Rav Yisrael Abba Pliskin

Rabbi Yisrael-Abba (HaKohen?) Pliskin [of blessed memory: 5665 (or 5667) - 27 Sivan 5756 (1905 - June 1996] spent nearly twenty years in hiding from the NKVD (forerunner of the KGB), a consequence of his absolute dedication to helping Torah-true Jewish education survive in Communist Russia. He managed to emigrate in 1947, and after a brief period in Paris went on to be one of the founding fathers of the highly successful Chabad community it Melbourne, Australia, before eventually moving to New York and becoming a gabbai (manager) of the "770" shul and a teacher in the English-language yeshiva for young men without strong Torah backgrounds.