Russian diaspora

{{Short description|Community of Russian emigrants}} {{For|Russosphere|Geographical distribution of Russian speakers}} thumb|Map of the Russian diaspora {{As of|lc=y|2025}}.<br /> {{Legend|#000000|Russia}} {{Legend|#680000|> 1,000,000}} {{Legend|#b20000|> 100,000}} {{Legend|#ff7676|> 10,000}} {{Legend|#FFC5C5|> 1,000}}|300x300px The '''Russian diaspora''' is the global community of ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking (''Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russians or not.

== History == {{More citations needed section|date=September 2015}} [[Image:Eglise notre dame de l assomption 7.jpg|thumb|300px|Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery near Paris, the foremost necropolis of the White émigrés]] [[File:Russisches Theater in Riga 2018.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre founded in 1883]]

A significant ethnic Russian emigration took place in the wake of the Old Believer schism in the 17th century (for example, the Lipovans, who migrated southwards around 1700). Later ethnic Russian communities, such as the Doukhobors (who emigrated to the Transcaucasus from 1841 and onwards to Canada from 1899) and the Molokans (who had emigrated to the United States, Georgia, Armenia, Kars, Azerbaijan, Australia, and Central Asia) Also emigrated as religious dissidents fleeing centrist authority. One of the religious minorities that had a significant effect on emigration from Russia was the Russian Jewish population.

In the twentieth century, Emigration from the Soviet Union is often broken down into three "waves" (волны) of emigration. The waves are the "First Wave", or "White Wave", which left during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then the Russian Civil War; the "Second Wave", which emigrated during and after World War II; and the "Third Wave", which emigrated in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

The Russo-Japanese War, World War I, and the Russian Revolution that became a civil war happened in quick succession from 1904 through 1923 with some overlap and heightened the strain on Russia and particularly the men expected to participate in military service. A major reason for young men specifically to emigrate out of Russia was to avoid forced service in the Russian army.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Diner |first=Hasia R |title=The Jews of the United States, 1654 to 2000 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/9780520939929 |pages=71–111 |year=2019 |publisher=University of California Press |doi=10.1525/9780520939929 |isbn=978-0-520-93992-9 |access-date=2020-12-08 |s2cid=243416759|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A sizable wave of ethnic Russians emigrated in the wake of the October Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. They became known collectively as the White émigrés. That emigration is also referred to as the "first wave" even though previous emigrations had taken place, as it was comprised the first emigrants to have left in the wake of the Communist Revolution, and because it exhibited a heavily political character.

A smaller group of Russians, often referred to by Russians as the "second wave" of the Russian emigration, left during World War II. They were refugees, Soviet POWs, eastern workers, or surviving veterans of the Russian Liberation Army and other collaborationist armed units that had served under the German command and evaded forced repatriation. In the immediate postwar period, the largest Russian communities in the emigration settled in Germany, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Following the establishment of the State of Israel, many Russian Jews fled to the country along with their non-Jewish relatives, with the current estimate of Russians in Israel totalling 300,000<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Statistiche demografiche ISTAT |url=http://demo.istat.it/str2006/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814010947/http://demo.istat.it/str2006/index.html |archive-date=14 August 2013 |access-date=11 January 2018 |website=Demo.istat.it}}</ref> (1,000,000 including Russian Jews who in the Soviet Union were not registered as Russians but rather as ethnic Jews).<ref name="Monthly Bulletin of Statistics">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/archive/200701/yarhon/e4_e.htm |title=Monthly Bulletin of Statistics |publisher=Cbs.gov.il |access-date=2011-03-22}}</ref>

Emigres who left after the death of Stalin but before perestroika, are often grouped into a "third wave". The emigres were mostly Jews, Armenians, Russian Germans. Most left in the 1970s. [[File:Protest of Russians in the Czech Republic against the war in Ukraine.png|thumb|250px|Protest of Russians living in the Czech Republic against the 2022 invasion of Ukraine]] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia suffered an economic depression in the 1990s. This caused many Russians to leave Russia for Western countries. The economic depression ended in 2000. Also, during this time, ethnic Russians who lived in other post-Soviet states moved to Russia.<ref name="MissouriArlington2009"> {{cite book|author1=Uma A. Segal Professor of Social Work University of Missouri |author2=Doreen Elliott Professor of Social Work University of Texas at Arlington |author3=Nazneen S. Mayadas Professor Emerita University of Texas at Arlington |title=Immigration Worldwide : Policies, Practices, and Trends: Policies, Practices, and Trends |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aaimTNHDzZYC&pg=PA47 |access-date=1 September 2013|date=13 December 2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-974167-0|page=47}} </ref>

Upon the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent mobilization, hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled abroad.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Salieva |first=Ivan Watson, Rebecca Wright, Tom Booth, Dinara |date=2022-10-09 |title=Russian draft dodgers pour into Kazakhstan to escape Putin's war |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/09/europe/russia-draft-dodgers-kazakhstan-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Thousands of Russians continue to arrive in Turkey, fleeing conscription |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/10/09/1127274054/thousands-of-russians-continue-to-arrive-in-turkey-fleeing-conscription |access-date=2022-10-10}}</ref>

==Statistics== Some 20 to 30 million ethnic Russians are estimated to live outside the bounds of the Russian Federation (depending on the definition of "ethnicity").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diamant |first=Jeff |date=2017-07-24 |title=Ethnic Russians in some former Soviet republics feel a close connection to Russia |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/07/24/ethnic-russians-in-some-former-soviet-republics-feel-a-close-connection-to-russia/ |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> The number of native speakers of the Russian language who resided outside of the Russian Federation was estimated as close to 30 million by SIL Ethnologue in 2010.<ref>reporting 137 million native speakers within the Russian Federation as of 2010, out of 167 million native speakers worldwide. Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2014. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International</ref> ;

[[File:Argentina - Misiones - Oberá - Fiesta del Inmigrante 2014 - Desfile Inaugural 12.JPG|thumb|Immigrants’ Festival in Misiones, Argentina]] [[File:Russian Old Believers in Nikolaevsk AK USA.jpg|thumb|Russian Old Believers Church in Nikolaevsk, Alaska]]

{|class="wikitable sortable" !Country || data-sort-type=number | Ethnic Russians || % || Year |- |{{flagicon|Ukraine}} Ukraine |8,300,000 |17.3% |2001<ref>[http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results 2001 Census of Ukraine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126193708/http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results|date=2006-11-26}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} Kazakhstan |2,963,938 |14.6% |2025<ref>[https://stat.gov.kz/ru/industries/social-statistics/demography/publications/281562/ The population of the Republic of Kazakhstan by individual ethnic groups at the beginning of 2025] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727033016/https://stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT453226&lang=kk |date=2022-07-27 }}, Committee on Statistics of the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan {{in lang|ru}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|United States}} United States |2,432,733 |0.6% |2023<ref>American Community Survey 2023. {{Cite web |title=Grid View: Table B04006 - Census Reporter |url=https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B04006&geo_ids=01000US&primary_geo_id=01000US |access-date=2025-07-18 |website=censusreporter.org}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Brazil}} Brazil |1,800,000-3,000,000 | |2018{{cn|date=May 2026}} |- |{{flagicon|Germany}} Germany |1,213,000 | |2012<ref name="destatis.de">{{cite web |title=Russian migrants residing in Germany—this includes current and former citizens of the Russian Federation as well as former citizens of the Soviet Union |url=https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/SocietyState/Population/MigrationIntegration/PersonsMigrationBackground/Tables/MigrantStatusFormerCitizenhip.html |access-date=11 January 2018 |website=Destatis.de}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Israel}} Israel |891,700 |14.2% |2015<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2016/2.ShnatonPopulation/st02_08x.pdf|title=Table 2.8 – Jews, by country of origin and age|access-date=11 March 2019|publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Uzbekistan}} Uzbekistan |720,324 |2.1% |2021<ref>{{Cite web |title=Open Data Portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan |url=https://data.egov.uz/eng/data/6117a05996188a0f14ac917b?page=1 |access-date=2022-07-05 |website=Telegram |archive-date=2023-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202184355/https://data.egov.uz/eng/data/6117a05996188a0f14ac917b?page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Belarus}} Belarus |706,992 |7.5% |2019<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_17854/|title = Общая численность населения, численность населения по возрасту и полу, состоянию в браке, уровню образования, национальностям, языку, источникам средств к существованию по Республике Беларусь}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Canada}} Canada |622,445 |1.8% |2016<ref>self-reported ethnic origin as of 2016; 120,165 gave Russian as single ethnic origin; an additional 502,280 gave Russian as one of several ethnic origins im "multiple ethnic origins responses". [https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&Lang=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=1341679&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=110528&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2017&THEME=120&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0]</ref> |- |{{flagicon|France}} France |200,000 to 500,000 | |2014<ref>{{cite web |title=La communauté russe en France est "éclectique" |url=http://www.russieinfo.com/la-communaute-russe-en-france-est-eclectique-2014-10-30 |access-date=5 April 2015 |website=Russieingo.com}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Latvia}} Latvia |434,243 |23.4% |2025<ref name="CSB">{{cite web | url=https://data.stat.gov.lv/pxweb/en/OSP_PUB/START__POP__IR__IRE/IRE031/ | title=Population by ethnicity in regions, State cities and municipalities at the beginning of year 2012 - 2023 | access-date=18 July 2025}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Argentina}} Argentina |400,000 | |2019<ref>{{Cite web | title=¿Por qué hay tantos rusos en la Argentina y tan pocos argentinos en Rusia? - LA NACION | url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/por-que-hay-tantos-rusos-argentina-tan-nid2248366 | access-date=2025-08-25 | website=www.lanacion.com.ar | date=16 May 2019 }}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Estonia}} Estonia |276,125 |20.2% |2026<ref>{{cite web | url=https://andmed.stat.ee/et/stat/rahvastik__rahvastikunaitajad-ja-koosseis__rahvaarv-ja-rahvastiku-koosseis/RV067 | title=Rv067: Population by Sex, Ethnic Nationality and County, 1 January }}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} Kyrgyzstan |282,652 |4.1% |2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kyrgyzstan BRIEF STATISTICAL HANDBOOK 2022 |url=https://www.stat.gov.kg/media/publicationarchive/d67c308c-6121-4cb0-b70e-c93dfc199ff6.pdf}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Turkey}} Turkey |240,715 | |2022<ref>Russians hold either short- or long-term permits and are currently living in Turkey. {{cite web |title=İkamet İzinleri ["Housing Permitholders"] |url=https://www.goc.gov.tr/ikamet-izinleri |website=www.goc.gov.tr |publisher=Ministry of Interior |access-date=5 December 2022 |language=tr |date=24 November 2022}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania |141,122 |5.0% |2021<ref name="OfStat1">[https://osp.stat.gov.lt/informaciniai-pranesimai?eventId=288049 Informaciniai pranešimai] // Oficialiosios statistikos portalas</ref><ref>[https://osp.stat.gov.lt/gyventoju-ir-bustu-surasymai1 Gyventojų ir būstų surašymai - Oficialiosios statistikos portalas]</ref><ref>[https://tass.ru/obschestvo/13348075 Доля русского населения в Литве за 10 лет уменьшилась до 5 %] // ТАСС, 3 янв 2022</ref><ref name="автоссылка2">[https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/gyventoju-surasymo-rezultatai-nuolatiniu-gyventoju-skaicius-sumazejo-7-6-proc-56-1617018 Gyventojų surašymo rezultatai: nuolatinių gyventojų skaičius per dešimtmetį sumažėjo 7,6 proc.] | 15min.lt</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Transnistria}} Transnistria (unrecognized state) |138,072 |28.5% |2015<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnic composition of Transnistria 2015 |url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/pmr-ethnic2015.htm |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=pop-stat.mashke.org}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Italy}} Italy |120,000 | |2006<ref name=":1" /> |- |{{flagicon|Spain}} Spain |118,801 | |2023<ref>https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Datos.htm?t=56937#_tabs-grafico</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Turkmenistan}} Turkmenistan |114,447 |1.6% |2022<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.tm/population-census-pdfs/results/en/4.pdf|title=NATIONAL COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY|date=17 December 2022|access-date=18 July 2025|website=www.stat.gov.tm}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Finland}} Finland |102,487 |1.8% |2024<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tilastokeskus |title=Statistics Finland |url= https://time.com/6965713/russian-invasion-thailand-tourists-ukraine-war-exiles-phuket/ |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=stat.fi |language=en}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Thailand}}Thailand |60,000-100,000 |1.6% |2024<ref>{{Cite web |title= Thailand's Tourist Towns Deal With Their Own Russian Invasion |url=https://stat.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_vaesto_en.html#Population%20by%20origin%20and%20language,%202019 |access-date=2025-11-22 |website=time.com |language=en}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova (excl. Transnistria) |75,300 |3.2% |2024<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-30 |title=Preliminary results of the 2024 Population and Housing Census |url=https://statistica.gov.md/en/preliminary-results-of-the-2024-population-and-housing-census-10077_61626.html |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=Preliminary results of the 2024 Population and Housing Census |language=en}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom |73,000 | |2020<ref name="ons2011">{{cite web |title=Nationality and country of birth by age, sex and qualifications Jan - Dec 2013 (Excel sheet 60Kb) |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/business-transparency/freedom-of-information/what-can-i-request/published-ad-hoc-data/labour/april-2014/nationality-and-country-of-birth-by-age--sex-and-qualifications-jan---dec-2013.xls |access-date=11 June 2014 |website=Ons.gov.uk |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}. 35,000 Russian nationals and 39,000 Russian-born residents estimated for 2013 (based on 2011 data).</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} Azerbaijan |71,046 |0.7% |2019<ref>{{Cite web | title=Ethnic composition of Azerbaijan 2019 | url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/azerbaijan-ethnic2019.htm | access-date=2025-08-25 | website=pop-stat.mashke.org}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|South Korea}} South Korea |70,689 | |2024<ref>Including the population of the Korean Russians living in Korea in 2024, which amounts to 36,168. {{cite web |title=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.immigration.go.kr/immigration/1569/subview.do?enc=Zm5jdDF8QEB8JTJGYmJzJTJGaW1taWdyYXRpb24lMkYyMjclMkY1ODg3MTIlMkZhcnRjbFZpZXcuZG8lM0ZwYXNzd29yZCUzRCUyNnJnc0JnbmRlU3RyJTNEJTI2YmJzQ2xTZXElM0QlMjZyZ3NFbmRkZVN0ciUzRCUyNmlzVmlld01pbmUlM0RmYWxzZSUyNnBhZ2UlM0QxJTI2YmJzT3BlbldyZFNlcSUzRCUyNnNyY2hDb2x1bW4lM0QlMjZzcmNoV3JkJTNEJTI2 |access-date=20 November 2024 |website=www.immigration.go.kr/immigration/index.do}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Australia}} Australia |67,550 | |<ref>{{cite web |title=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=http://www.abs.gov.au |access-date=5 April 2015 |website=Abs.gov.au}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|United Arab Emirates}} United Arab Emirates |56,600 | |{{citation needed|date=July 2025}} |- |{{flag|Cuba}} |50,200 | |<ref name="Créditos">{{cite web |title=Créditos |url=http://www.cubagob.cu/otras_info/censo/index.htm |access-date=5 April 2015 |website=Cubagob.cu}}</ref> |-

|{{flag|Egypt}} |12,000-50,000 | |2010<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Владимирович |first=Беляков Владимир |date=2010 |title=Исторические волны российской эмиграции в Египте |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/istoricheskie-volny-rossiyskoy-emigratsii-v-egipte |journal=Восточный Архив |issue=22 |pages=75–77 |issn=2072-5795}}</ref> |- |{{flag|Cyprus}} |40,583 | |2025 |-

|{{flagicon|Venezuela}} Venezuela |34,600 | |{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} |- |{{flagicon|Austria}} Austria |30,249 | |<ref>{{cite web |author=Statistik Austria |title=STATISTIK AUSTRIA - Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland |url=http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstruktur/bevoelkerung_nach_staatsangehoerigkeit_geburtsland/ |access-date=5 April 2015 |website=Statistik.at}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Tajikistan}} Tajikistan |29,000 |0.3% |2020<ref>{{Cite web| title=Dissemination of the Republic of Tajikistan population and housing census data 2020 | url=https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/WS10RizoevENG.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916235711/https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/WS10RizoevENG.pdf | archive-date=2023-09-16}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Georgia}} Georgia |26,586 |0.7% |2014<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geostat.ge/cms/site_images/_files/english/population/Census_release_ENG_2016.pdf|title=Population Census 2014 |website=geostat.ge|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/1071955.html Georgia: Ethnic Russians Feel Insulated From Tensions], Radio Free Europe</ref> |- |{{flag|Romania}} |23,000 | |<ref>{{cite web |title=Informatii utile - Agentia Nationala pentru Intreprinderi Mici si Mijlocii |url=http://mimmc.ro/info_util/formulare_1294/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513211550/http://mimmc.ro/info_util/formulare_1294/ |archive-date=13 May 2007 |access-date=11 January 2018 |website=Mimmc.ro}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Sweden}} Sweden |20,930 | |<ref>"Folkmängd efter födelseland 1900–2017" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 21 February 2018.</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Belgium}} Belgium |20,000 | |2008<ref name="How many Russians in Belgium?">Belgian residents from the ex-USSR countries that resided in Belgium in 2008: 21,655. An estimate of 50,000 was given by diaspora organisation [http://www.russian-belgium.be/en/node/40786 russian-belgium.be], based on extrapolation of naturalization data, online polls among their members, and a loose definition of "Russian" as anyone who has been exposed to the Soviet education system or who speaks Russian.</ref> |- |{{flagicon|China}} China |15,600 | |2000<ref>{{Cite web| title=China 2000 population census assembly | url=http://141.211.142.26/member/census2000/ybListDetail.asp?ID=1 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928214338/http://141.211.142.26/member/census2000/ybListDetail.asp?ID=1 | archive-date=2007-09-28 | access-date=2006-12-17}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} Bulgaria |15,595 | |<ref>{{cite web |title=National Statistical Institute |url=http://www.nsi.bg/Census_e/Census_e.htm |access-date=5 April 2015 |website=Nsi.bg}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|India}} India |6,000 to 15,000 | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Сведения о проводящихся выборах и референдумах |url=http://www.foreign-countries.vybory.izbirkom.ru/region/region/foreign-countries?action=show&root=1000182&tvd=100100022111493&vrn=100100021960181&region=99&global=true&sub_region=99&prver=0&pronetvd=null&vibid=100100022111493&type=233 |website=www.foreign-countries.vybory.izbirkom.ru |access-date=2021-03-30 |archive-date=2021-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009103728/http://www.foreign-countries.vybory.izbirkom.ru/region/region/foreign-countries?action=show&root=1000182&tvd=100100022111493&vrn=100100021960181&region=99&global=true&sub_region=99&prver=0&pronetvd=null&vibid=100100022111493&type=233 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Norway}} Norway |13,914 | |<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics Norway |url=http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/02/01/10/innvbef_en/tab-2009-04-30-01-en.html |access-date=11 January 2018 |website=Ssb.no}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Greece}} Greece |13,415 | |2021<ref>{{Cite web| title=Πίνακας Α02. Απογραφή Πληθυσμού 2021. Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά φύλο και ιθαγένεια | language=el | trans-title=Table A02. Population Census 2021. Resident Population by gender and citizenship | url=https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/17286366/A1602_SAM03_TB_DC_00_2011_A02_F_BI.xlsx/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224110735/https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/17286366/A1602_SAM03_TB_DC_00_2011_A02_F_BI.xlsx/ | archive-date=2023-12-24}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Poland}} Poland |13,000 | |2011<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/LUD_ludnosc_stan_str_dem_spo_NSP2011.pdf |title=Polish Statistics |date=2011 |website=Stat.gov.pl |publisher=Zakład Wydawnictw Statystycznych |isbn=978-83-7027-521-1 |access-date=11 January 2018}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Armenia}} Armenia |11,911 | |2002<ref name="2002 census">{{cite web|url=http://docs.armstat.am/census/pdfs/51.pdf|title=(2002 census)|website=Docs.armstat.am|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=5 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205224405/http://docs.armstat.am/census/pdfs/51.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Japan}} Japan |11,634 | |<ref>{{Cite web |title=【在留外国人統計（旧登録外国人統計）統計表】 {{!}} 出入国在留管理庁 |url=https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/statistics/toukei_ichiran_touroku.html |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.moj.go.jp}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|New Zealand}} New Zealand |10,235 | |<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/RussiansUkrainiansAndBalticPeoples/3/en|title=3. Facts and figures – Russians, Ukrainians and Baltic peoples – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand|website=Teara.govt.nz|access-date=5 April 2015}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Portugal}} Portugal |5,103 | | |- |{{flagicon|Hong Kong}} Hong Kong |5,000 | |<ref>{{cite web|url=http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20160228/00184_001.html|title=坦言集：俄羅斯在港 - 東方日報|website=orientaldaily.on.cc|access-date=11 January 2018}}</ref> |- |{{flag|Qatar}} |5,000 | |<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bqdoha.com/2013/12/population-qatar|title=Qatar's population - by nationality|work=bq Magazine|access-date=5 April 2015|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222095738/http://www.bqdoha.com/2013/12/population-qatar|archive-date=22 December 2013}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Singapore}} Singapore |4,500 | |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2139635/meet-russian-risk-takers-making-safe-singapore-their-home|title=Meet the Russian risk takers making safe Singapore their home|website=SCMP.com|date=31 March 2018}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Serbia}} Serbia |3,290 | |2013<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kirs.gov.rs/docs/migracije/Migracioni_profil_Republike_Srbije_za_2013.pdf|title=Миграциони профил Републике Србије за 2013. годину|website=Kirs.gov.rs|access-date=11 January 2018}}</ref> |- |{{flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico |1,600 to 2,000 | |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/emigracion/mexico|title=Emigrantes de México según país de destino (2019)|website=datosmacro.expansion.com |access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref> |}

===Albania=== In Albania, the presence of Russians first occurred at the end of 1921, with thousands of former White Army soldiers settling in the nation at the request of Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=The Tragedy of Albania's Russian Community |url=https://russkiymir.ru/en/publications/139509/ |access-date=2021-06-26 |website=russkiymir.ru}}</ref> After the Second World War, hundreds of Soviet civilian and military experts were sent to Albania.<ref name=":02" /> The Soviet Union withdrew specialists from the country in 1961, resulting in about half of the Russian diaspora being forced to remain in Albania permanently.<ref name=":02" />{{Clarify|reason=Who “forced” them to remain, or how does it “result from” someone else’s withdrawal?|date=September 2023}} The Russian-speaking diaspora today numbers only about 300 people.<ref name=":02" />

===Americas=== {{See also|Russian Americans|Russian Americans in New York City|Russian Argentines}} [[File:-StopPutinNow Rally NYC (51903882696).jpg|thumb|Protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine outside the Russian Consulate in New York City on 24 February 2022]] Russian settlement in Mexico was minimal but well documented in the 19th and the early 20th centuries. A few breakaway sectarians from the Russian Orthodox Church, partial tribes of Spiritual Christian ''Pryguny'' arrived in Los Angeles beginning in 1904 to escape persecution from Tsarist Russia and were diverted to purchase and colonize land in the Guadalupe Valley northeast of Ensenada to establish a few villages in which they maintained their Russian culture for a few decades before they were abandoned;{{Clarify|reason=by whom?|date=September 2023}} cemeteries bearing Cyrillic letters remain.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

In the late 1800s, there was a large influx of Jewish immigrants to the United States from Russia and Eastern Europe to escape religious persecution. From the third of the Jewish population that left the area, roughly eighty percent resettled in America. There, many still desired to hold onto their Russian identities and settled in areas with large numbers of Russian immigrants already. Local populations were generally distrustful of their cultural differences.<ref name=":0" />

Dissenters of the official Soviet Communist Party like the Trotskyists and their leader, Leon Trotsky, found refuge in Mexico in the 1930s, where Trotsky himself was assassinated by NKVD agent Ramon Mercader in 1940.

===East Asia and Southeast Asia=== [[File:West facade of St. Sophia Cathedral, Harbin (20230721150450).jpg|thumb|Russian Orthodox Saint Sofia Church in Harbin, China]] Russians (''eluosizu'') are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They are approximately 15,600 living mostly in northern Xinjiang and also in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. In the 1920s, Harbin was flooded with 100,000 to 200,000 White émigrés fleeing Russia. Some Harbin Russians moved to other cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin. By the 1930s, Shanghai's Russian community had grown to more than 25,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/cultures/t-russ.htm|title=Tales of Old Shanghai - cultures - Russians|website=Talesofoldchina.com|access-date=11 January 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055333/http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/cultures/t-russ.htm|archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref>

There are also smaller numbers of Russians in Japan . The Japanese government disputes Russia's claim to the Kuril Islands, which were annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II. The Soviet Red Army expelled all Japanese from the island chain, which was resettled with Russians and other Soviet nationalities.{{citation needed|date=April 2009}}

A few Russians also settled in the Korean Peninsula in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries.<ref>{{citation|contribution=Vanished Exiles: The Prewar Russian Community in Korea|title=Korean Studies: New Pacific Currents|editor=Dae-Sook Suh|last=Clark|first=Donald N.|pages=41–58|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|year=1994|isbn=0-8248-1598-X}}</ref> There are some number of Russians reside in South Korea, with an estimated population of around 70,000. Approximately half of them are of Korean descent, tracing their heritage to the Koryo-saram, who is ethnic Koreans who settled in the former Soviet Union.

The population of Russians in Singapore is estimated at 4,500 by local Russian embassy in 2018;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2139635/meet-russian-risk-takers-making-safe-singapore-their-home|title=Meet the Russian risk takers making safe Singapore their home|date=31 March 2018|author=Pang Xue Qiang|website=SCMP.com}}</ref> they are a largely-professional and business-oriented expatriate community, and among them are hundreds of company owners or local heads of branches of large Russian multinationals.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=864386|periodical=Kommersant Den'gi|date=2008-03-10|access-date=2009-07-30|title=Сингапурский десант|volume=9|issue=664|last=Drankina|first=Yekaterina}}</ref> President Vladimir Putin visited Singapore on 13 November 2018 to break ground for Russian Cultural Center, which will also house a Russian Orthodox church.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2018-11-13 |title=President Vladimir Putin, in first-ever state visit to Singapore, breaks ground for new Russian Cultural Centre |language=en |work=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/president-vladimir-putin-in-first-ever-visit-to-singapore-breaks-ground-for-new-russian |access-date=2023-11-16 |issn=0585-3923}}</ref> During the meeting of State Heads, President Halimah mentioned that there were 690 Russian companies in Singapore <ref>{{citation|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/despite-differences-singapore-and-russia-have-long-standing-10927034/|periodical=Channel News Asia|date=2018-11-13|title=Despite differences, Singapore and Russia have 'long-standing friendship': President Halimah}}</ref>

There are about 40 Russian families living in Manila, Philippines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=When the Philippines welcomed Russian refugees |url=http://www.orthochristian.com/80526.html |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Православие.RU}}</ref>

===Finland=== {{See also|Russians in Finland}} Finland borders Russia directly, and from 1809 until 1917 was a Grand Duchy of Finland in personal union with the Russian Empire. As of 2024, Finland had 35,172 Russian citizens<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tilastokeskus |title=Statistics Finland |url=https://stat.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_vaesto_en.html#Population%20by%20citizenship |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=stat.fi |language=en}}</ref> and 102,487 (1.8% of population)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tilastokeskus |title=Statistics Finland |url=https://stat.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_vaesto_en.html#Population%20by%20origin%20and%20language,%202019 |access-date=2025-10-04 |website=stat.fi |language=en}}</ref> speak Russian as their mother tongue.

=== Former USSR === {{main|Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states}}

Today the largest ethnic Russian diasporas outside of Russia exist in former Soviet states such as Ukraine (about 9 million), Kazakhstan (3,644,529 or 20.61% in 2016),<ref name="KZ2016">{{cite web |title=Численность населения Республики Казахстан по отдельным этносам на начало 2016 года |url=http://www.stat.gov.kz/getImg?id=ESTAT118979 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625045800/http://www.stat.gov.kz/getImg?id=ESTAT118979 |archive-date=25 June 2016 |access-date=11 January 2018 |website=Stat.gov.kz}}</ref> Belarus (about 1.5 million), Uzbekistan (about 650,000)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20260118162657/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan/ Uzbekistan: People: Ethnic Groups.] World Factbook of CIA</ref> Kyrgyzstan (about 600,000)<ref>{{cite web |author=John Pike |title=KYRGYZSTAN: Economic disparities driving inter-ethnic conflict |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2006/02/mil-060215-irin02.htm |access-date=5 April 2015 |website=Globalsecurity.org}}</ref> and Latvia (471,276 or 24.7% in 2020).<ref name="CSB" />

The situation faced by ethnic Russian diasporas varied widely. In Belarus, for example, there was no perceivable change in status. But in Estonia and Latvia,<ref>[http://geo.1september.ru/articlef.php?ID=200101108 "Russians beyond the Limits of Russia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102647/http://geo.1september.ru/articlef.php?ID=200101108|date=2007-09-29}}, O.I. Vendina, ''Geography'' newspaper, no. 11, 2001 {{in lang|ru}}</ref> people without ancestors that had been a citizen of those countries before the Soviet occupation of 1940–1991, and who did not request Russian citizenship while it was available, were deemed non-citizens.

In March 2022, a week after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 82% of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine said they did not believe that any part of Ukraine was rightfully part of Russia, according to Lord Ashcroft's polls which did not include the Russian-occupied regions of Crimea and parts of the Donbas.<ref name="Lord Ashcroft Polls">{{cite news |date=14 March 2022 |title=Ukrainians want to stay and fight, but don't see Russian people as the enemy. A remarkable poll from Kyiv |url=https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/ukrainians-want-to-stay-and-fight-but-dont-see-russian-people-as-the-enemy-a-remarkable-poll-from-kyiv/ |work=European Leadership Network}}</ref> 65% of Ukrainians – including 88% of those of Russian ethnicity – agreed that "despite our differences there is more that unites ethnic Russians living in Ukraine and Ukrainians than divides us."<ref name="Lord Ashcroft Polls" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.mochola.org/russiaabroad Russia Abroad: A comprehensive guide to Russian Emigration after 1917] Biographical databases. Photoarchive. Research results accompanied by original documents, paper extracts. * [http://pomogaem.net Largest Russian-Ukrainian settlement support network outside of xUSSR - 300.000 members] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429165154/http://pomogaem.net/ |date=2017-04-29 }} *[https://edkbooksanddistribution.com/book/mityas-harbin-majesty-menace/ Mitya's Harbin: Majesty and Menace] Bothell, Washington: Book Publishers Network, Second edition, 2018, 536 pp.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Diaspora}} Category:Russian diaspora Category:European diasporas