Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited FJC’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow last week, ahead of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

During the visit Mr. Medvedev toured the museum’s exposition, accompanied by chief rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar and FJC Russia president Alexander Boroda, and then held an official press-conference.

“Anti-semitism has to be eradicated on any level in every country, including ours. We value respectful relations between people of every culture and religion – this is the most important condition for the existence and development of our multi-cultural country,” Mr. Medvedev said. “Holocaust took the lives of six million Jews, and an estimated 2.7 million of them on the territory of the Soviet Union. That’s why for us Holocaust is also a personal tragedy, regardless of faith, which can not be forgotten.”

Mr. Medvedev thanked the Federation of Jewish Communities for its hard work in educating the public on tolerance and co-existence and praised the Jewish Museum as a great example of a modern interactive educational center which combines “latest technological advancements with a highly emotional narrative.”

The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow is an educational complex that was opened by the FJC in 2012 and includes five interactive study centers and exhibit spaces besides the main permanent exhibition on the lives of Soviet and Russian Jewry. It is now one of the largest Jewish museums in the world and hosts thousands of visitors each month.

Photography: Levi Nazarov