##Jewish Autonomous Region

A browse through the Lonely Planet message board today turned up <a href="http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=19&threadid=96214&messid=777245&STARTPAGE=1&parentid=0&from=1" title="What to do in Vladivostok and Jewish Autonomous Region">this gem</a>:

<blockquote>
<strong>Q:</strong> In LP's Russia, Belarus & Ukraine the map shows an area in the vicinity of Vladivostok called "the Jewish Autonomous Region" (or something close to that. Does anyone know what that is?

--<strong>A:</strong> I noticed the Jewish Autonomous Region on a world map in 1999. I asked a friend if she knew anything about it, and she asked another friend who turned up some information. It was apparently some aborted attempt to give Russian Jews some kind of homeland, but surprisingly enough they all wanted to go to Israel instead. He reckoned there would be very few if any traces of Jewish culture. let me know if you get there, I'd be interested to hear about it.
</blockquote>

I got another idea: they didn't want to freeze their bums off!