''The Jewish Steppe'' is a 2001 documentary about a group of

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

who, suffering as a result of

prejudice Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...

and fearful of

pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

, left their homeland to farm the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

. Established in the 1920s, their

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

agrarian

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

was destroyed.

Summary

"Why should the Jewish people go to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

where the land is less productive and requires big investments?" a Jewish newspaper asked at the time of the settlement, "Who go so far if the fertile Crimean land is beckoning to the Jewish people?" At the turn of the twentieth century,

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

was common in Russia. Legislation was passed that limited Jews to working only in retail and handicrafts. When these laws were lifted, around the time the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, pogroms broke out. Approximately 30,000 Jews left for the Crimean Peninsula. Rare pictures and film footage from the

Russian State Film and Photo Archive Russian State Film and Photo Archive (russian: Российский государственный архив кинофотодокументов), also known as Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive, or Krasnogorsk Archive, or simply ...

are narrated in ''The Jewish Steppe'' to explain how they lived there. One newspaper wrote that everyone on the steppe was competing with each other to work harder. When, in 1931, famine occurred in Russia, the Jewish settlements continued to have an abundant harvest that helped feed the rest of the nation during its grain shortage. Two years after it was settled, the area was recognized as the Soviet Union's first Jewish district. They went on to establish schools and two colleges. "As a result of healthy life and labor," a local farmer commented in a newspaper, "peace of mind is replacing the nervousness typical for Jewish people. Movements have become measured, and faces have become calm." He went on to say that these changes were particularly noticeable in the younger generation. Under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, the commune was destroyed, leaving only archival footage and documents.

References

External links

''Study of Jewish Agricultural Colonies in the Ukraine''
by Chaim Freedman, 2002. Introduction to the Study of the Agricultural Colonies at KehilaLinks.JewishGen.org. General presentation of the phenomenon and related documents, but no mention of the 2001 documentary film. Re-accessed 2021-11-15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Steppe Documentary films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era History of Crimea Documentary films about Jews and Judaism Documentary films about refugees Russian short documentary films 2001 films 2001 short documentary films 2000s English-language films

Summary

See also

References

External links