Yury Kanner. Photo: rjc.ru.

Yury Kanner

President, Russian Jewish Congress

As leader of the Russian Jewish Congress, Kanner has played an integral role in advancing the interests of Russian’s Jewish population. He also plays an important role as a conduit between Israel and the Putin administration, two governments whose policies don’t always coincide. In 2012, he helped lead a march in Rostov-On-Don, Russia, to mark the 70th anniversary of the murder of 27,000 people by Nazi forces in August, 1942.