Russian Diaspora - History

History

The earliest significant ethnic Russian emigration took place in the wake of the Old Believer schism in the 17th century (see, for example, Lipovans). On some occasions later ethnic Russian communities, such as Doukhobors, also emigrated as religious dissidents fleeing the central authority.

Ethnic Russians migrated from Russia proper throughout the extent of the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union, sometimes at the encouragement of the government. After the Belavezha Accords, many ethnic Russians found themselves in newly independent states outside of Russia, notably the Baltic states, Ukraine, and in Central Asia. They represent the largest number of ethnic Russians living outside Russia. Russians distinguish these migrations, however, from several bursts of emigration in the twentieth century.

A sizable "wave" of ethnic Russians emigrated during a short time period in the wake of the October Revolution and Civil War, known collectively as the White émigrés. It is also referred to as the "first wave," even though previous emigrations took place, as it is the first wave to have come in the wake of the communist revolution and it exhibited a heavily political character.

A smaller group of Russians, often referred to by Russians as the "second wave" of Russian emigration, left during World War II. They were refugees, Soviet POWs, eastern workers, or surviving veterans of the Russian Liberation Army and other anti-communist armed units who had served under the German command and evaded forced repatriation. In the immediate postwar period, the largest Russian communities in the emigration were to be found in Germany, Canada, the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia.

In the 1970s a number of Russian-speaking Soviet citizens (predominantly Jews) emigrated to Israel and the U.S. due to political and economic reasons, and also to escape antisemitism. Some Soviet dissidents were forced to emigrate by the KGB, which threatened them with arrest. This group is often called the "third wave" of Russian emigration.

Immediately before and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, significant emigration of citizens of the Russian Federation to various parts of the world has taken place, mostly for economic reasons. Israel and Germany have received the largest shares of Russian speaking immigrants (Israel, predominantly Jews; Germany, predominantly ethnic Germans and Jews) in the 1990s, because of incentives institutionalized by the governments of both countries.