Russian Chileans form a minor part of the

Russian diaspora The Russian diaspora is the global community of Ethnicity, ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking (''Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the First language, native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russ ...

and a small group in comparison to the other ethnic groups in Chile. The 2002 Chilean Census reported 638 Russian citizens, although Russia's government estimates that 1,300 Russians live in Chile. There are more than 70,000 Orthodox Christians in Chile, the majority of them of Russian or Greek origin. Also, a significant amount of

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

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 The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

. In the period between

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, political motivations for migration came to the forefront; the number of

White emigres White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

in Chile grew to about 90. In the 1950s, their numbers were further bolstered by arrivals from among the Russian expatriate community in Harbin. The Russian Cemetery was founded in 1954 to provide a separate space for burials for the community. As of 2004, the total size of the Russian expatriate community in Chile was estimated at 250 individuals by the local Russian embassy. Motivations for the recent migration include opportunities for small business, the ease of acquiring mortgages to purchase housing, as well as the weather. 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.

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

, 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. 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 The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

Notable people

This is a list of Russian expatriates in Chile and Chileans of Russian descent: *

Miguel Krassnoff Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko (born Mikhail Semyonovich Krasnov, ; born 15 February 1946) is a Chilean military official involved in human rights violations during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. He held several high-ranking posit ...

, Chilean brigadier *

Olga Ulianova Olga Viktorovna Ulianova Ольга Викторовна Ульянова (23 February 1963 – 29 December 2016) was a Russian historian, born in the Soviet Union, naturalized Chilean. She specialized in contemporary history, Cold War, Communis ...

, historian *Katherine Salosny

History

Religion

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading