In the western Siberian city of Tomsk, a synagogue built in 1902, has completed a $2 million restoration project and is reopening during Chanukah. The restored building will house a Jewish Community Center – including playrooms for children, museum, library, computer lab, kosher café and ritual bath.

Most of the funds for the project were raised locally.

image: the new dome for the Choral Synagogue in Tomsk. The wood-frame tin-plated dome weighs about 800 kilograms and is about three meters tall; courtesy Chabad.