Russian Immigration to America

            There were two main immigrations from Russia to the United States. The first wave of Russian immigrants came to America in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. Around 1880, there were only around 8000 Russian immigrants in America, however, in the next 35 years, around 3 million Russians immigrated to America. Many of these immigrants were seeking religious freedom. (The Russian Jews were being highly persecuted after their rumored involvement in the assassination of Alexander II in 1881) Another big reason for the emigration out of Russia was starvation and poverty after World War I. The crops were failing and many Russians died of starvation which caused many more to leave for America.

            The second wave of immigrants included many of Russia’s higher-class citizens. After the October revolution, Lenin was brought to power and many of the people who held positions of power in Russia were forced to either leave or be killed. The so-called “second wave immigrants” from Russia helped America to grow scientifically since many of the immigrants were scientists before immigrating into America.

            As of now, there are reported to be 3.13 million Russian Americans in the United States, which is about 1% of America’s total population. In Staten Island, the Russian population makes up 3.8% of the total population. When compared to the 468,730 people that live in Staten Island, there are around 17,000 Russian Americans living in Staten Island. Compared to many other big cultures that have come to America (like Italians, which make up approximately 36% of Staten Island’s population) Russians seem to either stick to their roots and either stay in Russia or immigrate to other countries to escape persecution.

People always try to uphold their traditions as much as they can. If a group were to stay in one place where they have all their needed resources, this is not a problem. However, if that group moves to another land, they have to make changes to accustom to that new lifestyle. This was the case for the Russians that immigrated to the United States. In order to cater to the American audience, they would need to have made several changes. This can be seen in one restaurant by the name of Sorry Babushka. The restaurant, itself, serves traditional Russian food while expecting a Russian audience, which is evidenced by the menus being written in Russian. For example, traditional Russian food does not use herbs when preparing meat dishes, yet herbs were added to fit the American palette. Traditional Russian food also lacks as much cheese and cream used in the food served here. Still, cheese and cream were added to satisfy the American clientele. The restaurant maintained its traditions, although liberties were taken to suit the populous.

Net Cost Market is a supermarket centered on catering to Russian-Americans, but there are many other foods that you wouldn’t normally see in a Russian supermarket. Aside from Russian goods, there are also other Eastern European goods in the store. One primary good that is in abundance here, in both Russian and other Eastern European brands, is beer and other alcoholic beverages. While there is a big American influence on some of the produce in the store, Net Cost Market still holds close to its Russian roots and is highly influenced by these roots.