Menorah Centre (Dnipro)
Chabad-run Jewish community and business centre in Dnipro, Ukraine, opened in 2012 and funded by Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Ihor Kolomoisky
| Menorah Centre | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| Location | 4/26 Sholom-Aleichem Street, Dnipro, Ukraine |
| Building type | |
| Owner | Dnipro Jewish Community |
| Opened | |
| Website | |
The Menorah Centre (also spelled Menorah Center; Ukrainian Центр «Менора») is a Jewish community, cultural and business complex in Dnipro (called Dnepropetrovsk until 2016), Ukraine. It is run by the city's Chabad-Lubavitch community under Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki. Seven towers are arranged to suggest a menorah.[1][2] It opened in October 2012 and was paid for by Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Ihor Kolomoisky, the partners in the Privat group and the owners of PrivatBank.[3][4] Chabad and its patrons describe it as the largest Jewish community centre in the world.[2][1] The building houses the headquarters of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine and the Museum "Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine".[5][6] It sheltered refugees from the Donbas in 2014, and after the 2022 Russian invasion it was the hub of Chabad's evacuations from eastern Ukraine.[4][7]
Background
Dnipro, formerly Yekaterinoslav, has a special place in Chabad history. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the seventh Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, "served as the city's chief rabbi for 30 years" until his arrest (Chabad-side).[8] Shmuel Kaminezki arrived as Chabad emissary in 1990. In 2009 he said: "On the street where he was arrested, we are building the largest community center in the world. Everywhere that there was suffering, there is now Jewish life."[8]
Planning and construction
In 2008 JTA described the planned centre: "at nearly 400,000 square feet it would be the largest community center in the former Soviet Union and perhaps the world". It was to be a 20-storey building with seven terraced roofs above the existing synagogue on Shalom Aleichem Street. JTA reported that "Two partners in the Privat group industrial holding, Gennady Bogolubov and Igor Kolomoysky, are funding the center and an attached Holocaust museum, respectively". The centre was to "cost $15 million to $20 million and be paid for partially by selling community assets". It would house "the headquarters of Bogolubov's charitable foundation on its top floor, as well as the nerve center of the Ukraine-wide Federation of Jewish Communities", and a kosher hotel. The architect was Alexander Sorin, son of a Soviet-era architect from the city.[3]
In 2009 Chabad.org said the "seven-tower complex" would "house a massive synagogue, Holocaust museum, hotel, retail space, kosher restaurants, and a kosher supermarket", and that "Bogolubov and his partner, United Jewish Community of Ukraine president Igor Kolomoysky, are funding the project" (Chabad-side).[8]
Opening, 2012
The museum opened privately on 16 October 2012 and the whole centre opened to the public the following Sunday.[2] Chabad.org wrote that the "seven-towered 538,000 square foot center was spearheaded by philanthropist Gennady Bogolubov, president of the local Jewish community and chairman of the Ukrainian Jewish Congress, and his Privat banking partner Igor Kolomoyskyy". It reported that:
- Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the regional administration, "expressed deep gratitude to Bogolubov and Kolomoyskyy";
- Israel's Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and the Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein joined the ribbon-cutting, and Amar affixed a mezuzah;
- Lev Leviev, vice-president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the Former Soviet Union, and Vadim Rabinovich, described as president of the "Ukrainian Jewish Parliament", unveiled one plaque; "philanthropists Alan Green and Motti Korf" unveiled another;
- "One of the center's priorities is to use the profits from the businesses to fund charitable projects."[2]
RFE/RL reported that the centre was "initiated and financially supported by local businessmen Henadiy Boholyubov ... and his partner and fellow billionaire Ihor Kolomoyskiy". It added: "Some sources put the cost of the building during the time of its construction at $60 million. That figure could not be independently confirmed." Edelstein said: "I think that this will be the real answer to what Nazis and communists tried to do to Jewish communities in the Ukraine and in the former Soviet Union."[1]
Facilities
According to Chabad.org, the centre "includes a synagogue and ritual bath, a luxury hotel, youth hostel, office space, kosher restaurants and halls, as well as a bookstore and classrooms" (Chabad-side).[2] In 2014 JTA listed "a swanky event hall, a synagogue with black marble interior, a large Holocaust museum, luxurious ritual baths for men and women, and several kosher restaurants and cafes", and two hotels. Medical clinics and hairdressers in the building drew non-Jewish visitors.[4] In 2024 JTA described the Golden Rose Synagogue as part of the Menorah Centre, and reported that the community's buildings, the centre included, were "energy-independent" during Russian strikes on the power grid, thanks to generators "donated by the Jewish community of Boston and other partners".[5]
Museum. The Museum "Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine" opened in October 2012. According to the museum, its concept was by Igor Shchupak, Leonid Finberh and Victor Hukailo, and its creation "became possible due to the activity of Dnipro Jewish Community headed by Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, strong organizational and financial support of the community leaders Hennadii Boholiubov and Ihor Kolomoiskyi, as well as "Tkuma", Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies staff work under the auspices of "Joint" (or JDC)".[6] RFE/RL reported that it "occupies almost 3,000 square meters in the 50,000-square-meter Menorah Center".[1] The museum is linked to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee through Tkuma.[6]
Wartime use
2014. JTA reported in 2014 that the centre "has become central to efforts to help Jewish refugees fleeing from fighting in the east". One of its two hotels was "serving as temporary housing for some of the hundreds of refugees", and a mass wedding for 19 couples was held there. Kaminezki said: "Those who didn't want the rebbe and other Jews here now have a 22-story building celebrating their tradition ... That's the story of Ukraine's Jews."[4]
2022 onwards. After the Russian invasion, Chabad.org described the centre as "a hub for the those internally displaced", from which people usually joined "a Chabad-organized convoy, bus or train carriage". Inside, "a fully-equipped hospital is staffed by doctors, surgeons and nurses". Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein said the operation worked with "The Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC), the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Jewish Agency" (Chabad-side).[7] In 2024 JTA reported that "operations at the Menorah Center have continued unabated", that the community had lost "many of the sources of income that allowed it to be fully self-sufficient before the conflict", and that Dnipro's damaged thermal power plant "is visible from the top of the seven towers that form the Menorah Center".[5]
- Editor's note: no report was found of a direct strike on the Menorah Centre between 2022 and October 2026. This rests on a search, not a primary source.
Funding and patrons
The sources agree that the building was paid for by the Privat partners Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Ihor Kolomoisky. They differ on the split. JTA wrote in 2008 that Bogolyubov was funding the centre and Kolomoisky the museum; in 2014 it wrote that Kolomoisky "funded the building with fellow Ukrainian billionaire Gennady Bogolyubov, the president of the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk", and that non-Jews "sometimes refer to the center as the Kolomoisky building".[3][4] The museum credits "the community leaders Hennadii Boholiubov and Ihor Kolomoiskyi".[6] The Dnipro community's own site says Bogolyubov was "one of the founders of CB PrivatBank" in 1992 and was elected president of the Dnipro Jewish community in 1998, and that Kolomoisky was elected president of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine in 2008 (Chabad-side).[9]
Legal status of the proceedings against the funders. These must be kept apart:
- Civil liability (England). On 30 July 2025 the High Court held Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov liable to PrivatBank for US$1,911,877,385, less the agreed value of assets transferred to the bank (a principal sum of US$1,761,957,792), over a misappropriation the Court of Appeal summarised as "270 fraudulent drawdowns"; the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal on 22 May 2026. This is a civil judgment, not a criminal conviction.[10]
- Allegations (United States). The US Department of Justice's civil forfeiture complaints "allege" that the two men embezzled and defrauded the bank; the department noted that "A complaint is merely an allegation".[11]
- Executive designation (United States). In March 2021 the State Department designated Kolomoisky for "involvement in significant corruption". This is not a court ruling.[12]
- Criminal charges (Ukraine). Kolomoisky has been in pre-trial detention in Ukraine since September 2023 on suspicion of fraud and money laundering, and was later charged in a 2003 attempted-murder case. No conviction was found as of October 2026.[13][14]
No source found links the Menorah Centre to the funds in dispute, or says from which accounts its building money came. Full details are on Chabad and Ukraine.
- Editor's note: the size and cost figures do not agree. Floor area is given as "nearly 400,000 square feet" (planned, JTA 2008), "450,00 [sic] square feet" (JTA 2014), "538,000 square feet" (Chabad.org 2012 and 2022) and "50,000 square meters" (about 538,000 sq ft; RFE/RL 2012). The height is given as 20 storeys (planned, 2008) and 22 storeys (2014, 2022). Cost is given as $15–20 million (planned, 2008), $60 million ("some sources", unconfirmed, 2012) and $100 million (JTA 2014). No audited figure was found.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Shmuel Kaminezki arrives in Dnepropetrovsk |
| September 2008 | JTA reports the planned centre, to be funded by Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky |
| October 2009 | Chabad.org reports the complex under construction |
| 16 October 2012 | Museum "Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine" opens |
| October 2012 | Centre opens to the public |
| 2014 | Centre houses refugees from the Donbas; mass wedding of 19 couples |
| March 2022 | Centre becomes a hub for Chabad's evacuations |
| August 2024 | JTA reports operations "continued unabated" under blackouts |
See also
- Chabad and Ukraine
- Chabad Lubavitch of Ukraine
- Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine
- Shmuel Kaminezki
- United Jewish Community of Ukraine
- Russian oligarchs and Chabad
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Ukraine Unveils Large Jewish Center, Holocaust Museum", RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service (reported by Yulia Rastybaska, written by Charles Recknagel), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 17 October 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Tamar Runyan, "World's Largest Jewish Center Opens in Dnepropetrovsk", Chabad.org, 17 October 2012. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Ukraine city building toward prominence", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 25 September 2008.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Cnaan Liphshiz, "Giant Ukraine JCC provides shelter from the storm – in style", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 1 October 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Marcel Gascón Barberá, "Baking matzah and defying blackouts, Dnipro's Jews press on despite the grind of Russia's war on Ukraine", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 26 August 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Concept and history", Museum "Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine", consulted 20 October 2026. Self-published by the museum.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Mendel Super, "Rocket Attacks on Dnipro Intensify, Jewish Community Evacuating Hundreds Daily", Chabad.org, 15 March 2022. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Dini Harris, "Ukraine Community Transformed 20 Years After Leaders Arrive", Chabad.org, 19 October 2009 (a version first appeared in Hamodia). Chabad-side.
- ↑ "Guideline", Dnipro Jewish Community, consulted 20 October 2026. Chabad-side; self-published.
- ↑ JSC Commercial Bank PrivatBank v Kolomoisky & Anor [2026] EWCA Civ 658 (22 May 2026). BAILII. Primary source.
- ↑ "Justice Department Seeks Forfeiture of Two Commercial Properties Purchased with Funds Misappropriated from PrivatBank in Ukraine", US Department of Justice, 6 August 2020. Primary source (allegations).
- ↑ Antony J. Blinken, "Public Designation of Oligarch and Former Ukrainian Public Official Ihor Kolomoyskyy Due to Involvement in Significant Corruption", US Department of State, 5 March 2021. Primary source.
- ↑ "Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky detained on suspicion of fraud and money laundering", The Guardian, 3 September 2023.
- ↑ Mariana Zinchenko, "Коломойському продовжили арешт у справі про замовне вбивство" (Kolomoisky's detention extended in contract-killing case), Hromadske Radio, 15 October 2026. In Ukrainian.