The history of Russians in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. The Russian community is a growing population and constitutes a major source of new immigrants to the city. Historically the Russian community was centered in East Baltimore, but most Russians now live in Northwest Baltimore's
Arlington neighborhood and in Baltimore's suburb of
Pikesville
Pikesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore.
The population was 30,764 at the 2010 cens ...
.
Demographics
In 1920, 4,632 foreign-born White people in Baltimore spoke the
Russian language, many of them being Russian-speaking Jews. Russian was the second most widely spoken Slavic or Eastern European language in the city after the Polish language.
In the
1930 United States Census, Russian-Americans were the largest foreign-born group in Baltimore. In that year 17,500 Russian-born immigrants lived in the city and more than 24,000 Baltimoreans were of Russian parentage.
In 1940, 14,670 immigrants from the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
lived in Baltimore, many of whom were of Russian descent. These immigrants comprised 24.1% of the city's foreign-born white population.
During the 1990s around 8,208 immigrants settled in Baltimore from Russia, Ukraine, and other countries of the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
.
The Russian community in the
Baltimore metropolitan area numbered 35,763 as of 2000, making up 1.4% of the area's population. In the same year Baltimore city's Russian population was 5,526, 0.8% of the city's population. 19,430 Russians live in adjacent
Baltimore County and in total 7.2% of the
Baltimore metropolitan area's foreign-born population is Russian-American.
According to the
2000 Census, the
Russian language was spoken at home by 1,235 people in Baltimore.
As of 2005, the Baltimore region had the 15th-largest Russian-speaking population in the United States.
In 2013, an estimated 5,647 Russian-Americans resided in Baltimore city, 0.9% of the population.
As of September 2014, immigrants from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
were the twenty-sixth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore and the Russian language was the seventh most spoken language other than English.
History
Most Russian immigrants to Baltimore have been
Russian Jews. In the
1930 United States Census there were 17,000 Russians living in the city, most of whom were Jewish.
In comparison to Baltimore's wealthy and assimilated
German Jews, Russian Jews were largely poor and lived in slums with other
Russians. The German-Russian divide among Baltimore's Jewry lead many Jews from Russia to associate more with the Russian community than the wider Jewish community. Baltimore's Russian community, including Russian Jews, was originally centered in Southeast Baltimore. The largest wave of Russian-Jewish immigrants to Baltimore occurred during the 1880s. A second wave of Russian-Jewish immigrants came during the 1990s, following the collapse of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
.
During the 1920s, a number of Russians in Baltimore were involved in the
Communist Party of Maryland
The Communist Party of Maryland is the regional party of the Communist Party USA in the state of Maryland. Maryland's Communist Party was founded in 1919, the same year as the national party was founded, and is still in operation with its headquart ...
. The Communist Party in Baltimore had a Russian branch. With the approval of the national Russian-language organization of the
Communist Party USA, members of Baltimore's Russian Communist branch often attended the Independent Russian Orthodox Church in Baltimore. Prokope Suvorov, the leader of the Russian Communist branch, taught the Russian language at the church. Another Russian Communist staged the congregation's plays, while other members sold Communist literature at the church. The Russian-American Communist
Alex Bail was concerned by the religiosity of Baltimore's Russian Christian Communists, but his concerns were somewhat abated due to the portrait of
Vladimir Lenin hanging inside the Russian Orthodox church.
During the 1930s, Russians were the largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.
In the
1960 United States Census, Russian Jews comprised 18.2% of Baltimore's population. By 1940, Russian Jews were the majority in 13 of Baltimore's census tracts.
Russian Jews helped establish several synagogues in Baltimore, including the
B'nai Israel Synagogue and the
Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue
Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue is a historic synagogue located on Druid Hill Park at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The synagogue is significant due to its association with the immigration of Russian and Eastern European Jews to Baltimore. It is a ...
.
While most people of Russian descent in Baltimore are Jewish, a significant minority are Christians, mostly from the
Russian Orthodox Church.
Ethnic Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
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, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
from
Belarus established the
Transfiguration of our Lord Russian Orthodox Church in 1963 in order to serve the needs of the Russian Orthodox community. Russian Orthodox Christians also established the
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church.
To facilitate the integration of Russian immigrants into American society, the Baltimore branch of the
HIAS established a bilingual
Russian-
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
newspaper titled ''The News Exchange'' in May, 1978.
In the
1990 United States Census over 30,000 people of Russian descent lived in Baltimore and Baltimore County. At the time, over 400 Russian-speaking people settled in the Baltimore area each year.
Ze Mean Bean Café in Fell's Point opened in 1995. It is a restaurant which offers Russian cuisine, as well as other Slavic and Eastern European fare.
Culture
In 1995 a biweekly
Russian language newspaper titled ''Kaskad'' (''Cascade'') was founded by a Russian-speaking
Jewish immigrant from
Belarus.
As of 1995, the Baltimore area was home to several Russian grocery stores, a
Russian language magazine, and a Russian language radio program.
An annual Russian Festival is held at the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in October. The festival celebrates Russian heritage, history, and cuisine.
The
National Slavic Museum
The National Slavic Museum in Fell's Point, Baltimore is a museum dedicated to the documentation of the Polish and Slavic heritage of Baltimore, including Baltimore's Belarusian, Bulgarian, Carpatho-Rusyn, Croatian, Czech
Czech may refer to:
* ...
opened in 2012. The museum focuses on the Slavic history of Baltimore, including Baltimore's Russian history.
The Lemko House, an apartment complex on South Ann Street, provides housing for Eastern European immigrants. Founded in 1983 by Ivan Dornic, an
Eastern Rite priest, the complex is named after Dornic's ethnic group, the
Lemkos. The Lemkos are a
Rusyn
Rusyn may refer to:
* Rusyn people, an East Slavic people
** Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people
** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people
** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people
* Rusyn language, an East Slavic l ...
ethnic group inhabiting
Lemkivshchyna, a part of
Transcarpathia that spans parts of Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine. Lemko House has opened its doors to low-income residents of any ethnicity, but is still home to many Slavic and Eastern European immigrants, including Russians.
Notable Russian-Americans from Baltimore
*
Bernard Ades, a
Communist lawyer who is most known for his defense of Euel Lee, an African American.
*
Ben Cardin, a Democratic politician who serves as the junior United States senator from Maryland in office since 2007.
*
Meyer Cardin, a jurist who served as an associate judge on the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City.
*
Mary Dobkin Mary Dobkin (August 30, 1902 – August 22, 1987) was an American amateur sports coach and advocate for children.
Early life
Dobkin was a tiny child when her father died; soon after, she left Russia in the care of an aunt and uncle, and settled ...
, a Russian-born amateur sports coach and advocate for children.
*
Cass Elliot
Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...
(Mama Cass), a singer and member of The Mamas & the Papas.
*
Daniel Ellison
Daniel Ellison (February 14, 1886 – August 20, 1960) was a U.S. Representative from Maryland.
Born in Russian Empire, Ellison was brought to the United States by his parents as an infant. He attended the public schools of Baltimore, Maryland ...
, a U.S. Representative from Maryland.
*
Samuel Friedel
Samuel Nathaniel Friedel (April 18, 1898 – March 21, 1979), a Democrat, was a U.S. Congressman who represented the 7th congressional district of Maryland from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1971.
Born in Washington, D.C., to Russian-Jewish ...
, a Democratic Congressman who represented the 7th congressional district of Maryland from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1971.
*
Nick Kisner, Professional Boxer, who has Chechen roots on his mother's side.
*
Barry Levinson, a screenwriter, Academy Award-winning film director, actor, and producer of film and television.
*
Jessica Long
Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at five Paralympic Games, winning ...
, a United States Paralympic swimmer who is the current world record holder in 10 Paralympic events.
*
David Macht
David Israel Macht (February 14, 1882 – October 14, 1961) was a pharmacologist and Doctor of Hebrew Literature, responsible for many contributions to pharmacology during the first half of the 20th century.
Born in Moscow in 1882, Macht moved to ...
, a Pharmacologist and Doctor of Hebrew Literature responsible for many contributions to pharmacology during the first half of the 20th century.
*
Tatyana McFadden
Tatyana McFadden (russian: Татьяна Макфадден; born April 21, 1989) is an American Paralympic athlete of Russian descent competing in the category T54. McFadden has won twenty Paralympic medals in multiple Summer Paralympic Gam ...
, a United States Paralympian athlete competing in the category T54.
*
Paul Israel Pickman, a film director, screenwriter, producer, newspaper publisher and columnist.
*
Steven Posner, a corporate raider who worked together on a number of major hostile takeovers along with his father Victor Posner.
*
Victor Posner, a businessman known as one of the highest paid business executives of his generation.
*
Carroll Rosenbloom, a businessman who was owner of the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams.
*
Max Scherr, an underground newspaper editor and publisher known for his iconoclastic 1960s weekly the Berkeley Barb.
*
Alan Shulman, a composer and cellist.
*
Simon Sobeloff, an attorney and jurist.
*
Leon Uris, a novelist known for his historical fiction.
See also
*
History of the Jews in Baltimore
*
History of Ukrainians in Baltimore
*
National Slavic Museum
The National Slavic Museum in Fell's Point, Baltimore is a museum dedicated to the documentation of the Polish and Slavic heritage of Baltimore, including Baltimore's Belarusian, Bulgarian, Carpatho-Rusyn, Croatian, Czech
Czech may refer to:
* ...
References
External links
Achim group for Russian Jews
Russian BaltimoreRussian FestivalRussian MarylandVernisage Russian RestaurantZe Mean Bean Café
{{Russian Americans by location
Belarusian-American history
Russian
Baltimore
Russian communities in the United States
Russian-Jewish culture in Baltimore
Ukrainian-American culture in Baltimore
Ukrainian-Jewish culture in Baltimore