The Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan, Josef Stalin's solution to his "Jewish Problem," was established in 1934. After the Russian Revolution, the Jewish people-many of whom had harbored high hopes for the rise of Communism-found themselves mired in the same crushing poverty and persecution as before.

Stalin decided to kill three birds with one stone: make the Jews into cheerful and hardy agricultural workers, populate a buffer zone that would keep China and Japan in check, and score a diplomatic coup by giving the Jewish people their first homeland in almost 2,000 years. The region of Birobidzhan was the solution-an area in Far East Russia about twice the size of New Jersey. At its height in the late 1930s, the population of the region was 109,000.

However, the Jewish workers' paradise was doomed to failure. Poor soil, inadequate planning, and Stalin's later purges of the Jews and other minorities ended this odd footnote in Jewish history.

A remnant of the Jewish community is still there, however-and is now being offered a homeland in eternity through the message of Messiah that is finally reaching them. Please pray for this Jewish community as we continue to reach out with true friendship and the hope of the Gospel.

For further reading:

• Stalin's Forgotten Zion