Russians

Russians (Russian:??????? - Russkiye) are an East Slavic ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.

Russians outside of Russia

The largest ethnic Russian diasporas outside of Russia live in former Soviet states such as Ukraine (about 8 million), Kazakhstan (about 4 million), Belarus (about 1 million), Uzbekistan (about 700,000), Latvia (about 700,000), and Kyrgyzstan (about 600,000). There are also small Russian communities in the Balkans, Eastern and Central European nations such as the Czech Republic, as well as in China and Latin America. These communities may identify themselves either as Russians or citizens of these countries, or both, to varying degrees.

Related Topics:
Ukraine - Kazakhstan - Belarus - Uzbekistan - Latvia - Kyrgyzstan - Balkans - Czech Republic - China - Latin America

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The governments and the majority public opinion in Estonia and Latvia, which has the largest share of ethnic Russians among the Baltic countries, hold the view that many of the ethnic Russians arrived in these countries as part of a Soviet-era colonization and deliberate Russification by changing the countries' ethnic balance. Among the many Russians who arrived during the Soviet era most came there for economic reasons, or in some cases, because they were ordered to move.

Related Topics:
Estonia - Latvia - Baltic countries - Colonization - Russification

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Although not among the largest immigrant groups, significant numbers of Russians emigrated to Canada, Australia, and the United States. Brighton Beach, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, is an example of a large community of recent Russian immigrants. At the same time, many ethnic Russians from former Soviet territories have emigrated to Russia itself since the 1990s. Many of them became refugees from a number of states of Central Asia and Caucasus (as well as from the separatist Chechen Republic), forced to flee during political unrest and hostilities towards Russians.

Related Topics:
Canada - Australia - United States - Brighton Beach - New York City - Brooklyn - 1990s - Central Asia - Caucasus - Chechen Republic

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After Latvia and Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, some ethnic Russian residents have complained of discrimination in these countries. That contention has mostly been caused by laws which limited "automatic" citizenship to only those people who had held the citizenship of Latvia or Estonia prior to the 1940 Soviet occupation of these countries, and their descendants. People who had arrived in the Baltic countries during the Soviet era, mostly Russians, were only provided with an option to acquire naturalised citizenship which required passing a test demonstrating knowledge of the national language as well as knowledge of the country's history and customs. The language issue is still contentious, particularly in Latvia, where ethnic Russians have protested against plans to educate them in the national language instead of Russian.

Related Topics:
Latvia - Estonia - 1991 - 1940 - Occupation

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Although accepting the need to redress the Soviet-era policies, both the European Union and the Council of Europe, as well as the Russian government, expressed their concern during the 1990s about minority rights in several countries, most notably Latvia. In Moldova, the Russian-dominated Transnistria region broke away from government control amid fears the country would soon reunite with Romania.

Related Topics:
European Union - Council of Europe - Russian government - 1990s - Latvia - Moldova - Transnistria - Romania

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Russian Chinese

Russians (????) are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China (as the Russ), and there are approximately 15,600 Russian Chinese living mostly in northern Xinjiang, and also in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. See also Harbin Russians and China Far East Railway.

Related Topics:
56 ethnic groups - People's Republic of China - Xinjiang - Inner Mongolia - Heilongjiang - Harbin Russians - China Far East Railway

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