President of Muslim Republic of Tatarstan in Russia attends opening of new Chabad yeshiva, praises Jewish community.

President Rustam Minnikhanov of the Republic of Tatarstan, the largest Muslim republic in Russia, praised the work of Chabad emissaries at the opening of the newest branch of Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim in the city of Kazan on November 8, Chabad.org reported.

The event was timed to coincide with the birthday of the founder of the yeshivah network, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersoh.

Minnikhanov said that the Jewish community in Kazan “serves as an example to all of us [on] how important tradition is and how vital it is to pass on these values from generation to generation.”

He said that he was happy that a Chabad yeshiva was being opened in Kazan. “I am sure that anyone who walks into this center will leave as a better person."

The new yeshiva sits next to the city's 100-year-old synagogue,restored two years ago.

Guests of honor at the opening ceremony included President Minnikhanov; the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar; Mayor Ilsur Metshin of Kazan; Rabbi Alexander Boroda, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the former Soviet Union, and philanthropist David Aminov, who funded the construction of the yeshiva.