Overview

The village of Ilyino, located in the south-western "corner" of the Tver province, at first glance does not differ from other villages of the Russian Non-Chernozem region. Meanwhile, this village is unusual, with its own special, very dramatic fate. More than 150 years ago it was founded by Jews, followers of the Hasidic creed. In the early forties, about three thousand Jews lived here. In the autumn of the 41st, German troops entered the village. Jewish families who did not have time to evacuate turned out to be prisoners of a ghetto organized by the fascists right here in the village. Those who survived this terrible time left after the war, many died. And by the beginning of the 21st century, only one of the survivors of the ghetto remained in Ilyin – Alexander Yakovlevich Karpenko. Last…