[1/5] A view of gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in the ancient city of Derbent on the Caspian Sea coast in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, Russia, November 2, 2023.
With row after row of gravestones engraved with the Star of David or portraits and pictures of the dead, Derbent's Jewish cemetery gives an indication of how large this coastal city's Jewish population once was.
One of a string of enclaves of so-called Mountain Jews that pepper both Russia's Caucasus and neighbouring Azerbaijan, Derbent's Jews still speak a dialect of Persian that evokes their hometown's rich history.
Today there are barely 2,000 Jews still living in Dagestan, once home to 10 times that."
Alexander Fedotov, who was visiting Derbent's Jewish cemetery with Zoya Solomonova, said he thought the airport riot had been planned by someone intent on spoiling ties between Russia and Israel.
Persons:
Kazbek Basayev, Zoya Solomonova, Vladimir Putin, David, Derbent's, Derbent, Shneor Segal, Alexander Fedotov, Eduard Ilgiyaev, I've, I'm, Andrew Osborn, Felix Light, Daniel Wallis
Organizations:
REUTERS, West, Star, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Derbent, Caucasus, Dagestan, Russia, St Petersburg, Makhachkala, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Israel, Moscow, Chechnya, Azerbaijan