August 16, 2001, Ryazan, Russia
According to the head of the Jewish community, Leonid Reznikov, unknown arsonists tried to burn down the only synagogue in Ryazan, using wooden construction materials, which builders had left from restoration work. The first floor of the synagogue was gutted by fire. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze and no one was hurt. There were no combustibles inside the building and the electricity had been shut off.
About 2,000 Jews live in Ryazan, a Medieval town 110 miles southeast of Moscow. The synagogue was built in 1903, and was shut down by the Bolsheviks in 1930. Repair work was under way following the return of the building to the Jewish community last year. They had hoped to have it ready in mid September before the High Holidays.
Last year a gang of 15 chain-wielding youths rampaged through the rented premises of a Jewish school in Ryazan, threatening staff and pupils and smashing furniture and signs and the glass front door. Local authorities failed to denounce the incident, and allowed the perpetrators to go unpunished.