Sofa Landver — minister with roots in the USSR
Sofa Landver is a Russian-Israeli politician born in Leningrad who served as Israel's Minister of Immigrant Absorption (2009-2020) — the minister responsible for integrating the million-plus Russian Jewish immigrants who arrived in Israel after 1990. A member of Yisrael Beiteinu, she has been a leading political voice for Russian-speaking Israelis.
Tracing the roots — Leningrad
Born in Leningrad in 1955 and emigrating to Israel in 1979, Landver's political career is entirely devoted to representing and serving the community she is part of — the Russian-speaking Israeli immigrants whose arrival transformed Israel. As Minister of Immigrant Absorption she oversaw policies that shaped the lives of hundreds of thousands of people from her own background.
Speech therapist in USSR; Immigration Minister in Israel.
Leningrad. At the time, this region was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.