Description of Russian Americans in the North West Region - Research Paper Example

? The Russian-speaking communities in Portland and Northwest Pacific Thesis ment Russian-speaking immigrants not only give an increase of population in Northwest region, but also have impact on the economic development within NW region. The following information gives the basis for the argument. Description of Russian Americans in the North West Region Russian Americans can be described as immigrants whose ancestry can be traced back to Russia. The definition can be used when referring to Russian immigrants of the 19th century who settled in parts of North West America which include the states of Oregon, California and Alaska. The Russian Americans are currently reported to be about three million currently. Most Russian Americans no longer speak Russian. This is because they are born and raised by English-speaking Russian American parents. Statistics however suggest that by the year 2007, Russian was the principal language used by about eight hundred thousand Americans based on U.S. census results in that year (Spickard 2007). Further statistics by the Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard submit that by 1990 there were over seven hundred thousand ethnic Russian Americans in the U.S.A. The Ukrainians and Carpatho-Rusyns who trace their ancestry to Carpathian Ruthenia in the 19th century and early 20th century also identify themselves as Russian Americans. The recent emigres often refer to these people as the starozhili which when translated means “old residents”. These “old residents” were most instrumental in establishing the Russian Orthodoxy religion in America (Marrows 1997). These ethnic Russian Americans have in the recent decades been assimilated into the American society and culture but their ethnic traditions are still very much alive and are observable primarily around the Russian Orthodox Church. 3. Explain how Russian-speaking people move to the NW region and explain what conditions are like for the Russian-speaking communities and what is it like for the place they left. The Russians immigrated to North America in three main waves. These three waves were spurred by different circumstances and beliefs but the main reason for this was the pursuit of a better life. The immigration by the Russians has brought about many positive and significant contributions both in terms of economy and culture to the North West region of America. The first wave begun around the 18th century during which time the Russians who were expanding their territory begun venturing into northwest America areas in search of furs. Fort Ross was established in 1812 by members of the Russian American company (Marrows 1997). This was where they established a hunting and trading company. This company was wholly owned by Russia’s elite society referred to as the tsar. This company had been in business for about a century before the fort was built. The conditions that necessitated the immigrations of the Russian Jews in the 1800’s were quite squalid and could be compared to Ireland’s “throes of famine”. There abodes were sparsely furnished and overly crowded with sickly elderly relatives and malnourished children who had to share meager rations of food. Some of the areas were so devastatingly poor that residents had to make do with bread and water. In areas such as Galicia for instance, many Jews starved to death annually. Basic human rights such as the freedom of worship and legal autonomy of citizens were revoked prompting the emigration by the Russian Jews. For most of the peasant Jewish immigrants, the journey to America was extremely trying and quite a life threatening adventure. The steamships they used to cross were rather small and large numbers of these poor Russian Jews were crammed into the limited space. The conditions in the ships were despicable and these travelers had to contend with little rations of food and disease (Spickard 2007). The normal procedure was that the husband went to America and got a job after which he would save up and send for his wife and children back home. Most Russian immigrants had financial difficulties in the land of promised opportunity the United States. The average amount of money that the immigrant had in their possession was about 20 dollars, many other poorer immigrants had much less. In addition, it was extremely difficult for them to get employment as most of them were not conversant with the English language. The following wave of immigration had a less diverse basis in comparison to the first. The main motive for this immigration was political unrest and upheaval in the former Russian empire. This was engineered by the Bolshevik Revolution and the subsequent civil war. At this time more than two million people fled Russia in the period between 1920 and 1922.The move was influenced by a common hatred for the new Bolshevik/communist regime that had devastated their homeland. Since these immigrants were opposed to the feared red communist regime, they were christened the white Russians. These white Russians fled their homeland through Southern Ukraine and the Crimea which was the last stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik white armie .They first travelled to turkey after which they journeyed to several countries in the Balkans while others moved to the Baltic states of Poland and Czechoslovakia. About 30,000 of these left their ravaged homeland and moved directly to the United States (Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Russian-Americans.htm on l11/11/2011). This migration was in the period around the 1920s.In the 1930’s however there was another major wave of immigration as more Russians fled the Nazi Germans and the Japanese invasion. The number of immigrants that arrived in the United States during this time is estimated to be about 14,000 Russians. The third and final significant wave occurred during the 1980’s and the 1990’s as the Soviet Union collapsed. Many did so to escape the Chernobyl nuclear disaster which presented many health risks and other problems. Others were motivated to emigrate by the prospect of reuniting with their families as well as to escape anti-Semitism. During the third wave there are many writers, artistes and musicians that emigrated in search of a better life. In today’s world, immigration is still a very pertinent issue. The United States has introduced quotas that limit the number of people entering into the country at any given time (Wanner 2007). There are still those who believe that immigration should even be abolished altogether. Despite the laws and the strong opinions, the Russian immigration’s contribution to the countries development is quite remarkable and cannot be ignored. Impact of Russian American immigrants on the North West region There are several ways in which the Russian Americans have had an influence in the North Western part of the U.S.A. Some of the most notable impacts have been in the areas of academia, art literature, music and science and technology. Academia There have been quite a number of established scholars that have added to the knowledge through the studying and writing on their home land. Most of the knowledge currently available in the United States in Russia is largely attributable to immigrant scholars such as George Vernadsky (1887-1973), historians Michael Florinsky (1894-1981) and Marc Raeff (1923–) Art Talented and influential Russian Americans artists such as Gleb Derujinski who is a celebrated sculptor and Sergey Rossolovsky a respected painter residing in Portland, Maine have both made tremendous contributions to the diversity of art in the united States. Literature For foreign literary talents, it is quite difficult to adapt and to gain acceptance in a new environment as their language is their tool of creativity and by its very nature a foreign and incomprehensible element. Despite this complexities a few Russian American authors have made it in America. The most notable being Vladimir Nabokov (1889-1977) who started writing in English in the 1940’s and produced many great novels including the best seller titled Lolita in 1958.The history novelist and social critic Aleksander Solzhenitzyn (1918–) is also among the celebrated Russian American authors and he also boasts of having been awarded a Nobel peace prize for his literary works. The Russian Americans living in North West have had a significant impact on the economy as well as the social aspects in this light. Their industrious nature is visible in the number of businesses owned and managed by Russian Americans. Their impact can also be felt in the sense that some social influences can be directly attributable to the Russians in terms of fashion, music art and so on. The Impact of the Russian American population in North West Oregon on the Economy ‘‘Russian-speaking immigrants not only give an increase of population in Northwest region, but also have impact on the economic development within NW region.’’ Many of the Russian Jews that immigrated to the United States and especially in the north western part joined the industrial labor force (Wanner 2007). This was a relatively adjustment to make since majority of them had been either in manufacturing or white collar service trade back home. Approximately 60 per cent of the immigrant Jews had come from an agricultural background. There are still many Russian Americans in these fields of trade in Oregon as well as other north western parts of America. The women immigrants who ventured into the garment industry in America still have significant interests in the same field until now. The Russian influence in these industries is so prominent in particular trades as they even have their own branches and unions. Women immigrants of Russian-Jewish background dominated America's garment industry as seamstresses in the small clothing factories and sweatshops of New York City and other urban areas in the northeast. Other Russians, including Belarusians and Carpatho-Rusyns, worked in factories in the large northeastern cities as well as in the coal mines of eastern Pennsylvania, the iron and steel factories in the Pittsburgh area, and the slaughtering and meatpacking plants of Chicago (Wanner 2007). The Russian presence was so pronounced in certain trades that they established their own unions or branches of unions, such as the Russian branch of the Union of Men's and Women's Garment Workers, the Russian-Polish department of the Union of Clockmakers, the Society of Russian Bookmakers’, and the Society of Russian Mechanics. References Catherine Wanner (2007). Communities of the converted: Ukrainians and global evangelism Culture and society after socialism. Cornell University Press Global Academic Publishing John W. Frazier, Eugene Tettey-Fio (2006). Race, ethnicity, and place in a changing America Magocsi , P.R. Russian Americans. Retrieved 11/11/2011, from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Russian-Americans.html Spickard, P.R. (2007). Almost all aliens: immigration, race, and colonialism in American history and identity. Taylor & Francis. Waters, M.C., Ueda, R, & Marrows, H.B. (1997). The new Americans: a guide to immigration since 1965. Harvard University Press,. (Frazier 2006) Read More