The Fate of the "Eternal Flame": Restoring an Ancient Synagogue in Simferopol

This primary article was provided to me directly via private correspondence by Anatoly Isaakovich Gendin, Chairman of the Regional National-Cultural Autonomy of Jews of Crimea and leader of the historic Ner-Tomid Jewish Congregation in Simferopol.

As part of my ongoing work with the Krymchak Project to preserve Crimean Jewish memory and translate primary historical records, Mr. Gendin shared this piece alongside archival documents and field reports detailing both the restoration of Simferopol's Jewish heritage and the ongoing efforts to protect the 10th-Kilometer Holocaust mass graves from grave robbers.

Many thanks to him.

Originally authored by Crimean journalist and regional historian Natalya Dryomova for Argumenty i Fakty, this text is translated here from Russian into English for the first time for international researchers and readers. The photos included are from Mr. Gendin directly.

By Natalya Dryomova, Local Historian and Journalist — Argumenty i Fakty – Crimea

In Simferopol, restoration work is underway on one of the peninsula's most compelling cultural heritage sites: the historic Ner-Tomid Synagogue, a designated regional cultural monument. Its name translates from Hebrew as the "Eternal Flame" (or "Perpetual Light"). The building has had a turbulent history: its sacred life as a house of worship was forcibly interrupted for 64 years!

The Silver Was Confiscated

When construction was completed in 1895, the synagogue became an architectural gem of Simferopol’s Old Town. The two-story structure was understated and elegant, reflecting the early Art Nouveau style that was just coming into fashion. The facade is austere and unadorned, save for a stylized emblem above the entrance depicting a sunburst with fourteen radiant beams.

"I know of no other synagogue with this exact design," historian, Orientalist, and Crimean ethnographic specialist Mikhail Kizilov told AiF-Crimea. "The rays emanate from a central circle that may well have once held a Star of David or the Tablets of the Law. The symbol itself was likely removed after the synagogue was shut down by Soviet authorities. It is deeply unfortunate that pre-revolutionary photographs of the facade have not survived, leaving us without exact visual confirmation."

Difficult times arrived for believers of all faiths in the early 1920s with the Bolshevik decree requiring the re-registration of all religious properties. The state "leased" the buildings and ritual objects back to the congregations—represented directly by an arm of the NKVD (Soviet secret police). The lay leaders of the congregation were held personally responsible for safeguarding state property, ensuring the political loyalty of worshipers, and funding all repairs.

Ner-Tomid could not escape this fate. Virtually all of the synagogue's movable property was inventoried and formally "loaned" back to the community. In his historical monograph on Ner-Tomid, renowned Crimean historian Vladimir Gurkovich cited the original seizure list: Torah scrolls with cloth mantles, a library, two parochet (ark curtains), two cupboards, candlesticks, benches, and other furnishings.

However, items of precious metal were confiscated outright:

One silver Torah crown.

One silver Yad (Torah pointer).

Two silver ornaments supporting the crown.

Two silver Torah breastplates.

These ritual heirlooms were handed over to the Simferopol financial department under the pretext of famine relief for the Volga region—even as famine raged across Crimea itself.

In 1930, Soviet authorities finally shut the synagogue down completely and expropriated the building. Vladimir Gurkovich noted that correspondence sent to the Crimean Central Executive Committee suggested converting it into a public canteen. Instead, a telegraph office opened inside a year later, and just prior to World War II, the sanctuary was repurposed as a club for the local Romani community.

A Succession of Bureaucratic Offices

The darkest blind spot in Ner-Tomid’s history is the Nazi occupation period. The building stands on Sergeeva-Tsenskogo Street (formerly Fontannaya Street)—directly adjacent to Studentskaya Street, which housed the German SD prison, counter-intelligence headquarters, and Gestapo punitive squads. Large stone buildings on Fontannaya were few, and the German military undoubtedly requisitioned the former club. German deployment logs from the occupation record that military command units No. 744 and No. 284 occupied buildings No. 59 and No. 60. Today the synagogue is numbered No. 61, though street numbering may have shifted over the decades.

Following the war, Soviet municipal bureaucracy took over the building. Until the mid-1990s, it was carved up between the local Housing Department (ZhEK), the Simferopol Water Rescue Society, and the Crimean Regional Trade Union Committee for Public Utilities.

Only in 1995 was the building finally returned to the Jewish community.

The Synagogue Today

Today, it has been incorporated into a regional heritage restoration program.

"The synagogue is being restored to its exact original appearance from 1895," said Anatoly Gendin, Chairman of the Regional Jewish Cultural Autonomy and head of the Ner-Tomid Orthodox Jewish Community. "Supply chains and materials logistics from the mainland have faced severe disruptions for obvious reasons, but the construction crews are maintaining progress by adapting the work phases."

Gendin noted that the interior has been completely gutted down to the perimeter walls. New load-bearing columns, the elevated women's gallery (ezrat nashim), and interior and exterior staircases leading directly to the balconies have all been installed.

While historic restorations often yield hidden antiquities, Ner-Tomid’s endless cycle of Soviet evictions and bureaucratic reconfigurations left few relics behind. The building lacks a basement and is constructed of local white limestone and rubble masonry. The only artifact uncovered by workers was a Soviet municipal delivery invoice from 1973 for 33 bags of building plaster valued at 29 rubles and 70 kopecks.

According to the official site registry, the complete restoration of the Ner-Tomid Synagogue is scheduled for completion in March 2027.

5.2 Dremov Synagogue. Photo by (and provided from) Mr. Gendin.

5.3 Dremov Synagogue. Photo by (and provided from) Mr. Gendin.