06.30.2004

Landmine Left at St. Petersburg Shul


St. Petersburg Times


MosNews

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St. Petersburg Times 

Landmine Left At Synagogue 

Security guards at the Great Choral Synagogue on Lermontovsky Prospekt found a landmine outside the synagogue on Tuesday night.

The landmine, wrapped in plastic, was discovered shortly after 4 a.m during a routine inspection of the territory. The police arrived immediately to destroy the mine, but discovered that it contained no explosive.

Mark Grubarg, head of local Jewish community said the matter will be discussed with the city authorities. "It is very fortunate that the mine was harmless, but we really can't just forget about it," Grubarg said. "The incident is yet another reminder of the unfriendly attitude towards ethnic and religious minorities. It has to be confronted, if, of course, the city doesn't want to face more brutal crimes."

The synagogue's principal rabbi, Menahem Mendel Pevzner said he has no idea who was behind the attack, and attributed it to the unhealthy attitudes toward minorities in St. Petersburg.

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St. Petersburg Synagogue Evacuated After Landmine Discovery


(MosNews) - St. Petersburg law enforcement authorities evacuated a synagogue, and several nearby buildings, after a World War II era landmine was found in a plastic bag nearby, St. Petersburg television reported.

A local security guard found the landmine near the synagogue in the central part of the city at about 5 a.m. and called the police, local news agencies reported.

Police and special disposal squads arrived immediately, closing off traffic on nearby Lermontov Prospect, and evacuated the adjacent buildings. Experts tried to neutralize the bomb, but were unsuccessful. It now has been taken to an artillery range to be destroyed.

The synagogue’s chief rabbi, meanwhile, does not know what may have motivated the incident, the Rosbalt news agency quoted him as saying. He ascribed it to general instability in the world.

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