Birobidzhan
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Birobidzhan (Russian: Биробиджа́н; Yiddish: ביראָבידזשאן) is the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia. It lies close to the Chinese border and on the Trans-Siberian railway, at . As of the 2002 Census, it had 77,250 people. Birobidzhan got its name from the names of two largest rivers in Jewish Autonomous Oblast: Bira and Bidzhan, but only Bira runs through the city. Bidzhan runs to the west of Birobidzhan and flows into the same river as Bira does - Amur.
Visitors find the city surprisingly green. There is mostly light industry.
A documentary film, L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin! on Stalin's creation of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and its partial settlement by thousands of Russian and Yiddish-speaking Jews was released in 2003. In addition to history of the creation of the proposed Jewish homeland, the film features scenes of contemporary Birobidzhan and interviews with Jewish residents.
[edit] External links
- Birobidzhan from 1929 to 1931 - photo album (Digitized page images) at US Library of Congress
- Atlas: Birobidzhan
- Birobidzhan.rfn.ru
- Birobidzhan government homepage (official)
- Birobidzhan Photo Gallery (official)
- Birobidzan, Stalin’s Forgotten Zion by Jonas Bendiksen (Magnum Photos)
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Cities and towns in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast |  |
| Administrative center: Birobidzhan |
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