Cold Synagogue, Minsk

However, in architectural terms, this structure was originally characteristic of synagogues of that era.

[3] In 1944, after the liberation of Minsk from the German occupation, the synagogue was again handed over to believing Jews for a short time.

[3] In 1965, the synagogue, although a protected monument, was demolished on the order of Petr Masherov, the leader of Soviet Byelorussia.

[3][2] The destruction was attributable both to state antisemitism in Soviet Union as well as a more general disregard by Soviet authorities in 1950s and 1960s for historic preservation:[5] much of Old Town Minsk was destroyed in the 1960s reconstruction of Minsk in a socialist urban style.

[4] The old synagogue building was next to the planned site for the Belarusian State Institute for Industrial Design.