The Jewish Steppe
Encyclopedia
The Jewish Steppe is a 2001 documentary
about a group of Russian Jews who, exhausted by prejudice
and fearful of pogroms, left their homeland to farm the untamed Crimean Peninsula. Established in the 1920s, their Soviet agrarian commune
met with a tragic end.
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 nineteenth century, antisemitism ran rampant in Russia. Legislation
was passed that limited Jews to working only in retail and handicrafts. When these laws were finally lifted, around the time the Russian Revolution of 1917
, pogroms broke out. Willing to face new challenges in order to leave their present state of oppression, approximately 30,000 Jews decided to make a new lives for themselves in the Crimean Peninsula. Unafraid of the hard work, they left their homes and all that was familiar to learn how to farm the rugged Crimean Peninsula. Full of bravery and determination, they overcame tremendous obstacles and developed into one of Russia's major agricultural providers. Rare pictures and film footage from the Russian State Film and Photo Archives are narrated in The Jewish Steppe to explain how these Soviet Jews struggled against their countrymen and nature in hopes of creating happy and productive lives for themselves.
The Jewish Steppe points to the strength of the human spirit. The Jews who relocated knew little about farming, had no machinery, no assets, and were on hilly land with extreme seasons, making it difficult to cultivate. But they were determined to survive and willing to work hard. One newspaper wrote that everyone, from the elderly to children, were competing with each other to work harder. Together they taught each other the little that they knew and eventually their farms began to flourish. In fact, in 1931 Russia faced a major famine
, but the Jewish settlements continued to have a bountiful harvest that helped feed the rest of the nation during its grain shortage.
Only two years after it was settled, the area was recognized as the Soviet Union's first Jewish district. The social experiment was a success. Their farming was able to sustained them, and they went on to establish schools and two colleges.
The sense of accomplishments had a profound effect on the community's mentality. A people who had become accustomed to prejudice and hardships could begin to relax. “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 goes on to explain that these changes are particularly noticeable in the younger generation.
Under Stalin, all this was destroyed, leaving only archival footage and documents as their legacy. The slow-moving, poetic shots seen in The Jewish Steppe, hint at what their community was like. One shot captures an elderly couple as they pick a basket full of grapes. Once their basket brimming, they walk back home through the field together. It's clear that after distancing themselves from antisemitism and learning to cultivate the land, they've finally able to enjoy life's simple pleasures—each other's company and the grapes.
Other documentaries about Jews of the Diaspora:
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about a group of Russian Jews who, exhausted by prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
and fearful of pogroms, left their homeland to farm the untamed Crimean Peninsula. Established in the 1920s, their Soviet agrarian commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
met with a tragic end.
Summary
“Why should the Jewish people go to PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
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 nineteenth century, antisemitism ran rampant in Russia. Legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
was passed that limited Jews to working only in retail and handicrafts. When these laws were finally lifted, around the time the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, pogroms broke out. Willing to face new challenges in order to leave their present state of oppression, approximately 30,000 Jews decided to make a new lives for themselves in the Crimean Peninsula. Unafraid of the hard work, they left their homes and all that was familiar to learn how to farm the rugged Crimean Peninsula. Full of bravery and determination, they overcame tremendous obstacles and developed into one of Russia's major agricultural providers. Rare pictures and film footage from the Russian State Film and Photo Archives are narrated in The Jewish Steppe to explain how these Soviet Jews struggled against their countrymen and nature in hopes of creating happy and productive lives for themselves.
The Jewish Steppe points to the strength of the human spirit. The Jews who relocated knew little about farming, had no machinery, no assets, and were on hilly land with extreme seasons, making it difficult to cultivate. But they were determined to survive and willing to work hard. One newspaper wrote that everyone, from the elderly to children, were competing with each other to work harder. Together they taught each other the little that they knew and eventually their farms began to flourish. In fact, in 1931 Russia faced a major famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
, but the Jewish settlements continued to have a bountiful harvest that helped feed the rest of the nation during its grain shortage.
Only two years after it was settled, the area was recognized as the Soviet Union's first Jewish district. The social experiment was a success. Their farming was able to sustained them, and they went on to establish schools and two colleges.
The sense of accomplishments had a profound effect on the community's mentality. A people who had become accustomed to prejudice and hardships could begin to relax. “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 goes on to explain that these changes are particularly noticeable in the younger generation.
Under Stalin, all this was destroyed, leaving only archival footage and documents as their legacy. The slow-moving, poetic shots seen in The Jewish Steppe, hint at what their community was like. One shot captures an elderly couple as they pick a basket full of grapes. Once their basket brimming, they walk back home through the field together. It's clear that after distancing themselves from antisemitism and learning to cultivate the land, they've finally able to enjoy life's simple pleasures—each other's company and the grapes.
See also
- History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet UnionHistory of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet UnionThe vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest populations of Jews in the diaspora. Within these territories the Jewish community flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of...
- Stalin
- Crimean Peninsula
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