Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday morning, 6 Tammuz 5772 at approximately 02:00, visited the Kosel accompanied by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz and Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar.

The Russian president approached the stones, offered a short prayer and recited Psalms from a Russian-Hebrew prayer book. He noted that he came at an hour in order that he might have some privacy.

Rabbis Rabinowitz and Lazar explained to Russian President Putin the Kosel’s importance to the Jewish People. Afterwards, he toured the Kosel tunnels, was briefed on the ongoing excavations and said that his visit enhanced his understanding of the site and its links to the Jewish People. The Russian President received a personalized Russian-language copy of a book about the tunnels.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)