Dominated by mountains and forests in the north, swamplands and marshes in the south, Birobidzhan was a relatively uninhabited area in the mid-1920s with a population of only 27,000 in an area larger then Belgium (15). The best evidence available shows that the decision to choose Birobidzhan was made by representatives of the People's Commissariat for Agriculture, experts from the People's Commissariat of Defense, the Russian scientist Vladimir Komarov as well as the Soviet president Mikhail Kalinin (16). Many Jews within the communist party supported the idea; the Commissar for Jewish National Affairs Semyon Dimonshtein sees this support in a quote as he said, "Birobidzhan will become the most important guardian of the Jewish national culture." (17). Although Jewish support was seen, Birobidzhan was never created out of Jewish initiative, and it was openly protested by leading KOMZET members such as Yuri Larin who argued against a harsh climate, unsuitable soil and the fact that Birobidzhan was a considerable distance away from any major Jewish population (18). Proponents of Birobidzhan seem to have chosen the area for a number of reasons, and any opposition to the plan was silenced. Settlement of Jews in the area seems to have been done not only because the settlers were to be Jewish but simply just to get any population in the eastern Soviet Union. The reasons behind a desire to populate the east, was the fear of Japanese expansion into the area (19). Logistical problems in the Russo-Japanese war had convinced the government of the need to create an agricultural and industrial center in the east (20). Along with populating the east and solving the problem of Russian Jewry's poverty, there also is evidence that it was hoped the creation of Birobidzhan would divert attention away from Zionism. Along with populating the east and solving the problem of Russian Jewry's poverty, there also is evidence that it was hoped the creation of Birobidzhan would divert attention away from Zionism (21).