Ripky Jewish Cemetery

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. It could not be found marked on old maps of the region. According to the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was demolished during the war. Today, no visible traces of the cemetery or its boundaries remain.

The earliest known Jewish community in Ripky was established in the first half of 19th century. By 1873, there was a synagogue. According to the 1897 census, there were 3,049 Jews (91.3% of the total population of 3,336). In the beginning of 20th century the rabbi was Shneur-Zalman Schneerson. In 1912, a Jewish loans and savings society operated. In 1914, Jews owned both groceries, all three specialist stores, and four drapery shops in Ripky. The Jewish community withstood several pogroms. In 1919, 150 Jews were killed, and in February 1921, there was a wave of pogroms organised by Ataman Galaka’s gangs, during which most of the Jewish population was eliminated. Another pogrom took place after units of S.N.Bulak-Balakhovich’s troops entered Ripky, during which 102 Jews were killed. The biggest pogrom that occurred in Galaka took place on February 13th, 1921. Around 200 Jews were killed. As a result of the pogroms, the Jewish population had been reduced to just 26% of the total population by 1923. In 1939, only 79 Jews remained. By August 30th, 1941 the entire district was occupied. The first mass killing occurred on October 23rd, 1941 at the railway station in Gornostaevka, where 20 people were killed. The next massacre took place here on November 13th, 1941, when 20 Jews were killed. After the war, the remains of Holocaust victims were reburied in the central city of the region. Ripky was liberated by the Red Army on September 26th, 1943. As of 2014, only 1 Jew resides in the Ripky district. Soviet historian Arkady Yakovlevich Leikin (1936-2005) was born in Ripky. The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. It could not be found marked on old maps of the region. According to the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was demolished during the war. Today, no visible traces of the cemetery or its boundaries remain.