Berel Lazar, Orthodox rabbi, one of two claimants to the title "Chief Rabbi of Russia"
Since the installation of Rabbi Lazar as the Chief Rabbi of Russia by the Federation of Jewish Communities there have been a number of controversies associated with Federation influence with president Vladimir Putin, and their funding from various Russian oligarchs, including Lev Leviev and Roman Abramovich.
In response, representatives of the party filed a lawsuit for libel and demanded to recover from Berel Lazar 1.3 million rubles In 2004 the court ordered Berel Lazar to apologize and pay damages of 100 rubles.
Sapunova was treated in a hospital in Russia, where she was visited by Rabbi Berel Lazar, one of Russia's two chief rabbis, and the man for whom a Russian security source has claimed was the intended victim.
Marc Lazar | Lazar of Serbia | Berel Lazar | Aaron Lazar | Lazar Branković | Lazar Berman | Berel Wein | Berel Soloveitchik | Ralph Lazar | Mitchell Lazar | Lazar Salomowitch Minor | Lazar Popovski | Lazar Hrebeljanović's | György Lázár | Berel |
The project was welcomed and blessed by the leaders of the three main religious confessions of Russia: Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, Chairman of the Council of Muftis Mufti Shaikh Rawil Gaynetdin, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia, Apostolic Nuncio Antonio Mennini, President of the Russian Association of Buddhists, the Karma Kagyu school Alexander Koibagarov.