Birobidzhan.

History

Tikhonkaya station opened on the Amur Railway in 1912–1915. On 28 March 1928 a decision was made to settle the area with Jewish colonists, and the first 856 arrived that same year. The settlement was renamed Birobidzhan in 1931, became the centre of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in 1934 and received town status on 2 March 1937.

Culture & traditions

Yiddish is taught in schools as part of the region's heritage, and the Sholem Aleichem Amur State University offers Yiddish, Hebrew and Jewish history. The synagogue completed in 2004 houses a Sunday school, a library and a museum. The city has a Jewish musical theatre, the Kudesnik puppet theatre and a philharmonic, and its festival of Jewish song and music has been international since 1991. A summer programme in Yiddish language and culture has run here since 2007, and the Sholem Aleichem monument features a Fiddler on the Roof sculpture.

Sport

The best-known club is the bandy side Nadezhda. The city has two stadiums, Dalselmash and Druzhba, and three swimming pools. Locals take part in speed skating, boxing, football, volleyball and basketball.

Practical information

The nearest major airport is Khabarovsk Novy, about 198 km away. The Trans-Siberian Railway and the Amur federal highway run through the city. Local time is Moscow plus 7 hours. The climate is monsoonal, with very cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers, so late summer or early autumn is the most comfortable time to visit.

What to see

• Sholem Aleichem Street — the main street, with the writer's monument and its Fiddler on the Roof.
• Menorah monument on Station Square — the city's emblem for arrivals by train.
• Synagogue — the community hub with a school, library and museum.
• Annunciation Cathedral — the city's main Orthodox church.
• Bira River — flowing through the city and giving it half its name.