Gennady Estraikh, "The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia" (Bloombury, 2023)

About this episode

Alisa interviews Dr. Gennady Estraikh about his book on the history and significance of Birobidzhan as a Soviet Jewish homeland.

In this episode, Alisa interviews Dr. Gennady Estraikh. His book titled, The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) was published as a part of the "Russian Shorts" series. Gennady Estraikh's book explores the birth, growth, demise and afterlife of the Birobidzhan Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR). The History of Birobidzhan looks at how the shtetl was widely used in Soviet propaganda as a perfect solution to the 'Jewish question', arguing that in reality, while being demographically and culturally insignificant, the JAR played a key, and essentially detrimental, role in determining Jewish rights and entitlements in the Soviet world. Estraikh brings together a broad range of Russian and Yiddish sources, including archival materials, newspaper articles, travelogues, memoirs, belles-letters, and scholarly publications, as he describes and analyses the project and its realization not in isolation, but rather in the context of developments in both domestic and international life. As well as offering an assessment of the Birobidzhan project in the contexts of Soviet and Jewish history, the book also focuses on the contemporary…

People in this episode

Host: Alisa

Guest: Dr. Gennady Estraikh

Topics covered

• Soviet Jewish history
• Birobidzhan
• Jewish Autonomous Region
• propaganda
• cultural significance
• Jewish rights

Keywords

• Birobidzhan
• Soviet Union
• Jewish history
• Gennady Estraikh
• propaganda
• Jewish rights
• Yiddish sources
• Russian history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bloomsbury Academic

Books & works: The History of Birobidzhan: Building a Soviet Jewish Homeland in Siberia

Places: Birobidzhan, Siberia, Soviet Union

More episodes of New Books in Jewish Studies

• The Legacy of Chaim Grade · June 13, 2026
• Stephen Spector, "God and the First Families: Parenting, Trauma, and Healing in the Book of Genesis" (Jewish Publication Society, 2026) · June 12, 2026 · 43 min
• Christopher D. Stanley, "A Ram for Mars" (NFB Publishing, 2026) · June 9, 2026 · 59 min
• Matti Friedman, "Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe" (Spiegel & Grau, 2026) · June 9, 2026 · 35 min
• Sarah M. Cushman et al eds., "The Routledge Handbook to Auschwitz-Birkenau" (Routledge, 2026) · June 7, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Jane Kanarek, "Beyond Brutality: Reclaiming Female Presence in Bavli Sotah" (Brandeis UP, 2025) · June 6, 2026 · 1h 3m