(lubavitch.com) Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev is the first Russian head of state to visit Birobidjan, the capital of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region.

Medvedev was accompanied by Russia’s Chief Rabbi and senior Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Berel Lazar. Rabbi Lazar led the President on a tour of the local Jewish community center. The visit is part of a four day tour of the Russian Far East, where Medvedev  will meet with members of the business community and attend a series of meetings at the city’s cultural center, synagogue and furniture factory.