Russian-Americans
I. Historical Perspective
A. Country of Origin - Russia and other Former Soviet Republics.
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B. Language(s) - Russian is the official language. Its Cyrillic alphabet has 33 letters, some of them unlike any letter in the Roman (Latin) alphabet. Non-Russians also usually speak Russian, especially in urban areas. Rural minorities more often speak their own languages at home or within their ethnic groups. For example, Tartars speak Tartar, Chuvashes speak Chuvash, and Udmurts speak Udmurt.
C. Religious Background - The Russian Orthodox Church is the dominant religion, claiming members totaling half of Russia's population. After the October Revolution (1917), the Communists discouraged all religious worship. Mikhail Gorbachev was the first Soviet leader to officially tolerate-even support-religion. Yeltsin also embraced the church, which rapidly regained its influence.
D. Southern Baptist Work - The work began in the 1920s. S. Diachenko was appointed by the Home Mission Board to carry out the work among the Russian speaking people. Gradually other home missionaries were appointed to work among Russian immigrants. New works were started in Louisiana, Maryland and California. Paul Rogosin was appointed in 1952 to work with Russians and other Slavic people and new works were developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
E. Sub-cultures - Ethnic Russians form 82 percent of the entire population. Other groups include Tartars (4 percent), Ukrainians (3), Chuvashes (1), Belorussians (almost 1), Udmurts, Kazaks, Buryats, Tuvinians, Yakutians, Bashkirs, and others. Under Soviet rule in 1960s and 1970s, strict government controls made immigration difficult. As many as 400,000 Jews wanted to leave the USSR, but for many years were refused permission. In the early 1970s, the Soviets agreed to allow as many as 250,000 citizens to emigrate. In theory, only Jews and Armenians "seeking to reunite" with family members could leave. In practice, many others emigrated, including political dissidents, scientists, writers, artists, human-rights activists, and other "undesirables". Unlike the earlier waves of East European Jewish emigrants many of whom spoke Yiddish as their native language, the Russian Jews of the recent immigration spoke Russian and were culturally Russian. Many of them lived in Moscow and Leningrad and other Russian cities.
Democratic reforms in the Soviet Union under Gorbachev had an impact all over Eastern Europe where people also regained their right to freely move and emigrate. By the 1990s, immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe settled across major US metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit, revitalizing fading neighborhoods, opening businesses, or joining the mainstream American labor force.
G. Past Immigration Patterns - Between 1970 and 1988, a new wave of more than 100,000 Soviet refugees entered the United States. Large portions of this group were members of minority ethnic or religious groups, many of who were fleeing persecution in the USSR. In addition to Jews, they included Catholics, Pentecostal, and other. The most recent Russian immigrants, those who arrived in the United States after 1988, began to leave the USSR after immigration policies were liberalized by glasnost', a policy of openness initiated by Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev.
Since the breakup of the USSR in 1991, large numbers of Russians have taken advantage of their newly acquired freedom to travel and many have immigrated to the United States. In most cases highly educated, these immigrants have made rapid progress in adjusting to life in the United States. Many have found professional and technical positions in medicine, engineering, computers, and other industries.
II. Current/Future Challenges
The 2,000 U.S. Census lists 2,980,776 persons with Russian ancestry. In 1990, 44 percent of Russian-Americans lived in the Northeast. Less than one percent of those are Christians. Most Russians in North America have never heard the gospel. This is mainly because it is not communicated in their mother tongue. Some are still heavily influenced by atheism, which was taught by the Communist government. Remembering the persecution Christians received in the former Soviet Union, makes many reluctant to receive Jesus as Savior.
A person witnessing to Russinan-speaking people should be patient, developing friendship and trust. The lifestyles of most Russian-speaking people drastically changes when they come to the United States or Canada. For the first time, many can breathe free. However, their sense of pride and respect remains, because they come from a superpower country.
The realities of a North American lifestyle are shocking to some, yet attractive to others. Most Russian-speaking people are mistaken as Anglo-Americans because of the color of their skin. A majority of older Russian-Americans prefer to maintain their language, culture, and close ties with family and friends in their native land. The younger generation is attracted to the social lifestyle of their adopted country.
A. Worldviews
Social, philosophical, religious, and political worldviews of Russian-Americans are varied. These views are based on the complex society from which they came. These include:
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Political dissidents
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Registered believers
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Unregistered believers
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Underground believers
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Independent believers
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Fundamentalists, liberals, pro-ecumenicists
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Soviet Jews
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Orthodox and Reformed Christians
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Agnosticsa nd athiests
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Mixed marriages
B. Ethnicity
The 10 largest Russian-speaking people groups living in North America are: Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Tatarians, Moldovians, Jews, Armenians, and Georgians. These groups are as dissimilar as are the tribes of Native Americans. The only things they have in common are the Russian language and the Soviet experience.
C. Economy
Most Russian-Americans who immigrated to North America before the 1970s, are financially stable today. Some have prospered by developing their own businesses. Most who came during the 1970s and 1980s, are still dependent on government programs for some support -- even those who, before coming to North America, were doctors, musicians, lawyers, teachers, or artists. Their academic and professional backgrounds were not accepted in North America, so they have become blue-collar workers.
Immigrants of the 1990s are more financially stable. Many have developed their own businesses, bought luxury homes and cars, and placed their children in private schools. The author of the book "Millionaires Around," states that Russian-Americans are the "number one millionaires" based on percentage of population.
D. Education
Based on Soviet standards, most Russian-Americans are well-educated. In the former Soviet Union, 99.9 percent of the population had a high school diploma. More than 50 percent of the adults aged 30-50 had college or university degrees. Many Russian universities were recognized in world academic arenas. Needless to say, education is important to Russian-speaking people groups. The most difficult reality these educated immigrants face is learning the English language. Therefore, a method of reaching these people can be ESL classes.
E. Religion
Religious practices in the former Soviet Union were limited, if not forbidden. Millions of people never heard the gospel or read the Bible. Under the Communist government, most became convinced atheists. However, Russian historical and cultural roots are based on Christian orthodox tradition. Its art, music, and literature reflect Christianity. Church buildings and cathedrals that the communists turned into museums, stood as silent preachers of the gospel. The Russian language also reflects biblical influence.
Many Russian phrases come from biblical and theological words and concepts. These phrases have lost their original meanings, but are used to describe everyday life. Russian-Americans feel alienated from their culture or heritage. They long for their native culture, language, and traditions. As a result, the church is seen as the only island in which they can express their culture. They come seeking stability for life.
III. Resources
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Non published-Individual research done by Mark Hobafcovich.
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Russian Americans by Mark Hobafcovich, Profiles of People Groups in North America.
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