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Ethnic Peoples - 2

Jewish Autonomous Oblast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia (autonomous oblast) situated in the
Far Eastern federal district, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and
Heilongjiang province of China. The region
was created in 1934 as the Jewish National
District. It was the result of Joseph's Stalin's
nationality policy, which allowed for the Jewish
population of Russia to receive a territory in
which to pursue Yiddish cultural heritage
within a socialist framework.

Climate:
The climate in the territory is monsoonal/
anti-cyclonic, with warm, wet, humid,
mosquito-infested summers due to the influence of the East Asian monsoon; and very harsh,
cold, dry, windy conditions prevailing in the winter months courtesy of the vast Siberian
high-pressure system.

Administrative Divisions

Demographics:

Population (2002 Census: 190,915.

Ethnic groups: As per the 2002 census, ethnic Russians at 171,697 (89.93%), consisted by far
the largest part of the populations, followed by ethnic Ukrainians at 8,483 (4.44%), Jews (the
oblast's titular nation st 2,327 (1.22%),[1] although this figure is disputed as there is some
speculation that the percentage of Jews is currently 16% as some residents are now less afraid
to announce their Jewish identity[2], Tatars at 1,196 (0.63%) and Belarusians 1,182 (0.62%).
There were also reported to be 672 Moldavians (0.35%), 594 Azeris (0.31%), 453 Germans
(0.24%), 402 Koreans (0.21%), 401 Mordovians (0.21%), 320 Chuvash (0.17%), 282 Armenians
(0.15%), 188 Bashkirs (0.10%), 156 Uzbeks (0.08%), 148 Poles (0.08%), 132 Roma (0.07%),
128 Tajiks (0.07%), 103 Mari (0.05%) and 103 Chinese (0.05%). All in all, residents identified
themselves as belonging to no less than 95 different ethnic groups.

The birth rate is comparatively high at 11.95 per thousand (2004), compared to 10 for Russia as
a whole, and 9 for predominantly Russian inhabited regions.

For the first half of 2007, the birth rate was 12.8 per 1000. [3]

          History

Military colonization and the advent of the Trans-Siberian Railway:

In December 1858 the Russian government authorized formation of the Amur Cossacks for
protection of the southeast boundary of Siberia and communication on the rivers of Amur and
Ussuri. This military colonization included settlers from Transbaikalia. During the years
1858-1882, sixty three settlements were founded, including, in 1857, Radde
settlement: In 1858, Pashkovo, Pompeyeevka, Puzino, Yekaterino-Nikolskoye,
Mikhailo-Semyonovskoye, Voskresenovka, Petrovskoye, and Ventzelevo; in
1860, Storozhevoye, Soyuznoye, and Galovino; later in the decade, Babstovo,
Bidzhan, and Bashurovo settlements. Expeditions of scientists - including such
geographers, naturalists, and botanists as Venyukov, Schrenck, Maksimovich,
Raddle, and Komarov - promoted the development of the new terrtories. Their
achievements produced the first detailed "map of the Amur land".

Construction began in 1898 on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway connecting Chita and
Vladivostok, starting at each end and meeting halfway. The project produced a large influx of
new settlers and foundation of new settlements. In 1908 Volochayevka, Obluchye, and Bira,
Russian stations appeared; in 1910, Birakan, Londoko, and In stations; in 1912, Tikhonkaya
station. The railroad was completed in October 1916, with the opening of the 2590 m (8500 ft)
Khabarovsk Bridge acr4oss the Amur at Khabarovsk. In the pre-revolutionary period most
local inhabitants were farmers. The only industrial enterprise was the Tungusskiy timber mill,
although gold was mined in the Sutara River, and there were some small railway workshops.
During the civil war, the territory of the future Jewish Autonomous Oblast was the scene of
terrible battles. The economy declined, though it was recovering in 1926 and 1927.

Jewish settlement and development in the region:

On March 28, 1928, the Presidium of the General Executive Committee of the USSR passed the
decree "On the attaching for Komzetof free territory near the Amur River in the Far East for
settlement of the working Jews." The decree meant that there was "a possibility of
establishment of a Jewish administrative territorial unit on the territory of the called region".

On August 20, 1930 the General Executive Committee of RSFSR accepted the decree "On
formation of the Birobidzhan national region as a separate economic unit. In 1932 the first
scheduled figures of the region development were considered and authorized.

On May 7, 1934, the Presidium of the General Executive Committee accepted the decree on its
transformation in the Jewish Autonomous Region within the Russian Federation. In 1938, with
formatyion of the Khabarovsk Territory, the Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR) was included in
its structure.

According to Joseph Stalin's national policy, each of the national groups that formed the Soviet
Union would receive a territory in which to pursue cultural autonomy in a socialist framework.
In that sense, it was also a response to two supposed threats to the Soviet state: Judaism,
which ran counter to official state policy of atheism; and Zionism, and the creation of the
modern State of Israel, which countered Soviet views of nationalism. The idea was to create a
new "Soviet Zion", where a proletarian Jewish culture could be developed. Yiddish, rather than
Hebrew, would be the national language, and a new socialist literature and arts would replace
religion as the primary expression of culture.

Stalin's theory on the National Question held that a group could only be a nation if they had a
territory, and since there was no Jewish territory, per se, the Jews were not a nation and did
not have national rights. Jewish Communists argued that the way to solve this ideological
dilemma was by creating a Jewish territory, hence the ideological motivation for the Jewish
Autonomous Oblast. Politically it was also considered desirable to create a Soviet Jewish
homeland as an ideological alternative to Zionism and the theory put forward by Socialist
Zionists such as Ber Borochov that the Jewish Question could be resolved by creating a Jewish
territory in Palestine. Thus Birobidzhan was important for propaganda purposes as an
argument against Zionism which was a rival ideology to Marxism among left-wing Jews. The
propaganda impact was so effective that several thousand Jews immigrated to Birobidzhan from
outside the Soviet Union, including several hundred from Palestine who had become
disillusioned with the Zionist experience.

Another important goal of the Birobidzhan project was to increase settlement in the remote
Soviet Far East, especially along the vulnerable border with China. In 1928, there was virtually
no settlement in the area, while Jews had deep roots in the western half of the Soviet Union, in
Ukraine, Belarus and Russia proper. In fact, there had initially been proposals to create a
Jewish Voviet Republic in the Crimea or in part of Ukraine but these were rejected because of
fears of antagonizing non-Jews in those regions.

The geography and climate of Birobidzhan were harsh, the landscape largely swampland, and
any new settlers would have to build their lives from scratch. Some have even claimed that
Stalin was also motivated by anti-Semitism in selecting Birobidzhan: he wanted to keep the
Jews as far away from the centers of power as possible. On the other hand, it must be said that
the Ukrainians and Crimeans were reluctant to have a Jewish national home carved out of their
territory, even though most Soviet Jews lived there, and there were very few alternative
territories without rival national claims to them.

In the 1930s, a massive propaganda campaign was underway to induce more Jewish settlers to
move there. Some of these incorporated the standard Soviet propaganda tools of the era, and
included posters and Yiddish-language novels describing a socialist utopia there. Other
methods bordered on the bizarre. In one instance, leaflets promoting Birobidzhan were dropped
from an airplane over a Jewish neighborhood in Belarus. In another instance, a
government-produced Yiddish film called Seekers of Happiness told the story of a Jewish family
that fled the Depression in the United States to make a new life for itself in Birobidzhan.

As the Jewish population grew, so did the impact of Yiddish culture on the region. A Yiddish
newspaper, the Birobidzhaner Shtern (Star of Birobidzhan), was established; a theater troupe was
created; and streets being built in the new city were named after prominent Yiddish authors
such as Sholom Aleichem and Y. L. Peretz. The Yiddish language was deliberately bolstered as
a basis for efforts to secularize the Jewish population and, despite the general curtailment of
this action as described immediately below, the Birobidzhaner Shtern continues to publish a
section in Yiddish.

Valdgeym is a Jewish settlement within the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. [2] The settlement was
founded in 1928 and was the first collective farm established in the Oblast. [3] In 1980 a
Yiddish school was opened in the settlement. [4] Amurzet also has a history of Jewish
settlement in ghe JAO. [5] [6] [7] For the period 1929 through 1939, this village was the
center of Jewish settlement south of Birobidzhan. [8] The present day Jewish Community
members hold Kabalat Shabbat ceremonies and gatherings that feature songs in Yiddish,
Jewish cuisine, and broad information presenting historical facts on Jewish culture. Many
descendants of the founders of this settlement, which was established just after the turn of the
20th century, have left their native village. Those who remained here in Amurzet, especdially
those having relatives in Israel, are learning about the traditions and roots of the Jewish
people. [9] The population of Amurzet, as estimated in late 2006, is 5,213. [10] Smidovich is
another early Jewish settlement in the JAO.

Stalin and Doctors' Plot:

The Birobidzhan experiment ground to a halt in the mid- 1930s. during Stalin's first campaign
of purges. Jewish leaders were arrested and executed, and Yiddish schools were shut down.
Shortly after this, World War II brought to an abrupt end concerted efforts to bring Jews east.
Curiously, arond these decades, some Japanese officials were pushing the Fugu Plan to attract
Jews to the Japanese vassal state of Manchukuo in the former Chinese part of Manchuria.

There was a slight revival in the Birobidzhan idea after the war as a potential home for Jewish
refugees. During that time, the Jewish population of the region peaked at almost one-third of
the total. Efforts in this direction, however, with the Doctor's plot, the establishment of Israel
as a Jewish state, and Stalin's second wave of purges shortly before his death. Once again, the
Jewish leadership was arrested and efforts was made to stamp out Yissish culture---even the
Judaica collection in the local library was burned. In the ensuing years the idea of an
autonomous Jewish region in the Soviet Union was all but forgotten.

Some scholars such as Louis Rapoport, Jonathan Brent and Vladimir Naumov assert that Stalin
had devised a plan to deport all of the Jews of the Soviet Union to Birobidzhan much as he had
internally deported other national minorities such as the Crimean Tatars and Volga Germans,
forcing them to move thousands of miles from their homes. The Doctors' Plot may have been
the first element of this plan. If so, the plan was aborted by Stalin's death on March 5, 1953.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and new liberal emigration policies, most of the
remaining Jewish population left for Germany and Israel. In 1991, the Jewish Autonomous
Oblast was transferred from under the jurisdiction of Khaborovsk Krai to the jurisdiction of
the Federation, but by that time most of the Jews had gone and the remaining Jews now
constituted less than two percent of the local population. Nevertheless, Yiddish is once again
taught in the schools, a Yiddish radio station is in operation, and as noted above, the
Birobidzhaner Shtern includes a section in Yiddish.

L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!, a documentary on Stalin's creation of the Jewish Autonomous
Region and its settlement, was released in 2003. In addition to being a history of the creation
of the proposed Jewish homeland, the film features scenes of contemporary Birobidzhan and
interviews with Jewish residents.

Education:

The Birobidzhan Jewish National University works in cooperation with the local Jewish
community of Biroidzhan. The university is unique in the Russian Far East. The basis of the
training ourse is study of the Hebrew language, history and classic Jewish texts. [11]

In recent years, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast has grown interested in its Jewish roots.
Students study Hebrew and Yiddish at a Jewish school and Birobidzhan Jewish National
University. In 1989, the Jewish center founded its Sunday school, where children study Yiddish,
learn Jewish folk dances, and memorize dates from the history of Israel. The Israeli
government helps fund the program. [12]

Within Birobidzhan, there are several state-run schools that teach Yiddish, a Yiddish school for
religious instruction and a kindergarten. The five to seven year-olds spend two lessons a week
learning to speak Yiddish, as well as being taught Jewish songs, dance and traditions. [13]
Today the city's 14 public schools must teach Yiddish and Jewish tradition. The school Menora
was created in 1991. It is a public school that offers a half-day Yiddish and Jewish curriculum
for those parents who choose it. About half the school's 120 pupils are enrolled in the Yiddish
course. Many of them continue on to Public School No. 2, which offers the same half-day
Yiddish/Jewish curriculum from first through 12th grade. Yiddish also is offered at
Birobidzhan's Pedagogical Institute, one of the only university-level Yiddish courses in the
country. [14]

In 2007, "The First Birobidzhan International Summer Program for Yiddish Language and
Culture" was launched by Yiddish studies professor Boris Kotleman of Bar-Ilan University. [15]
Yiddish is still the region's second official language after Russian, although it is spoken only by
a handful of the 4,000 remaining Jews. [16]

Judaism in the 21st century:

In 2004 the Regional Government announced that Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar has
agreed to take part in the 70th anniversary celebration for the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.
Rabbi Lazar and Avraham Berkowitz, the Executive Director of the Federartion of Jewish
Communities CIS will lead a delegation to Birobidjan for the event. Rabbi Mordechai Scheiner,
the Chief Rabbi of Birobidjan, Chabad Lubavitch representative to the region, and host of
Yiddishkeit said "Today one can enjoy the benefits of the Yiddish culture and not be afraid to
return to their Jewish traditions. It is safe without any Anti-Semitism and we plan to open the
first Jewish day school here". It is estimated that at least 3,000 Jews live today in the city.
Mordechai Scheiner, an Israeli father of six, has been the rabbi in Birobidzhan for the last five
years. The Birobidzhan Synagogue opened in 2004. [5] The Federation of Jewish
Communities of Russia estimates the number of Jews in Russia at about one million, 0.7
percent of the country's 143 million population. Sheiner says there are 4,000 Jews in
Birobidzhan -- just over 5 percent of the town's 75,000 population. [6] Governor Nikolay
Mikhaylovich Volkov has stated that he intends to, "support every valuable   initiative
maintained by our local Jewish organizations." [7} In December 2005, the candle-lighting of a
Hanukkah Ndnorah in the city's center involved Alexander Vinnikov, who lit the 'shamash'
candle and passed it to the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and Chabad Lubavich
representative, Mordechai. [8] For the Chanukah celebration of 2007, officials of Birobidzhan
in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast claimed to have build the world's largest menorah. [9] Lev
Toitman, was the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS Chairman for Birobidzhan's
4,500 member Jewish Community until his death on September 11, 2007. [10]

Economy:

The economy is based on mining (gold, tin, iron, and graphite), lumber, limited agriculture, and
light manufacturing (mainly textiles and food processing).

Amuur Bridge Project:

Valery Solomonovich Gurevich, government vice-chairman of Russia's Jewish Autonomous
Oblast said that China and Russia will start construction of the Amur Bridge Project at the end
of 2007. The bridge will link Nizhneleninskoye in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast with
Tongjiang in Heilongjiang Province. [11] The 2,197-meter-long bridge, with an estimated
investment of nearly US$230 million, is expected to be finished by the end of 2010, Gurevich
said. [12] Gurevich said that the proposal to construct a bridge across the river was actually
made by Russia, in view of growing cargo transportation demands. "Te bridge, in the bold
estimate, will be finished in three years," Gurevich said. [13]

Notes:

1. ^Mark Tolts: The Post-Soviet Jewish Population in Russia and the World, Published in:
Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe, 2004, No. 1 (52), p.51

2. ^ [1]

3. ^ Demockon Weekly.

4. ^a b c Establishment and Development of the JAR Jewish Autonomous Region official
government website. Accessed 2007-08-30

5. ^Far East Community Prepares for 70th Anniversary of Jewish Autonomous Republic
Federation of Jewish Communities.

6. ^From Tractors to Torah in Russia's Land Jewish Federation of Russia.

7. ^Governor voices Support for Growing Far East Jewish Community Federation of Jewish
Communities.

8. ^Jewish Autonomous Republic Comes Alight at Chanukah Federation of Jewish
Communities.

9. ^World's largest menorah in Russia? JTA.

10. ^Far East Jewish Community Chairman Passes Away Federation of Jewish Communities.

11. ^Proposed bridge to boost bilateral trade Times First.

12. ^China-Russia Trade to Top US$40b China.org.

13. ^Cross-border bridge on Heilong River to bring Russia closer China Daily.

See Also:

>History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union
>Yevsektsiya
>Jewish Bolshevism
>In Search of Happiness
>Territorialism
>Jews and Judaism in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
>Beit T'Shuva
>Boris "Dov" Kaufman

References:

>Shternshis, Anna, Soviet and Kosher; Jewish Popular Culture in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939,
Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2006, ISBN 0-253-34726-2.

>Weinberg, Robert, Stalin's Forgotten Zion; Birobidzham and the Making of a Soviet Jewish
Homeland, University of Calfornia Press, Berkeley, 1998, ISBN 0-520-20989-3.

> [17]
> [18]
> [19]
> [20]
> [21]
> [22]
> [23]
> [24]

Films:

> (English) 'L 'Chayim, Comrade Stalin (2002)' at the Internet Movie Database.

External Links:

> (English) Official government site.

> (English) Jewish Autonomous Oblast (Travel East Russia).

> (English) Bifobidizhan: Stalin's Forgotten Zion.

> (Russian) Birobidzhan: Dream of a Jewish Homeland That Never Came True bu Eve-Maria
Stolberg (Russian Archipelago)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Autonomous_Oblast"

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