A memorial plaque honoring Harav Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Rebbe, was unveiled on Monday, Chof Av, at Kyiv’s Lukyanivka Detention Center, where he was imprisoned by the Soviet authorities 86 years ago.

Harav Levi Yitzchak was arrested for continuing to serve as a Rav and strengthen Jewish life despite the Soviet regime’s relentless campaign against religion. His efforts to uphold Yiddishkeit, including his work to ensure kosher production and support Jewish communal life, led to his arrest, imprisonment, and eventual exile.

The plaque was installed through the efforts of Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, Chabad shliach and Chief Rabbi of Kyiv, who also serves as Chief Rabbi of Ukraine’s Prison Service.

Together with his son, Rabbi Ariel Markovitch, a shliach in Kyiv who oversees Jewish activities in prisons throughout Ukraine, Rabbi Markovitch spent months working with prison officials to secure approval for a permanent memorial at the site.

The commander of the detention center and his deputy attended the unveiling and joined Rabbi Markovitch in revealing the plaque.

During the ceremony, the commander expressed regret over the grave injustice committed against Harav Levi Yitzchak, noting that he had been imprisoned despite committing no crime, solely because he served as a Jewish Rav and communal leader.

He said the imprisonment represented a painful chapter in history that must be remembered and preserved for future generations.

The plaque recounts the story of Harav Levi Yitzchak’s arrest and imprisonment and includes words he wrote during that difficult period.

The prison also received a copy of Nitzutzei Levi Yitzchak, a sefer based on the Torah teachings of Harav Levi Yitzchak. It will remain in the prison library for Jewish inmates to study.

“There is profound significance in the fact that specifically on Chof Av, we merited to establish a memorial at the very place where Harav Levi Yitzchak was imprisoned simply because he was a Rav spreading Yiddishkeit,” Rabbi Markovitch said.

“This is a historic correction and a deeply moving closing of the circle. In the very place where the Soviet regime sought to silence Judaism, a permanent memorial now tells the story of the courage, sacrifice, and unwavering mesirus nefesh of Harav Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the father of the Rebbe.”

Photos: JCC Kiev