Overview and Brief History:
The early history of Russia is one of migrating peoples and changing kingdoms. Russia began as a collection of cities that gradually coalesced into an empire. In the early part of the ninth century, a Scandanavian people known as the Varangians, led by the semi-legendary warrior Rurik, crossed the Baltic Sea to Eastern Europe and the city of Novgorod on the Volkhov River. Rurik's successor Oleg extended the growing empire southward to Kiev, a Slavic city that had arisen along the Dnepr River around the 5th century. Kiev became the center of a trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, and Kievan Rus', as the empire came to be known, flourished for the next three hundred years until the Mongols invaded from the east.

In 1237 Batu Khan, grandson of Ghengis Khan, conquered Kievan Rus' and over the next three years the Mongols (or Tatars) destroyed all of the major cities except Novgorod and Pskov. The regional princes were forced to pay tribute to the Tatar state, which became known as the Empire of the Golden Horde. At this time Moscow became the patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1480, Ivan the Great. was able to defeat the Tatars but wasn't until the reign of his grandson, Ivan the Terrible, that Russia finally became a unified state.

Ivan the Terrible was succeeded by his son Fyodor, but most of the management of the kingdom fell to Fyodor’s brother-in-law, Boris Godunov. Godunov murdered Fyodor's younger brother Dmitri so that when Fyodor died, Godunov could become tsar. After the death of Godunov, a pretender from Poland claiming to be Dmitri invaded Russia. For eight years invading Polish armies plagued Russia. When they were finally ousted from Moscow, Michael Romanov became Tsar and the Romanov dynasty ruled Russia for until the Russian Revolution. brought an end to the Tsarist state.

The Romanov Tsar Peter the Great is credited with modernizing Russia. He toured Europe as a young man and amassed a considerable body of knowledge on western European industrial techniques and state administration. His reign was marked by the modernization of the Russian state and the westernization of its society. Peter banned traditional Muscovite dress, introduced military conscription, established technical schools, replaced the church patriarchy with a holy synod answerable to himself, simplified the alphabet, changed the calendar, changed his title from Tsar to Emperor. Peter also moved the capitol to St. Petersburg, on the Gulf of Finland, a capitol that took nine years, at tremendous human and material cost, to build.

Catherine the Great continued Peter the Great's reforms of the Russian state and further increased central control over the provinces. Her skill as a diplomat, strengthened Russia's influence in European affair. Catherine was an enthusiastic patron of the arts and founded the Hermitage Museum.

In June of 1812, Napoleon launched his fatal Russian campaign with the largest army ever seen on the globe. Although victorious in his capture of Moscow, the legendary Russian winter decimated his army, stretched his resources to the breaking point, and this failed campaign ensured Napoleon's eventual downfall. It also boosted Russia's status as a leading power in post-Napoleonic Europe.

Russia expanded its territory and its power considerably during the nineteenth century, extending its borders to Afghanistan and China, along with extensive territory on the Pacific coast. The eastern port cities of Vladivostok and Port Arthur opened up avenues for commerce, and the Trans-Siberian Railway linked the European Russia with its new eastern territories. An increasing Russian presence in the far east provoked a war with Japan in 1905. During this war, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to grant political concessions to rebellious elements demanding reform, and a constitution and a parliament, or Duma were established.

After the war with Japan, Nicholas tried to reverse the new freedoms, and his government became more reactionary than ever. As popular discontent gained strength, Nicholas countered it with repression. The First World War caught the country by surprise. Unprepared militarily or industrially, the country suffered demoralizing defeats, severe food shortages, as well as an economic collapse. In the Spring of 1917, riots broke out in St. Petersburg and Nicholas abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Michael, who renounced his claim the next day. For the next several months, the Provisional Government, first under Prince Lvov and then under Alexandr Kerensky, unsuccessfully attempted to establish its authority. On October 25, led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace and deposed the Kerensky government Within months, civil war broke out throughout Russia and for the next three years the country was devastated by civil strife, until the Bolsheviks had finally emerged victorious in 1920.

Immigration to the United States and Albuquerque:
The first Russian settlers in America were fur traders who crossed the Bering Strait into Alaska in the mid eighteenth century to secure land for fur trading. Alaska became a Russian frontier society with explorers searching for fur and gold. Members of persecuted religions such as the Russian Orthodox also crossed the strait to escape government oppression in Russia. These people converted many Eskimos to their religions, and started small communities in Alaska. The migration stopped, however, in 1867, when Russia sold Alaska to the United States.

There was another wave of Russian immigrants that came to America between 1880 and 1914, which included mainly peasants and Jews. They came in reaction to a policy known as "Russification." The Russian government had implemented a policy to try to rid the country of different ethnic groups. Violent pogroms in Russia caused many deaths which then led to a huge influx of Russian Jewish and ethnic peasant immigrants into the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Another group of Russians came to America following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Most of these new immigrants settled in New York City's lower east side but a small number made their way to Albuquerque. Yet another wave followed in the wake of World War II. In the 1970's, a fourth wave of Russian immigration took place. That of Soviet Jews also known as “refuseniks,” many of whom came via Israel. A few of these refuseniks settled in the Albuquerque area but we were unable to locate any of them during the course of this survey. The most recent wave of immigrants constitute the predominant number of Russians who now live in Albuquerque and New Mexico. The ending of the Cold War has enabled them to immigrate here. This group is largely made up of scientists, engineers, and professionals who have been drawn to work in the labs at Sandia and Los Alamos. But there are also a few working class Russians in the area. However, the job market is causing many of them to leave Albuquerque.

Cultural Traditions:
There is an Orthodox Church in the far North Valley of Albuquerque called All Saints of North America. The majority of the membership of this church are converted Americans, but there are at least three Russian families who are members and occasionally attend. The Orthodox Church plays a large part in traditional Christian Russian life, but it does not appear to play such a predominant role here.

I was told that many Albuquerque Russians prefer to go to the church in Santa Fe. The Albuquerque church is an American branch that is affiliated with the Russian church that migrated down from Alaska, whereas the Santa Fe church is what is known as ROCOOR, or the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. There is also a Russian Jewish population in Albuquerque who have an entirely different religious life. However, they do not appear to have their own Russian temple.

There is an annual fall Harvest Festival, sponsored by the All Saints of North America Church that some of the Russians participate in, cooking Russian dishes and providing entertainment. Some of the Russian food on sale at last year’s festival included shashlik (like or shish-kebab), pirozhki (filled dumplings), kapusta (a cabbage dish), and borscht (the traditional beet soup).

Russian shashlik uses marinated beef sirloin rather than the lamb typical of shish-kebab. Once marinated, the beef cubes are skewered along with alternating slices of onion and green bell pepper. Pirozhki consist of various fillings rolled in a simple chewy yeast dough about three inches across. Possible fillings include potato, cabbage, veal and mushrooms, egg and scallion, typically flavored with onions, sour cream, or dill.

We found no evidence of formal Russian language classes being offered, but it is possible that there is some organization who might be sponsoring them.

Artistic Traditions:
There is a woman at the All Saints of North America church who maintains a Russian folk dance group. The group usually only performs publicly at the fall Harvest Festival, but this past summer, they performed in Santa Fe as part of the Museum of Fine Art’s “Russian Summer.” The dances the troupe perform are from all over the Soviet Union. Each of the Soviet states has its own unique folk dance tradition. The songs of the Georgian region are optimistic and their dances are fast. In the north, however, the songs are softer and dances slower.

Songs are a big part of Russian culture. As we were told by one Russian, “It is always a bad party if there is no singing.” Russians would rather sing than talk. There is a brass band that performs Russian folk tunes at the annual festival, but none of its members are Russian.

Embroidery is another Russian tradition that is practiced in Albuquerque. Many of the dancers sew and embroider their own costumes, although others are purchased from a Russian catalog called Sovietski.

Annual Events and Festivals:
New Year’s Eve is a very big holiday in Russia, and this tradition is followed in America. In Albuquerque, Russians typically gather in groups of 40-50 people at someone’s house shortly before midnight. It is important to celebrate the coming of the New Year with lots of other people. I was told that some years in Los Alamos there are hundreds of Russians celebrating in one location.

They toast each other, often with champagne, and talk about the things from the past year that they do not want to repeat in the coming year and their hopes for what will come. Everyone eats and drinks and sings until 5 or 6AM on New Year’s Day. It’s very important to have a good time because, as the custom goes, how you meet the new year is how that year will be for you. In other words, if you meet the year alone, it will be a lonely year. If you are in a bad mood, you will be in a bad mood for the entire year. If you are happy, you will have a happy year.

Among Orthodox Christian Russians, there are important religious holidays. For example, there are four Lents in the Orthodox calendar. Actually, there are more Lenten days, than non-Lenten days. The Great Lent is before Easter and is the longest. It is followed in June by the Peter and Paul Lent, then the Dominican Lent is in the summer. It is the shortest Lent lasting only two weeks. The last Lent is in the autumn from mid-November to Christmas. During Lent, the faithful eat no meat, fish, cheese, sugar, or butter. All year long there is also fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. Honey, however, is allowed during Lent as it is thought to be very nutritious.

Conclusions:
While there are a lot of Russians in the Albuquerque area, (the US Census says more that 4,000), there is no organization or one place where Russians meet to interact with each other. They keep close to each other through familial ties and friendships. They meet often, but informally and in small groups. There are no Russian restaurants or coffee houses. There are no night clubs frequented by Russians. Theirs is an informal network.

Out of this large population, only three families are members of the Orthodox Church. It is unknown to us how many belong to Jewish Temples. The Russians that were contacted seemed to have no inclination to form a Russian cultural organization. As one Russian put it succinctly, “Stalin said that Russians were very hard to govern.” The only complaint I heard was that Albuquerque needs a Russian bakery.

For information about the annual Russian Fall Harvest Festival, you can contact the All Saints of North America Church at their web site: http://www.allsaintsofnorthamerica.net/.