DECEMBER 8 • 2022 | 17

is the only mono-ethnic Jewish 
settlement outside Israel and was 
established in 1730 when a local 
ruler established a village under 
his protection, where Jews fleeing 
persecution in Dagestan and Persia 
found sanctuary. By the late-1800s, 
Red Village was home to 8,000 of 
the region’s 31,000 Mountain Jews. 
When Azerbaijan became part of 
the Soviet Union, 12 of Red Village’s 
13 working synagogues closed and 
were converted into schools and 
warehouses, and the town’s name 
changed from Jewish Village to Red 
Village.
The descendants of Red Village’s 
residents have subsequently migrat-
ed to Baku and other parts of the 
world, where they became very 
successful. In 2010, several Russian 
oligarchs with roots in Red Village 

funded the establishment of the 
Mountain Jews Museum, which 
highlights their community’s Jewish 
history, traditions and accomplish-
ments around the world. Although 
Red Village has only 400 year-round 
residents, it swells to 3,000 families 
every year when its diaspora returns 
to spend the summer in their opu-
lent vacation homes. 
I left Azerbaijan impressed by the 
lack of antisemitism, government 
support for Jewish institutions and 
strong relations with Israel, all three 
of which are incredibly rare in the 
Muslim world. I look forward to 
learning more about this unique 
community living among us in 
Metro Detroit. 

Dan Brotman is executive director of the 

Windsor Jewish Federation and JCC. 

Summer 
mansion of 
Jewish oligarch, 
Red Village

Arif Shalumov, 
president of the 
Jewish Association 
of Ganja

Meleh Yevdayev, chairman of 
the Community of Mountain 
Jews; Rabbi Avraam Yakubov, 
head rabbi, Synagogue of 
Mountain Jews in Baku; Nika 
Jabiyeva, executive director, 
Network of Azerbaijani 
Canadians.