# Russian Chileans > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Russian_Chileans > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Russian_Chileans.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Chileans > Source revision: 1340663780 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Ethnic group Russian Chileans Total population 1,300 [citation needed] Regions with significant populations Santiago Languages Chilean Spanish, Russian, Yiddish Religion Eastern Orthodox Church and Judaism Related ethnic groups Russians **Russian Chileans** form a minor part of the [Russian diaspora](/source/Russian_diaspora) and a small group in comparison to the other ethnic groups in Chile. The 2002 Chilean Census reported 638 Russian citizens,[1] although Russia's government estimates that 1,300 Russians live in Chile.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] There are more than 70,000 Orthodox Christians in Chile, the majority of them of Russian or Greek origin.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Also, a significant amount of [Russian Jews](/source/History_of_the_Jews_in_Russia) arrived in Chile during the 20th century. ## History The first Russians came to Chile in the early 19th century as part of naval expeditions circumnavigating the globe, among them captains Otto Kotsebu, Fyodor Litke, and Vasili Golovnin. However, they were just temporary visitors; the earliest Russian migrants came in 1854. The immigrants of that time belonged to different ethnic groups of the Russian Empire, particularly to minorities. Among them were seafarers and traders as well as medical professionals such as Alexei Sherbakov, who served as a surgeon in the [Chilean Navy](/source/Chilean_Navy) during the [War of the Pacific](/source/War_of_the_Pacific).[2] In the period between [World War I](/source/World_War_I) and [World War II](/source/World_War_II), political motivations for migration came to the forefront; the number of [White emigres](/source/White_emigres) in Chile grew to about 90.[2] In the 1950s, their numbers were further bolstered by arrivals from among the [Russian expatriate community in Harbin](/source/Harbin_Russians). The Russian Cemetery was founded in 1954 to provide a separate space for burials for the community.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] As of 2004, the total size of the Russian expatriate community in Chile was estimated at 250 individuals by the local Russian embassy.[2] Motivations for the recent migration include opportunities for small business, the ease of acquiring mortgages to purchase housing, as well as the weather.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] They are employed as professors in educational centres, as well as in Chilean food export companies. Community associations they have formed include the Corporación Cultural Alejandro Lipchutz, which boasts 95 members including 70 non-Russians; they work to disseminate information about Russian culture and life.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Religion Russians, along with Ukrainians and Greeks, were the first immigrants of the Orthodox faith to come to Chile. In the 1920s, Eleodoro Antipov founded the first Orthodox chapel, the Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad, in Patronato; father Nicolas Kashnikoff also created the less well-known chapel of Our Lady of Kazan, which was later taken over by father Vladimir Uliantzeff. Subsequently, after the end of [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Chile played host to a large number of refugees not just from Russia, but Ukraine and Greece as well, which bolstered the numbers of the Orthodox community.[3] There are more than seventy thousand Orthodox believers in Chile, and 15 Orthodox churches and chapels, mostly under the authority of the [Patriarch of Antioch](/source/Patriarch_of_Antioch).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Notable people This is a list of Russian expatriates in Chile and Chileans of Russian descent: - [Miguel Krassnoff](/source/Miguel_Krassnoff), Chilean brigadier - [Olga Ulianova](/source/Olga_Ulianova), historian - Katherine Salosny[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## See also - [Chile portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Chile) - [Russia portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Russia) - [Chile-Russia relations](/source/Chile-Russia_relations) - [Russian diaspora](/source/Russian_diaspora) - [Immigration to Chile](/source/Immigration_to_Chile) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda, 2002](http://espino.ine.cl/cgibin/RpWebEngine.exe/PortalAction?&MODE=MAIN&BASE=CPCHL2KREG&MAIN=WebServerMain.inl) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Embassy_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Embassy_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Embassy_2-2) [*Los primeros rusos en Chile*](http://www.chile.mid.ru/0ld/120604_05.html), Santiago, Chile: Embassy of the Russian Federation, 12 June 2004, retrieved 26 December 2008 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [*Ortodoxia Rusa en Chile*](http://www.freewebs.com/san_nectario/ortodoxiarusa.htm), Parroquia Ortodoxa Rusa San Nectario de Pentapolis, 2008, retrieved 24 January 2009 ## Further reading - Norambuena, Carmen; Ulianova, Olga (October 1995), "Paginas de vida para hacer la historia de los rusos en Chile", *Jornadas de historia de Chile*, **XI** v t e Russian diaspora Former Russian Empire or the USSR Central and Eastern Europe Belarus Poland Toruń Ukraine Baltic states Estonia Latvia Lithuania Central Asia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Caucasus Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Other states Finland Moldova Americas Argentina Brazil Canada Chile Guatemala Mexico United States Uruguay Venezuela Asia East Asia China Albazinians Harbin Hong Kong Shanghai Taiwan Japan Korea Southeast Asia Philippines South Asia Afghanistan India Nepal Pakistan West Asia Turkey Iran Israel (Russian Jews) Lebanon United Arab Emirates Europe Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus France Germany Greece Italy Norway (Svalbard) Romania Serbia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Oceania Australia New Zealand 1 Related topics: Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states, White émigré, Post-2022. v t e Ancestry and ethnicity in Chile Indigenous peoples Araucanian Cunco Huilliche Mapuche Moluche Pehuenche Picunche Puelche Others Aimara Atacameño Diaguita Kaweshkar Moyos Moyos Quechuas Qulla Rapanui Selkʼnam Tehuelche Tomatas Yaghan Immigration European Austrian Basque Belgian British English Scottish Welsh Croatian Czech Dutch French German Greek Hungarian Irish Italian Polish Russian Spanish Swiss Others African Americans & Canadians Arab Lebanese Palestinian Argentines Armenian Bolivian Brazilian Chinese Colombian Dominican Filipino Haitian Indian Japanese Jewish Korean Mexican Paraguayan Peruvian Romani Uruguayan Venezuelan Category:Ethnic groups in Chile --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Russian Chileans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Chileans) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Chileans?action=history)). 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