Birobidzhan

Coat of arms
Data
District:	Far Eastern Federal
Location:	48°48′N 132°57′E

Birobidzhan (Russian: Биробиджа́н; Yiddish: ביראָבידזשאן) is the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia. It lies on the rivers Bira and Bidzhan, close to the Chinese border and on the Trans-Siberian railway, at 48°48′N 132°57′E. As of the 2002 Census, it had 77,250 people.

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 Region and its settlement by thousands of 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.

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)