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The Presidium of the Soviet Union has honored three stars of a Soviet Yiddish-language musical troupe with honorary titles for their role in Russian cultural life, the Soviet news agency Tass reported Wednesday. Tatyana Karasik, Irina Klimova and Yakov Yavno from the Chamber Jewish Music Theater in the Far Eastern city of Birobidzhan were named “merited artists of the Russian Federation” by decree, the agency said. The nine-year-old theater troupe is based in what Soviet officials call a “Jewish autonomous region,” but the region’s population is only about 5% Jewish.