This is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, in far eastern Russia. A region of Russia buried deep in the far east, on the border with China, and founded by Stalin during the USSR period as a homeland for the Jewish people (actually prior to the foundation of Israel). But what is the Jewish autonomous oblast like in 2026? Are there any Jews still living in the capital, Birobidzhan? And how do people react to foreigners in this remote corner of Russia? Let’s travel to Birobidzhan, in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, one of Russia’s most infamous regions, and find out what life here is really like…