Birobidzhan, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (S2.10)

Full shownotes at: www.80dayspodcast.com/jao || In the finale of season 2 of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we'll be discussing the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, a somewhat independent region in the Russian Far East wedged between Siberia and Northern China. Its capital is the city of Birobidzhan, and with 75,000 inhabitants it is by far the most populated part of the region. For that reason, the name Birobidzhan is often used to refer to the whole area. Officially founded in 1934 as an attempt to create a Jewish state within Russian borders, the territory was the world’s first attempt at a Jewish national homeland in modern times, and today is Russia's only autonomous oblast. Aside from Israel, it is the world's only officially Jewish territory. As of the 2010 Census, JAO's population was 176,558 people, or 0.1% of the total population of Russia. Judaism is practiced by only 0.2% of the population of the JAO. This special episode was commissioned by one our very generous Kickstarter backers, Ian Prince of New York City. Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Switzerland. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)