VZCZCXRO3937
RR RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #0282/01 0361612
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051612Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1786
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000282 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL RS SOCI
SUBJECT: MOSCOW CHABAD NOT INTERESTED IN SCHNEERSOHN 
COLLECTION 
 
REF: A. 08 MOSCOW 2696 
     ¶B. 04 MOSCOW 7059 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  In a February 2 visit to the Russian 
State Library to view the Schneersohn Collection of sacred 
religious texts of the Chabad Lubavitch branch of Judaism, 
Director of the Library's Oriental Center Sergey Kukushkin 
told us that Moscow Chabad leaders had not visited the 
Collection in many years.  Kukushkin claimed to know nothing 
about recent legal developments in the U.S. District Court in 
Washington surrounding the documents, and seemed surprised to 
hear that some documents from the Collection allegedly were 
found in Israel.  Estimating that only 150-250 guests make 
appointments to see the texts each year, Kukushkin considered 
the rarely-handled documents to be in good condition, yet 
characterized the storage facility as only adequate.  End 
Summary. 
 
Schneersohn Collection Rarely Has Visitors 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On February 2, PolOff visited the Russian State 
Military Archives (RSMA) in central Moscow and met with RSMA 
Director Sergey Kukushkin to observe the condition of the 
Schneersohn Collection, a compilation of 12,000 books and 
50,000 rare documents considered to be sacred by the Chabad 
Lubavitch (Chabad) branch of Judaism.  The Russian Government 
has possessed the Schneersohn Collection since 1945, much to 
the dismay of Chabad leaders in the United States who have 
called for its return to Chabad's headquarters in New York. 
The Russian Government has housed the documents in a small 
room (approximately 10 feet by 25 feet) in a wing of the 
library, locking the books behind glass doors on plywood 
shelves. The Chabad community's most recent thrust to recover 
the Schneersohn Collection centers on a legal proceeding in 
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in 
which a federal judge ordered the Russian government to 
protect the Schneersohn documents and return any that had 
been removed.  Kukushkin shrugged when asked about the 
possible impact of the current lawsuit in the States, saying 
that he was not aware of the case.  However, he candidly 
stated that he and his Russian government counterparts 
vividly remembered past efforts by (then) Vice President Gore 
and Members of Congress to negotiate a return of the books, 
and he doubted this effort would yield better results. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Kukushkin told us that Chief Rabbi of Moscow and 
Chabad Lubavitch leader Beryl Lazar (Ref A) had not visited 
the Schneersohn Collection in "many years," which tracks with 
Lazar's own reluctance to get involved in the contentious 
issue.  Kukushkin noted that other top Jewish leaders in 
Russia, including competing Chief Rabbi of Russia Adolf 
Shayevich and Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt, also 
have not expressed interest in the collection of religious 
documents, nor have they offered to provide financial 
donations for its preservation.  He estimated that 
approximately 150-250 religious scholars and parishioners 
visit the Collection annually, with occasional visits from 
Jewish school groups who come to see the books firsthand. 
During our visit, the library's renovated reading room 
adjoining the storage area for the Schneersohn Collection was 
locked and empty. (Note: The library boasts refurbished 
regional study halls for the CIS, Far East, Middle East, and 
Africa, but all of these rooms were also locked and empty. 
End Note) 
 
No Information on Black Market Books 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Kukushkin seemed surprise to hear our account of 
press reports about Schneersohn Collection documents 
allegedly turning up in Israel, and assessed the condition of 
the Collection to be "the same as it was ten years ago," 
underlining that the books are old but in good shape.  He 
claimed to be unaware of the recent news piece in the 
Associated Press about the alleged attempt to sell illegally 
Collection excerpts in Israel, professing that only he and 
his deputy hold the keys to the storage room and that there 
have been no break-ins or planned shipments.  He noted that 
almost half of the documents are kept in a separate warehouse 
in Khimki (northern suburb of Moscow) because of storage 
constraints at the RSMA.  Kukushkin hesitated to speculate on 
the reason for these stories, but felt convinced that an 
expert review of the texts would prove the stories false. 
While he characterized the storage conditions of the 
Schneersohn Collection as adequate, he also pointed to the 
poor shelving used by the library as an opportunity for 
improvement.  Kukushkin did not expect that the economic 
crisis would affect the level of care provided to the 
Collection since the library's budget had been already 
confirmed. 
 
MOSCOW 00000282  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The Moscow-based Chabad community, led by Rabbi 
Lazar, continues to avoid confrontation with the Russian 
government over the Schneersohn Collection, an issue Lazar 
predicted in 2004 would become increasingly complex (Ref B). 
BEYRLE