The building of the State Jewish Theater in Birobidzhan. On Lenin Street. 40s.
Photo: State Archive of the Jewish Autonomous Region
May 10, 1922
In the documentary book “The Immortality of the Names of the Volochaev Land” (12+), the order of the Military Council of the Eastern Front M 112 dated May 10, 1922 was published, which read: “The machine gunner Ivan Shvedov is awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
From the beginning of the fighting, Comrade Shvedov behaved like one of the excellent and fearless soldiers of the company. In a battle near the village of Kukelevo, the company came across enemy wire barriers behind which an enemy machine gun stood and did not allow them to overcome this obstacle. Comrade Shvedov quickly found the target – the enemy's machine gun and opened well-aimed fire from his machine gun, shot it down and was the first to rush into the attack, shouting: “Hurray!”, drawing the entire company with him.
In the battle near the Vasilievka station, while in the sector of the first battalion, he was seriously wounded and was captured after the battalion retreated. Having waited until nightfall, Comrade. Shvedov escaped from captivity and was sent to the hospital.
Commander of the troops J. Pokus.”
May 10, 1936
In the “Birobidzhan Star” (12+) for May 10, 1936, the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On the national economic plan of the Jewish Autonomous Region for 1936” was published.
It was planned to commission the first stage of a garment factory, two kilns of the Londokovsky lime plant for 20 thousand tons of lime, build a printing house, a ten-year school for 880 places, begin construction of a brick factory, a power plant, a regional library and other facilities.
May 10, 1946
St. Sholom Aleichem in Birobidzhan. 1984. Photo: Photo: State Archive of the Jewish Autonomous Region
By decision of the Birobidzhan City Executive Committee dated May 10, 1946 No. 313, Partizanskaya Street was renamed Sholom Aleichem Street.
May 10, 1950
In the book by D. Weisserman “Birobidzhan: Dreams and Tragedy” (12+) it is said that May 10, 1950 was the final day of the theater’s functioning in Birobidzhan.
The building of the State Theater of the city of Birobidzhan. On Lenin Street. 40s. Photo: Photo: State Archive of the Jewish Autonomous Region
“On September 12, 1949, P. V. Simonov sent a letter to Moscow with a request to liquidate the Birobidzhan State Jewish Theater named after L. M. Kaganovich.
The answer came from Moscow a month later. In October 1949, by order of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, the theater was liquidated as unprofitable.
Immediately after the liquidation of the Jewish theater troupe, the actors united into a self-supporting group that staged performances only in Russian. From January to May 1950, this group presented performances based on plays by A. Sobko. The team went on tour several times to the regions and remote settlements of the region. However, the closure of the state Jewish theater led to the fact that the region was left without a professional theater, that is, without government funding.
Simonov came to his senses and on May 23, 1950 sent another letter to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR B.N. Chernousov:
“Taking into account that there are no other theaters in the JAO, and the theaters of the Khabarovsk Territory do not serve the working people of the region, the regional committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of the JAO considers it expedient to preserve the self-supporting theater group created on the basis of the liquidated state theater named after Kaganovich and asks to give instructions to the Committee for Arts Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR on the registration of a self-supporting theater group in the city of Birobidzhan. Absence legal registration, complicates the financial and organizational activities of the team and threatens its continued existence.”
“But this time the letter remained unanswered…”
