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Canadian Ethno-Cultural Mosaic – Part 6: Canadians of Russian origin By Arkady Cherkasov, Ph.D. (Moscow State University) According to the data of the most recent completely published Census of Canadian population, the number of Canadians claiming Russian or partially Russian (mixed) ethnic origin in 1991 did not exceed 200 000 people of which only 24% reported their “single” Russian origin. Only 35 000 persons reported in 1991 the Russian language as their mother tongue, and in 1996 – 58 000. It means that the Russian ethno-cultural group in Canada is five times smaller than the ethnically and linguistically close Canadian Ukrainian community. These figures seem to be misleading, for they tend to underestimate the real role of the Russian cultural component in the Canadian ethno-cultural mosaic. First of all, the bearers of Russian culture which is so obviously present in Canada as an element of the Canadian multiculturalism, are not necessarily “Russian” in the most narrowly ethnic, even racial sense of this word reflected by the notorious “fifth point” of the Soviet internal passport. Many creators and developers of the great Russian culture bear Tartar, German, or Jewish names and would be classified in their official documents as “non-Russians” while in reality they were the cream and the pride of the Russian nation. Secondly, for different historical and political reasons, too many Russians of different sub-ethnic and confessional groups have arrived in Canada with some bitterness about their former homeland in their hearts and with the purpose to assimilate while contributing their skills and cultural wealth (profoundly Russian, whatever their feelings have been) to their new homeland. Also, one has to point out that the Russian-Canadian ethno-cultural group is extremely heterogeneous, and its components do not tend to merge together. Roughly, one can discern at least seven of such components, or, otherwise, from four to seven waves of Russian immigration to Canada, most of which have been heterogeneous in their turn.
Unexpectedly, the new Canadian homeland for the Doukhobors became a new arena of friction with the local authorities, who refused the collectivist approach to the land property and insisted on individual registration by each family of its private property (homesteads). In the neighboring province of Alberta, it has lead later even to some acts of violence, as an extremist sub-sect of the Doukhobors, “The Sons Of Freedom” (about 10% of the members of the community) started a violent struggle against any kind of private property (including arson and the notorious “nude parades” in the 1930’s and even later). Eventually, most of the Doukhobors, starting from 1908, had to leave Saskatchewan and to settle in the valleys of British Columbia, mostly in the vicinities of Grand Forks. At present in Canada, according to different estimates of Doukhobor sources, the number of their descendants varies from 15 to 30 thousands, while the official Census data show the decrease of the number of the practicing Doukhobor faith adherents from 17 000 in 1941 to only 5 000 in 1991. Nevertheless, the descendants of the Doukhobors may be considered the most (if not the only) consolidated group of Russian Canadians: more than half of them still regard Russian as their mother tongue. Some Russian-speaking semi-collectivist rural communities persist until now in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, but most Doukhobors have urbanized and even went to the business (e.g. in Vancouver). Doukhobors have formed an ethno-confessional community obviously isolated from other Russian-speaking groups formed by the later waves of Russian immigration. In the times of the existence of the Soviet Union, they contacted more eagerly, than other Russian Canadians, with such Soviet organizations as the late “USSR-Canada” Friendship Society, or the “Rodina” (“Motherland”) Society which were regarded by other Russian Canadians as probably KGB-infested and definitely pro-Communist. For Doukhobors, it was not such an anathema, as for other Russian (Soviet dissident) immigrants, as they shared with the Communists, first, a common past enemy (the Tsarist Russia), and secondly, some collectivist principles, which, as they thought, had triumphed in their historic homeland after they had left it. One can even say that, being at a safe distance, they even sympathized with the Communist Soviet Union - and this created an ideological gap between them and later Russian immigrants. 2.Russian Jewish immigration in the end of X1X – beginning of the XX century. The open Anti-Semitism of the Tsar Alexander III, and more implicit – of Nicholas II, the shameful introduction of a Russian word “pogrom” in the international vocabulary have lead to a massive wave of Jewish emigration from the Russian Empire. I do not dare to touch here superficially the subject who exactly was to blame for this general rehearsal of the future Holocaust (more than 100 000 Russian Jews have perished in 1881-1921) – this is too painful for Russian Jews and too shameful for us Gentiles, whatever was the degree of personal guilt for the individuals of that generation. I only want to draw the attention to the fact that practically all violent pogroms have happened in the cities of the Russian Empire which were situated on the territory of the present-day independent Ukraine, Moldavia, Bielorussia or Lithuania and not in the areas populated by ethnic Russians proper, that is not on the territory of the present-day Russian Federation. Nevertheless, the 1,7 million Jews who had left the Russian Empire between 1881 and 1914 were regarded in the recipient countries as Russian Jews, and even Jewish Russians, as, along with their unquestionable Jewish cultural identity, they were, to different extent, bearers of many important elements of Russian culture (to the creation of which many of them have so massively contributed in preceding decades and even centuries).Most of them, along with Yiddish and Hebrew, spoke the Russian language as the official language of the Empire they had left - and for many countries where they arrived the first acquaintance with the Russian culture was exactly through the Russian-Jewish prism. Whatever were their feelings to their ex-homeland, the Russian Empire, – the presence of Russian element in the Canadian multi-cultural mosaic is to a very high extent due to the presence of Russian Jews. Most of the descendants of this wave of immigration have completely assimilated with the English-speaking part of the Canadian society (according to some estimates, about 70% of North American Jews are of Russian origin). According to the latest complete Canadian Census of Population (1991), the Jewish (by religion) population of Canada comprised 318 000. But, of course, this figure, beside the descendants of the “Russian Jews” of the discussed wave of immigration and the “Jewish Russians” of the latest wave (see further in this text), includes considerable non-Russian components which are not the object of the present study. 3. A similar role of “Kulturtraegers” of Russian culture (but by far in a smaller scale) in Canada has been performed by Russian Germans - Mennonites and especially Hutterites – Protestant sects with a collectivist philosophy almost similar to that of the Doukhobors. These sects installed in Russia in the 18-th century, also have undergone some religious persecutions (especially after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917) and eventually emigrated to Western countries, mostly to Canada, where they brought some elements of Russian culture and even knowledge of Russian language. The first Mennonites from Russia (8000) arrived in Saskatchewan between 1874 and 1880, but the bulk of Russian Germans (including practically all Hutterites) came in 1918-1922 when 100 000 Russian Germans left their homeland. At present, in Canada reside more than 200 000 Mennonites and about 25 000 Hutterites, many of the latter still aware of their Russian roots. They are concentrated in the Prairies and tend to assimilate with English Canadians. 4. The so-called “White emigration”, that is the mass emigration of Cossacks, officers and soldiers of the defeated “White” (anti-Communist) army after the Russian Civil War (1918-1921) that was so visible in most other countries of the Free World (about 2 million of these people have left Russia during that period) but was not so pronounced in Canada. Most Russian emigrants who belonged to the intelligentsia or aristocracy settled in Western Europe or, later, in the USA, while the Canadian Government in this period encouraged the immigration of farm laborers, loggers, miners etc. So Canada did not share with other Western democracies the benefits of the possible influx of well-educated and energetic people from Russia (maybe it was the second mistake of the immigration policy in Canadian history after the French Minister Colbert’s ban to the Huguenot’s immigration to Canada in 17-th century). Some few exceptions, like the brilliant performance of the Count Ignatieff’s family in Canadian science, engineering and politics demonstrate how much Canada has lost by refusing (implicitly) to accept this wave of potentially excellent citizens who have contributed so much to the progress of their new homeland. As for the “laborers’” component of this wave who were admitted as the “preferred immigrants” to Canada, being people with low level of education, they quickly assimilated. This process was somewhat retarded only by the few Russian Orthodox Churches in large Canadian cities like Montreal or Toronto which acted as Russian cultural centers – but with very few links with the then-Godless Motherland, the USSR. Surrounded by non-Orthodox Christians (“heretics”, in their eyes) and having lost their enemy-conquered historic homeland, they found themselves, ironically, in the same situation as the Jews in the Tsarist Russia, with a similar ghetto mentality, including elements of xenophobia, intransigent approach to any ecumenical activities, etc. Those who did not share this sectarian mentality – assimilated. 5. More or less close to this group are also Orthodox Bielorussian immigrants who came in 1920-s - 1930-s from the then-Polish part of Bielorussia (classified as people of “Polish” descent by the Census). Some estimates assess their number as high as 60-100 thousands. As the Bielorussians are historically and linguistically very close to Russians, many of them came to Canada with a Russian self-identification and therefore may be regarded as ethnic Russians (the same applies to some - much fewer, though - Eastern Ukrainians, and even more – to many Russians of Jewish descent). But, while socially close to the “White Army” emigrés, politically they tended to be much less (if at all) Anti-Communist and, according to some unofficial estimates, formed the base of the pro-Soviet “Federation of Russian Canadians” founded in 1942 (22 700 members in 1949, less then one thousand in the early 1990-s). 6. The “displaced persons” who massively came to Canada after the Second World War, mostly in 1948-1953. This was the ethnically, sub-ethnically, culturally and politically most heterogeneous group – and probably the most numerous. It consisted of Russian (or “Russified Soviet”) prisoners of war who were regarded by Stalin’s ruthless government as “traitors” and therefore were afraid to return to their homeland; of people brought to Germany by the Nazi occupants to be used as forced labor force (their future at home would also mean Siberian labor camps); but also some Nazi collaborators and even war criminals who wanted to avoid punishment they deserved. For different reasons, these people wanted to get assimilated and even “diluted” in the society of their new homeland, often changing their names and even concealing their origin – for example, claiming as their country of origin the country of their last stay in Europe, such as Germany or France. Many members of this group, including absolutely honest people (who, of course, prevailed), mistrusted others, suspected them to be ex-Nazis or KGB agents. Maybe, the sorrowful destiny and resulting behavior of this group is the main reason why Russian Canadians did not succeed in creating a consolidated strong and proud ethno-cultural community like in the case of most other ethno-cultural groups of Canadian population. The second and the third generations of this immigrant group is, of course, not as traumatized as their parents – but, because of the conscientious policy of the latter, it is most assimilated. 7. The real “Russian presence” started to show itself in Canada in the 1980-s. One could say this presence had a Jewish accent – if these people had any accent (which they had not – in Russian). These were Russians of Jewish origin or having Jewish relatives who, because of this fact, were lucky to get an “exit visa” from the Soviet Union, with the gradual liberalization of the regime. Usually to get the right for exit they used an Israeli visa – but many of them chose other countries, and among them Canada which resembled so much their Russian motherland. People with strong Jewish identity – “Russian Jews”, – naturally, went to Israel, while the majority of those who have chosen Canada may be described as “Jewish Russians”. They are aware – and proud – of their Jewish heritage, but they are equally aware and no less proud of being part and co-authors (co-creators) of the modern Russian culture, and their nostalgic feelings, inevitable in the case of first generation of immigrants, are linked with Russia. In some cases one can talk even of something like a “nostalgic self-Russification” so typical for Russians (of any ethnic or sub-ethnic origin) when they settle abroad. After the liberation of Russia in 1991 (and the free exit from the country) the Russian immigration to Canada is no more linked with the Israeli visa, or any ethnic or political reasons: now it is a normal process of economic emigration, like in the case of any democratic country. Now it is controlled only by the Canadian immigration authorities. But the author’s personal observations show that the sub-ethnic composition of the present-day Russian immigration has not changed very much – partly due to the Canadian immigration policy which prefers immigrants who have relatives, friends and sponsors already installed in Canada. As in the 80-s, a considerable part of new Russian immigrants are people of Jewish origin or their non-Jewish relatives and friends. Most of them are well-educated, energetic and intelligent who have become very visible in Canadian academic, professional and even business circles (for example, in the real estate business in Montreal). Their social behavior may be described as integration (rather than assimilation) into the Canadian society – well in line with the official Canadian policy of multi-culturalism. For example, 85,5% of Russian Canadians residing in the province of Quebec are fluent in English, 72% - in French (of them, 62% speak both official languages), while 68% still consider Russian as their mother tongue. Two-thirds (65%) of Russian Canadians elder than 15 years in this province have university or college education. 14% of the active population of Russian origin occupy managerial and other leading administrative positions, 9% are engaged in education (professors, teachers etc.), the same percentage - in medicine, 8% - in arts and literature, and so on. These figures, kindly provided to the author by the Ministry of Immigration of Quebec in November 1997, prove that the Russian community is well installed, at least in this province. Unofficial estimates suggest that the number of Russian-speaking Canadians in Toronto in 1995-1996 has surpassed 75 000, and in Montreal - 25 000; some sources claim at least twice as much in each case. With growing immigration (about 4 thousands per year in 1999-2000), their number will definitely increase by the time when the results of the May 15, 2001 Census are published. Most of these people represent the latest, Jewish-Russian and the “New Russian” wave of immigration which forms the new and hopefully attractive image of the Russian-speaking community in Canada.
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