Qırmızı Qəsəbə

Qırmızı Qəsəbə (Azerbaijani: [ɡɯɾmɯzɯ ɡæsæbæ]; Russian: Красная Слобода, Krasnaya Sloboda; English: Red Town), known in English as Gyrmyzy Gasaba (sometimes spelled Gassaba) or Krasnaya Sloboda, is a village and municipality in Quba District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 3,598, and is believed to be the world's only all-Jewish town outside Israel[2][3] and the United States.[4]

Qırmızı Qəsəbə
Municipality
Six Dome Synagogue in Qırmızı Qəsəbə
Seal
Qırmızı Qəsəbə
Coordinates: 41°22′25″N 48°30′38″E
Country Azerbaijan
RayonQuba
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total3,557
Time zoneUTC+4 (AZT)

The village is located across the Qudiyalçay (or Kudyal) River from the larger town of Quba. It is the primary settlement of Azerbaijan's population of highland, or Mountain Jews, who make up the population of approximately 4,000.[5] The most widely spoken language in Qırmızı Qəsəbə is Juhuri. Qırmızı Qəsəbə is considered to be the world's last surviving shtetl.[6][7]

The settlement is sometimes referred to as the "Red Town" or the "Red Village", possibly because of the red tiling used on many of the roofs.[8] Other sources attribute the name to the protected status the town received during the Soviet period, when it was shielded from persecution during World War II.[9]

Geography

Quba
Main article: Quba

Quba is one of the popular regions of Azerbaijan. In the past, the guests visiting Azerbaijan were invited to visit Quba because of its proximity to the capital city. Lezgins, Tats, Khinalug people, Budukh people, and Kryts people were living in peace and friendship with Turks in Quba for centuries. Qırmızı, being located in Quba, where the Mountain Jews reside, is also important in promoting Quba.[10][11]

Demographics

Initially spread throughout the mountainous region, the Jewish population of the highlands became centered around Quba.[9]

In 1881, 213,138 Jewish people were officially registered in 34 settlements of the Caucasus. Over the past hundred years, along with Mountain Jews, Jews from other ethnolinguistic groups or such defined by their region of origin also lived in Azerbaijan: Ashkenazi Jews, Krymchaks, Kurdish Jews, and Georgian Jews. However, since the 19th century, the majority of the Jewish population of the republic consists of Mountain Jews.[12][13]

History
View of Krasnaya Sloboda from the bridge
Inside a renovated "Giləki" (Hilaki) Synagogue[14]

Jews in Azerbaijan and the Quba area

Azerbaijan is located at the intersection of East and West, with more than 40 minorities and ethnic groups living in the country, including Talyshs, Avars, Lezgins, Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Poles and others.[15]

The first Jewish settlement in the area was named "Kulgat" on the left bank of the Gudjalchay, just a few kilometers from present day Qırmızı. The old gravestones in the Kulgat area and other evidence that had been partially destroyed during the attacks of Nadir Shah in the early 18th century prove that the Jews had lived here.

The Jewish town across from Quba

While the highland Jews had been in the area around Quba since at least the 13th century, the formal creation of Krasnaya Sloboda is traced back to the 18th century. In 1742 the Khan of Quba, Fatali Khan, gave the Jews permission to set up a community free of persecution across the river from the city of Quba.[16] Originally referred to as Yevreiskaya Sloboda (Jewish Settlement), the name was changed to Krasnaya Sloboda (Red Settlement) under Soviet rule.

The massive settlement in the Red Town began in 1731. After the death of Huseynali Khan in 1758, his son Fatali Khan was the ruler of the Quba khanate. Fatali Khan, highly appreciating the loyalty, wisdom, and industriousness of the Mountain Jews, gave them a great opportunity for engaging in agriculture, gardening, trade, and crafts. Favorable living conditions created for Jews in Quba caused the relocation of Jews from other villages, such as Qusar, Ucgun, Shudukh, Griz, and even from Baku, Iran, Turkey and other places to Quba.

The Jews who moved here had previously lived in nine disparate settlements. Jews from Gilan moved to the settlement in the 1780s. The Gilaki settlement of the Gilani Jews located in the center of the Red settlement. People coming from Baku and Quba lived in the settlement of Mizrahi (Hebrew: "East"). Migration from different locations influenced the diversity of employment. For example, Jews moving from mountainous regions were engaged in various agricultural fields, and people who immigrated from Iran were engaged in trade.

Finally, Mountain Jews who escaped attacks and persecutions joined the shelter of heading Husseinanli (Husayn Ali) Khan in Quba. The Quba Khanate, in development during the rule of Hussein Khan (1722-1758) and his son Fatali Khan (1758-1789), consist of the northern lands of Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan, from Derbent to Lankaran. Since 1722, Mountain Jews have settled in the territory of Gudyalchay.[10]

Among Russian Jews, the town once was known as "little Jerusalem".[7]

The town has had an influx of financial support from relatives living in Israel and features the new Bet Knesset Synagogue.[17] However, after Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, many residents emigrated to Israel, the United States, and Europe, and the population dropped from the roughly 18,000 that lived there during the communist era.[18]

Religious practice

The Jewish residents continue their worship in the remaining synagogues. Only eight of the thirteen synagogues have been preserved in the settlement.

Two synagogues exist in Qırmızı Qəsəbə: "Altı günbəz" (Grand) synagogue which was built in 1888 and renovated in 2000,[19] and "Giləki" (Hilaki) synagogue which was built in 1896 and renovated recently.[14]

Residents speak in three languages: Judeo-Tat, spoken by Mountain Jews in daily life, Russian and Azeri. One of the two schools here is taught in Azeri or Russian.[8]

Notable people

See also

References

Notes
  1. "Azerbaïdjan". populationdata.net.
  2. Gould, Kevin (July 14, 2011). "It's an all-Jewish town, but no, it's not in Israel". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  3. Barkat, Amiram (29 September 2006). "The Village People". Haaretz. Retrieved 1 April 2018. Tucked away in the mountains of Azerbaijan is the world's only wholly Jewish town outside of Israel
  4. Joel, Kiryas (November 2, 2017). "Hasidic Jews in upstate New York". The Economist. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  5. Minahan, James B. (2014). Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 124. ISBN 1610690184.
  6. "Eating with the Mountain Jews of Azerbaijan". Food52.com. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  7. "Jewish shtetl in Azerbaijan survives amid Muslim majority". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  8. "Azerbaijan's Jewish enclave".
  9. "Krasnaya Sloboda (Qırmızı QƏsƏbƏ)". AtlasObscura.com. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  10. "Krasnaya Sloboda". azerb.com.
  11. "Quba". Brittanica.com.
  12. "Krasnaya Sloboda – unique settlement of Jews in Azerbaijan". azernews.az.
  13. "Azerbaijan Virtual Jewish History Tour". jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  14. "Qırmızı qəsəbə "Giləki" sinaqoqu". scwra.gov.az. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  15. "JEWS IN AZERBAIJAN: A HISTORY SPANNING THREE MILLENNIA".
  16. "Jerusalem of the Caucasus". Visions of Azerbaijan Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  17. "It's an all-Jewish town, but no, it's not in Israel". www.thejc.com.
  18. Roland S. Süssmann (Spring 2007). "Journey into the Unreal". www.shalom-magazine.com. Shalom: The European Jewish Times. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  19. "Qırmızı qəsəbə "Altı günbəz" sinaqoqu". scwra.gov.az. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  20. "God Nisanov WJC Vice-President". World Jewish Congress. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  21. "German Zakharyaev: "I overcome obstacles and sadness in life over praying to God"". Jewish Business News. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2017.

Sources
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