Synagogue vandalized with swastikas in Russia's Vladivostok

Vandals scrawled swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on the walls of the main synagogue in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Friday, the second time the building has been defaced in less than six months.

Jewish community leaders in the Pacific Coast city alerted police after they arrived at the synagogue in the morning and found it's entrance door and outer walls covered with swastikas and slogans. Two adjacent buildings were also defaced.

A similar incident occurred at the synagogue in October, the AP reports.

Russia and the Soviet Union had a long history of state-sponsored anti-Semitism. The state no longer perpetuates anti-Semitism following the Soviet collapse, but many Jews and rights advocates have accused Russian authorities of being silent in the face anti-Semitism and other expressions of xenophobia.

In recent years, Russia has experienced a marked rise in hate attacks targeting nonwhite or dark-skinned residents, foreigners and Jews.