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The capital city of Jewish autonomous oblast: Birobidzhan.
Jewish autonomous oblast (also spelled Yevreyskaya on Russian) is a part of Far-Eastern federal district of Russian Federation with the administrative center Birobidzhan. In the south the region borders on China (along the river Amur).
The population of Jewish autonomous oblast is about 185,000 (2010) on the territory of 36,300 sq. km.
On May 7th, 1934, the Jewish national district founded in 1930 received the status of Jewish autonomous oblast. After all the rest autonomous republics of Russia were reformed in 1990s, the Jewish autonomous oblast remained the only autonomous oblast in Russian Federation.
Jewish autonomous oblast differs from other national autonomies in Russia (before - in former USSR) in its unique history; it was founded in early 1930s as a national-territorial region for people migrating there during Soviet power, this territory has never been a place of Jews compact living.
Jews migrating to this region in 1920-1930s and their descendants have never been a majority of population of the oblast, and after large repatriation to Israel in 1970-1990s they remained a small minority here.
Nowadays over 15,000 repatriates migrated from Jewish autonomous oblast live in Israel, over 5,000 of them live in the city Maalot, making a half of city’s population. Repatriates from Jewish autonomous oblast come at all-Israel meeting every year. But the status and the name of autonomous oblast still remain supported by unique symbolic and cultural coloring and history.
Jewish region nature
Jewish region view
Jewish region landscape
By its natural and climate conditions Jewish autonomous oblast refers to one of favorable places in the Far East of Russia. Its territory is presented by 2 types of relief - mountainous and plain land. Mountainous regions are the southern part of Hingano-Bureinskaya mountain chain occupying half of the territory. The plain in the south and east is the western part of Middle-Amur lowland.
The climate of the region is of monsoon type. Winters are cold with little snow (average temperature in January is from -21C in the south to -26C in the mountains), summers are warm and humid.
Fertile lands as well as deposits, rivers Amur, Bira, Bidzhan, large forests are the main features of the oblast. Out of 2.2 million hectares of forests 170 hectares are cedar ones, 223,000 h. - silver fur-tree, 145,000 h. - deciduous forests. The timber stock is about 167,000,000 m3.
In south-west, south and south-east the territory (584 km long) of the oblast is washed by one of the greatest rivers of the continent - Amur. It is 1.5 km broad near western borders of the oblast (at the settlement Pashkovo), and 2.5 km - at the eastern borders. Meat and milk producing and poultry farming are important branches of agriculture of the region.
On the territory of Jewish autonomous oblast the deposits of over 20 minerals were found and prospected, such as: iron, manganese, tin, gold, graphite, magnesite, zeolite, there are curing mineral springs. Jewish autonomous oblast is one of the richest in Russia in number and concentration of deposits and mines.
But natural resources are not fully studied or prospected. Besides, most of raw material is taken to other regions, there is a little of processing plants. The most promising deposits should and might attract Russian and foreign investors’ attention. This could have helped in using the deposits more effectively.
Jewish autonomous district view
Jewish autonomous oblast scenery
Jewish autonomous oblast border
Jewish autonomous district road
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