Regional newspapers as an ethnographic source by a case study of “Birobidzhan star” and “Birobidzhaner shtern”

The relevance of the research is due to the lack of ethnographic studies related to the Jewish Autonomous Region. The purpose of the study is to prove that “Birobidzhan Star” and “Birobidzhaner Shtern” are valuable ethnographic, cultural and anthropological sources. Jewish Autonomous Region is a young region where there has been a large number of Jewish population since its foundation. Settlers (the Jews, Russians, Koreans and other peoples) had to live together with indigenous minorities. Such a neighborhood implied close cultural and economic relationships. Periodicals along with archival and field materials provide information not only on life and main events of the region but also on its history, culture and way of life of peoples living in it. The paper analyzes the historical and cultural materials of the region published in the above-mentioned newspapers. The focus is on the impact of regional denominations on the population. The authors propose an original classification of publications presented in “Birobidzhan Star” and “Birobidzhaner Shtern”.