Vienna

Vienna’s Bukharan community is the most sizeable and active in Europe, number around 2,500 people and third largest community in the world. Since the 1970s, Bukharans have helped to make Jewish life in Vienna’s historic Jewish quarter more visible. They have opened synagogues, founded the journal Sefardinews published in German and Russian, and established old persons clubs, matchmakers ‘agencies’, a kosher supermarket, kosher cafes and restaurants. The Sephardi center (est. 1989) caters to Georgian and Bukharan Jews. Bukharan Jewish organisations in Vienna are connected to the community elsewhere in the world: the Congress of Bukharan Jews of Vienna was established in 2003 within the wider framework of the World Congress of Bukharan Jews. Becoming more prosperous, the community has also facilitated the migration of (mainly Tajik-speaking) Muslims from post-Soviet Central Asia.

Since the 1990s, Vienna has also been home to a sizeable community of Afghan Sikhs, though many families in the city have moved to London in recent years.

Vera Skvirskaja, Co-Investigator: During the Soviet period, Vienna served as a major transit point for Soviet Jews emigrating from the Soviet Union to Israel and the United States. It became a key Bukharan diasporic location in Europe by a coincidence of sorts. Despite the Bukharans’ affective relationship with Israel, for some, the experience of aliyah was marked by disappointment and a desire to return to Soviet Central Asia. Many felt humiliated by the low social status ascribed to Eastern Jews, particularly Soviet Central Asian Jews, by Israelis. The return journey also passed through Vienna, but the majority of returnees did not receive Soviet visas despite being promised one. While some managed to move to the United States or other Western destinations after years of waiting, others settled in Vienna and established a Bukharan Jewish community there.

Vera Skvirskaja, Co-Investigator: Bukharans are proud of the social mobility within their Viennese diaspora, which they view as a result of the hard labor, resilience, and determination of the first-generation emigrants. The latter had very humble beginnings and used their skills in small-scale trade to expand into larger operations and/or secure education and professional careers for their children. Adaptability, managerial, and especially commercial skills are seen as part of the specific cultural repertoire of Bukharans (and as something that differentiates them from Soviet Ashkenazi Jews), and they claim that these qualities have led to their economic success as a community.

Vera Skvirskaja, Co-Investigator: Photography can capture both the changes undergone by the community and the continuities with the past, ranging from the lavish celebrations of religious holidays and events to the proliferation of 'traditional' occupations adapted to the new society, such as shoe repair and trade.

Moska Najib, Principal Photographer: Photography plays a crucial role in documenting and sharing the stories of communities like the Bukharan Jews by capturing both the tangible and emotional aspects of their cultural heritage. Many of the images captured for this project focus on elderly members of the community, whose stories and presence may no longer be with us in the future. By documenting them and their personal histories, we are preserving not only their individual experiences but also the traditions, languages, and customs that are at risk of fading. These photographs not only tell stories but also give a face to the community’s resilience and migration journey, ensuring that their cultural heritage is safeguarded for future generations.

Vera Skvirskaja, Co-Investigator: Photography documents not only the heritage sites of the communities in question, but also how this heritage fits or does not fit with the larger national narrative of the state in Uzbekistan. Despite the official discourse on religious tolerance and the Silk Road narrative that highlights diversity, there are not many visual marks on the Uzbek city’s landscape of Jewish presences or public acknowledgements of specifically Jewish heritage (in the form of commemorative plates). Photography has a potential to bridge the gap between the history of ethno-religious diversity in particular places and the formal bleaching out of urban heritage.

Moska Najib, Principal Photographer: Photography is a powerful advocacy tool for preserving the heritage of communities like the Bukharan Jews. By capturing the richness of their cultural practices— from religious rituals to everyday life—photographs bring their heritage into the spotlight, making it more visible and valued. When shared through public exhibitions, media, or academic platforms, these images raise awareness, inspire empathy, and help mobilise support for initiatives that protect and celebrate these communities' legacies, ensuring they are not lost to time or displacement.

Vera Skvirskaja, Co-Investigator: Non-Muslim minorities from Muslim Asia are well adapted to working with and understanding Central Asian Muslims, which expands the scope of the diaspora and the various links between diasporas worldwide. Bukharan Jewish migration also highlights that when emigration status is in order, migrants can use their resources and skills more effectively by focusing on further skill development and various forms of collaboration, including diasporic fundraising and roots-tourism, and hence contributing to the preservation of their heritage in the countries of origin.

Vienna

What factors contributed to Vienna becoming a key destination for Bukharan Jews in the late 20th century, and how did this shape the community's development?

How has the transformation from retail businesses to upscale restaurants reflected the evolving identity and economic status of the Bukharan Jewish community in Vienna?

What role do you see photography playing in documenting and sharing the stories of these communities?

How can photography serve as a tool for advocacy in preserving the heritage of these communities?

What broader lessons can be learned from the migration experiences of non-Muslim minorities in Muslim Asia regarding global refugee and migration issues?