Igor Dabakarov

Igor (Ileser) Dabakarov is the President of Russian Jewish Youth Congress and the head of Ulyanovsk Jewish community.

Igor Dabakarov was born in 1975 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In 1990 his family moved to Ulyanovsk, where Igor left secondary school and entered Ulyanovsk Academy of Music, vocal department.

In 1996 Igor founded Ulyanovsk public organization “Jewish Youth Club “Mishpaha Gdola”. In 1997 he registered it legally and since that time he has been the president of the organization.

In 2000 he was elected as the head of Ulyanovsk Jewish cultural-educational public organization “Shalom”.

Since 2004 he has been the chief of Ulyanovsk regional Jewish national-cultural autonomy.

Since 2004 he has been a member of the Council for religion and the Council for nationalities of Ulyanovsk region Governor. Igor is an active participant of all measures that Ulyanovsk region Government undertake for solving religious and national problems in the region.

In 2001 Igor Dabakarov completed the Course for Welfare service directors of The William Rosenwald Institute for Communal and Welfare Workers and Bar-Ilan University School of Social work in Saint-Petersburg. He is a repeated participant of seminars conducted by American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

Since 1998 Igor Dabakarov has been a member of Russian Hillel Committee of Directors, since 2007 – a member of General Council of Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, since 2008 – a member of the Council of Federal Jewish national-cultural autonomy. In 2009 he was elected by Federal Jewish national-cultural autonomy to organize the work of Jewish youth movement in Volga region of Russia.

Since Russian Jewish Youth Congress was founded in 2010 Igor Dabakarov serves as its President.

He was repeatedly rewarded by Joint Distribution Committee, Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia for the best organization of Jewish life.

In 2002 he became Charles Hoffman prize winner “For significant contribution in development of Jewish Community Centers and other programs for revival of CIS Jewish Communities”

Igor Dabakarov is a popular singer of Jewish songs and gives concerts in Jewish communities in Russia.