = Russian Jewish Congress | native_name = Российски..."