Russian Immigrants

A compelling introduction to the topic, Russian Immigrants spans the period between 1820 and 1920—when more than 3 million Russians immigrated to America—to the present. Readers will learn how Russia evolved into a vast empire composed of hundreds of distinct ethnic and cultural groups and how this diversity became a major factor in Russian immigration due to state-sponsored repression on the basis of ethnicity, religion, culture, and politics. A look at Russian Americans today discusses significant contributions by both Russian-American workers and noted individuals including scientists, writers, thinkers, artists, and captains of industry. Numerous photographs and quotes from original source material round out this comprehensive reference.

History covered includes:

• How Czar Alexander II's assassination triggered the first wave of immigration
• The contribution of Russia's serf system to early immigrant waves
• How the number of immigrants to Pennsylvania from Slavic countries between 1890 and 1900 almost doubled
• Russian immigrants' participation in and contribution to the American Revolution and Civil Wars
• How later Russian immigrants were received in the United States
• World War II and the U.S. alliance with the Soviet Union
• A description of the cold war.