Apart from the ( ITO ) , within the USSR there was also a Territorialist effort in Ukraine , the Crimea and then in a region around Birobidzhan , where a Jewish Autonomous Region was started in 1934 . Apart from the ( ITO ) , within the USSR there was also a Territorialist effort in Ukraine , the Crimea and then in a region surrounding Birobidzhan , where a Jewish Autonomous Region was established in 1934 .