Film: L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!

The other Jewish homeland: "L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!" is a 2002 US documentary film by Yale Strom portraying the Jewish Autonomous Region (Oblast) that formed part of the former Soviet Union and is still in existence in today's Russia.

Synopsis: "In April 1928, twenty years before the founding of Israel, Joseph Stalin created the world's first Jewish homeland in the Soviet Union, in a barren stretch of land on Siberia's Far Eastern border. Although conceived as a solution to the 'Jewish problem,' The Jewish Autonomous Region (or J.A.R.), became a center for Yiddish culture and tradition, and was the first place in the world where Yiddish culture thrived. The J.A.R. attracted Jewish settlers from across the Soviet Union and even as far away as the United States, Argentina, and Palestine. By 1948 the Jewish population had peaked at 45,000 (roughly one-quarter of the region's total demographics). The J.A.R. was home to Yiddish schools, theaters, publications and synagogues. Filmed on location in Birobidzhan, capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region, L'CHAYIM, COMRADE STALIN! features interviews with pioneer settlers and current residents, plus footage never before seen outside Russia (as well as the rare propaganda film Seekers of Happiness). This beautifully directed and startling work offers a fascinating glimpse into the most intriguing chapter in 20th century Jewish and Russian histories." (They may be overdoing the hype there ...)

Reviews: "It's rare that historical documentaries aspire to, much less attain, any kind of narrative vigor – the stories are generally too familiar. But 'L'Chayim, Comrade Stalin!' is a bold exception, replete with surprises, twists and thought-provoking anecdotes." ("Boxoffice Magazine")

"Energetic and informative, albeit more than a little haphazard, Yale Strom's new documentary explores [...] a Russian social experiment that sounds as fantastical as any science-fiction script. [...] Stalin got the notion of disposing of Russia's problematic Jews by encouraging them to move to Birobidzhan and become a Yiddish-speaking agrarian proletariat. The Belgium-sized area he selected [...] was closer to Korea than to Moscow. It soon became known to other Russians as 'a very small Jewish town at the end of the world.'" ("Los Angeles Times")

"Like Strom's earlier docs, L'Chayim Comrade Stalin is best appreciated as an exercise in creative ethnography." ("Village Voice")

May not be the best film imaginable on the subject, but it appears to be the only one that actually exists.