Shloime Mikhelevich (Solomon Mikhailovich; December 23, 1889-1957) born in Moscow, served as rabbi of the Choral Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Moscow, under the Soviet Union (1943-1957) after serving as its secretary and bookkeeper. He is best known for sustaining a synagogue in Moscow during the worst years of Stalinist repression against Jews. As a government appointee, he demonstrated loyalty to Stalin, and denied that there was anti-semitism in the USSR. (The Choral Synagogue's last rabbi, Shmarya Yehuda Leib Medalia was arrested and executed for alleged disloyalty in 1938. At the time, the synagogue was suspected of being a meeting place for Zionists, and was constantly under NKVD surveillance. A year before his appointment, Rabbi Shmuel Leib Levin was appointed. Due to his Chabad affiliation, he was viewed as too extreme, and was replaced with Shleifer.) Rabbi Shleifer died in 1957 while teaching a Torah class.