Tatyana Nikolaevna Yudina1, Maria Grigorevna Kotovskaya2, Maria Vladimirovna Zolotukhina3 & Dina Kabdullinovna Tananova4
1Russian State Social University, Moscow, Russia
2Institute of Ethnology and anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
3National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and Russian State University named after ?.N. Kosygin, Moscow, Russia
4Russian State Social University, Moscow, Russia
Volume 11, Number 2, July-September, 2019 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v11n2.22
Abstract:
The main goal of the paper is to analyze ideas and practices involved in the transmission of the Russian language and culture among members of Russian -speaking diaspora in the United States, mostly belonging to the two recent waves of immigration from the Soviet Union and Russia and residing in different parts of America. The bulk of academic publications for this paper were released in Russia with some from the US. Three methods were used: a questionnaire (80 questions, both open-ended and closed distributed via google form among middle-age and young members of the Russian -speaking community – 52 respondents), semi-structured interviews (a total of 20) and participant observation, primarily in Boston area and Ann Arbor, MI. When reflecting on affiliation with the Russian-speaking world the preservation of language and its transmission to future generations is viewed as the most important element of everyday life and aspiration for the Russian-speaking population regardless of their ethnic origin, religious beliefs, political preferences and social status. This attitude, perceived as critical for preserving cultural identity, appears to be true even for cases when such transmission did not prove to be successful.
Keywords: Russian language, the Russian diaspora, community, identity, the Russian-speaking world, integration, assimilation, everyday practices, traditions.
