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Immigration Information
There were several periods of immigration from Russia to the U.S. starting from the late 19th century on to the middle of the 20th century. The main cause for this emigration was due to economic hardship, political repression, religious discrimination, or a combination of these issues.
The White émigrés (the October Revolution and the Civil War) in Russia caused a large wave of ethnic Russians to emigrate. The next wave of emigration was during World War II, among which, there were mainly refugees, eastern workers, veterans of the Russian Liberation Army, and other anti-communist armed units. During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, a substantial number of Russian Jews were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a sizeable number of citizens of the Russian Federation have emigrated from the country to various parts of the world, such as the U.S. Currently, there are as many as 850,000 Russians living in the U.S.
Major Religions and Beliefs
The majority of Russian Americans are of the Orthodox Christian faith and belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. There are also many Russian Jews who emigrated into the U.S. during the pre-World War I period. However, there were still many Jews in the (atheistic) Soviet Union that were forbidden to practice their faith. During the 1970’s, Jews were legally allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Many of them immediately tried to restore their ancestral religious identity. It was difficult for them to associate with the English-speaking religious American Jews and very few learned and accepted the Jewish faith.
History, Traditions and Culture
Predominantly, most of the Russian Americans have successfully assimilated into the typical American life. Most holidays, celebrations, and cultural gatherings among Russians have continued to be observed in the U.S. There are only a select few groups, however, that have struggled to integrate into the American culture. These groups are: The Orthodox Christian Old Believers, non-Orthodox Molokan Christians, and the White Russian aristocrats. These groups are just a small minority in the U.S.
Academic Organizations
Bucknell Univerisity
Moore Avenue
Lewisburg, PA 17837
tel: 570-577-2000
New York University
Graduate School of Arts and Science
Department of Russian and Slavic Studies
One-Half Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10003
tel: 212-998-8050
fax: 212-995-4557
Princeton University
Russian and Slavic Studies Resources
Princeton, New Jersey 08544
tel: 609.258.3034
Harvard University
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
1730 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
daviscrs@fas.harvard.edu
tel: 617.495.4037
fax: 617.495.8319
Russian Consulates in the United States
Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN in New York
136 East 67th St.
New York, N.Y., 10021, USA
tel: 212.861.4900
Embassy of Russia in Washington
2650 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington DC, 20007
tel: 202.298.5700, 202.298.5701, 202.298.5704
Consulate General of Russia in San-Francisco
2790 Green Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
tel: 415.928.6878, 415.202.9800
Consulate General of Russia in Seattle
2001 Sixth Avenue
Westin Building 2323
Seattle, WA 98121
tel: 206.728.1910, 206.861.4900
Consulate General of Russia in New York
9 East 91 Street
New York, NY 10128
tel: 212.348.0926
Consular Division, Embassy of Russia in Washington
2641 Tunlaw Rd., N.W.
Washington D.C. 20007
tel:202.239.8907
Russian Associations in the U.S.
Congress of Russian Americans, Inc.
P.O. Box 818, Nyack
New York 10960-0818
tel: (914) 358-7117
fax: (914) 353-5453
pnbcra@sprynet.com
http://www.russian-americans.org
Orthodox Church in America
P.O. Box 675, Route 25A
Syosset, New York 11791
tel: (516) 922-0550
Russian Children's Welfare Society
349 West 86th Street
New York, New York 10024
tel: (212) 779-2815
main@rcws.org
http://www.rcws.org
Russian Independent Mutual Aid Society
917 North Wood Street
Chicago, Illinois 60622-5005
tel: (312) 421-2272
Indigenous People of Russia: Alaska Native Knowledge Network
University of Alaska Fairbanks
PO Box 756730
Fairbanks AK 99775-6730
tel: (907) 474.1902
fax: (907) 474.5615
Russian Cultural Centre
1825 Phelps Place, NW
Washington, DC, 20008
tel: (202) 265-3840
fax: (202) 265-6040
rcc@rccusa.org
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