Both in the new economy and in the social and cultural life of the city, Petersburg Jews play a rather active role. According to the population census, in 1989, 106,000 Jews lived in Leningrad. Many of them returned to their ethnic roots in the Nineties. Petersburg Jews began to revive their community life first. In spring of 1989, the Leningrad Society of Jewish Culture (LOEK) began operating; in September, it was registered. Together with other ethnic cultural unions, it was allotted rooms in the Kirov House of Culture. That amorphous group included "otkazniks", devoted Jewish Communists, synagogue clergymen, scientists-Orientalists, Hebrew teachers, and evident stukachs.
From the very beginning, LOEK united some structures - the library, the editorial group, Open Leningrad Jewish University, the Sunday School and the Group of the Holocaust Research. The university and the school became consolidating elements during the first phase of the creation of legal Jewish community life. Already in 1991, LOEK disintegrated and the Jewish organization that broke away from it united into the Leningrad Jewish Association (LEA). This organization headed the process of creating and developing Jewish communal life. G. Farber played outstanding role in LEA during first years of its activity. The success of the creation of the commune in the city was supported by three factors: Leningrad Jews comprehended their needs; the leaders of the Jewish movement co-operated within LEA and Jewish University as LEA's department; the international Jewish organizations demonstrated their good will. The first international organization that sent its representatives for regular work in the city was Khabbad-Lubavich.
In the early Nineties, some "otkazniks" were still in the city. They gathered in LEA's room and carried out legal consulting about emigration problems. In 1992, when most "otkazniks" had already left, the Jewish right-defenders' center was established under EASP. At first, only those who intended to emigrate but could not solve the problems of leaving Russia or of gaining admission to the United States could obtain a consultation. Later, the area of legal consultation was extended. The Jews began to turn to the center with their problems to protect their rights in the city, too. In the later half of the Nineties, the experts of the center already gave consultations on problems of determining Jewish origin. In the same decade, they have had to aid those Petersburg Jews who fell victim to the aggressive propaganda of the "Jews for Jesus" missionary organization. The community was successful in solving that problem.
The active establishment of Jewish organizations in St. Petersburg continued until 1996. The leaders and the activists reasoned as follows: there is a Jewish population in the city which was formed during the decades of Soviet life; it is necessary to determine the ethnic and cultural needs of that population, to promote Jewish knowledge, and to bring up a sense of responsibility for the life of the Jewish community. In those years, the Jews who actively prepared themselves for the Aliyah were included in the community's life most actively. By the mid-Nineties, in Saint Petersburg, in fact, all the trends of community activity that had been eliminated during the years of Soviet Power were restored. The names of the structures were not always the same, but the essence of their activities was similar. The "Ami" ("My People") Jewish newspaper being edited by Ya. Tsukerman, is a mean in the popularization of community life. In the mid-Nineties, other community periodicals began operating.
The guarantee of successful existence of any ethnic community is the presence of organizations that take care of old people and children. One of the most important trends in the community building in St. Petersburg was the establishment of charitable structures. Presently, some charitable Jewish soup-houses operate in the city; in three of them, not only poor Jews but also non-Jews selected by district social welfare bodies eat there. The "Eva" fund is one of the oldest and powerful Jewish charitable organizations. It cares for the disabled in their homes and distributes humanitarian aid (but food). The "Hesed Avraham" center has a broad spectrum of charitable activity. Beside medical aid, providing with medicine, care of the disabled at home, the center has a program to deliver hot food to homes and to organize "Warm Home" soup-houses.
In 6 years, in fact, the system of Jewish ethnic education was completely restored. Relying on the experience of the underground Sunday Schools, the Jewish University established two Sunday Schools. Teaching there was based on the integrated method. Sponsored by the "Shamir" society, the day school attached to the Synagogue was opened. "Adain Lo" family center has a special place in the system of Jewish education. Presently, five Jewish day schools or high schools and seven Jewish kindergartens operate in the city. There are religious and non-religious ones among them. They are supported by various organizations and follow various educational standards. The first educational structure created in St. Petersburg was the St. Petersburg Jewish University (The Institute of Judaism) - a higher educational institution. In the common view, it is considered a successor of the David Gunzburg Jewish Academy.
The university is considered a successor of the EIEO, too. Already in the Eighties, the participants in the historical seminar organized expeditions to the Ukraine and Byelorussia to collect any vestiges of Jewish material culture. The materials from those and later expeditions composed the core of the scientific archive of the Eastern European Diaspora Research Center attached to PEU. The results of the expeditions are regularly published in collections issued by the university. A great deal of research is carried out in the archives of CIS to detect any documents concerned to history of Jewish communes. The university at times organized international conferences, symposia and seminars about the history and present state of Jewish communities of the former USSR. One more Judaism center has been established in the city - one attached to the European University. The study of Judaism by Jews has been legalized and academic circles recognizes that research.
For those who like Jewish arts and crafts, the Jewish Center of Arts & Crafts operates. To satisfy the interests of Petersburg Jews of different ages and social groups, there are a number of different organizations: the Gilel student organization, Makkabi Jewish esthetic and sport society, and others. There are two veteran organizations in St. Petersburg: the St. Petersburg Association of Disabled Jews & War Veterans and the Society of Jews-Former Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps & Ghettos. Those who would like to learn Hebrew have the possibility not only to attend various Hebrew classes established by Sokhnut, the Israel Cultural and Informational Center, various schools and PEU but they can also study Hebrew in the "Khalom" ulpan.
In conditions of ethnic freedom and freedom of worship, the life of the Synagogue and the life around it became more rich and active. The most numerous religious community is the Petersburg Jewish community (PERO), which is based in the Big Choral Synagogue. The chairman the PERO is Dr. M. Grubarg, and the rabbi - Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg Menachem-Mendel Pevzner. Rabbi Pevzner is also the Head of the Khabbad-Lubavich Center in St. Petersburg. Now, in addition to the Petersburg Jewish Religious Community, the Petersburg Judaic Religious Community is also registered in the city.
For the first time in the history of the Petersburg Community, the "Tomkhey Tmimin-Lubavich" yeshiva and "Makhon Khaya-Mushka" religious educational institution for women have been opened in the city.
However, not everything was so easy in the community's life. When the phase of building community institutions was finished, crisis came. It happened because the first wave of those involved in Jewish ethnic life either had repatriated themselves or had satisfied their interest in Jewish history and culture and had withdrawn from active participation in the community's actions. It needed to seek new forms of the working, to make new programs. In those days, the St. Petersburg Jewish Community Center was formed. In all communal structures, old permanent programs were still actual. New programs were constantly added to them. Besides, every year, some Jewish organizations prepare one or two all-city events. The missions of Jewish international organizations, such as ORT or Joint, have come back to the city. Missions of Sokhnut and the Israel Cultural and Informational Center have been opened in St. Petersburg.
Jewish organizations successfully overcame the crisis and solved one more problem. Jewish cultural life has become a noticeable feature of the cultural life of St. Petersburg. Shows and meetings dedicated to Jewish holidays take place on the best stages and in the best halls of the city. They often use the room Jews rented for their feasts in the beginning of the 20th century: the hall on Rubinshtein (Troitskaya), 13. The celebration of 3,000 years of Jerusalem, annual international festival of klezmer music - Klez Fests carried out by the Center of Jewish Music - and annual festivals of Jewish books have become notable events. All those actions are arranged by the Jewish Community Center. Since 1994, document and photo exhibitions dedicated to the history and culture of Petersburg and CIS Jews have been displayed in museums. Joint is a great aid for that. For the first time in many years, financial support has come not only from foreign organizations, mostly the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russia's Jewish Congress headed by M. Mirilashvili.
As at the beginning of the XX century, the Petersburg Community, in some areas, works as a methodological center for all CIS Jews. There is the Institute of Social & Community Workers in the city. The People of the Book in the Book World library bulletin is issued and distributed through e-mail. Yevreyskaya Shkola (Jewish School) Jewish pedagogic journal was published under the same name as at the beginning of the century; since 1998, Novaya Yevreyskaya Shkola (New Jewish School) is issued. Seminars and conferences about restitution, the development of Jewish libraries, Jewish education and other relevent problems periodically take place.
Together with community structures, the community leaders emerged and got experience. Many of them found in themselves, as they came into the Jewish movement, features they had never suspected; and they could realize them only in community activity. Many were so captivated by community activity that they left their profession for professional work in Jewish organizations. For those 10 years, three types of community figures emerged. All former activist-"otkazniks" had left Russia by 1993, but together with them, in the first circles, new managers of the structures were brought up. Later, professionals whose knowledge serves to benefit the community came to the Jewish movement. They became the managers of some programs.
Today, the Jewish community is the most organized, structured and powerful ethnic community in St. Petersburg. And it is so in spite of the mass emigration that decreased the number of the community's members by one third. Like most Russian Jewish communities, the Petersburg community, in general, is Russian-speaking. For Petersburg Jews, the return to their roots and to establishing their ethnic presence in the cosmopolitan city is still long. But the first steps on that path have been already taken. Recent research revealed one more unexpected fact: Petersburg Jews, who have always been considered indifferent to religion, turned out to be the most religious in CIS. 8% of the Petersburg community followed the rituals.