Before we disappear into oblivion : San Francisco's Russian diaspora from revolution to Cold War / Nina Bogdan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bogdan, Nina, author.

Series:

McGill-Queen's studies in ethnic history. Series two ; 55.

McGill-Queen's studies in ethnic history. Series two ; 55

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Russians--California--San Francisco--History--20th century.

Russians.

Russians--California--San Francisco--Ethnic identity--History--20th century.

Russians--California--San Francisco--Social conditions--20th century.

Russians--California--San Francisco--Economic conditions--20th century.

Physical Description:

xi, 404 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Other Title:

San Francisco's Russian diaspora from revolution to Cold War

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"The October 1917 Russian Revolution and the subsequent Civil War triggered a mass exodus from Russia. Thousands boarded ships heading for California. Before We Disappear into Oblivion chronicles the struggles of the Russian diaspora in San Francisco and northern California as they built communities and negotiated their acculturation into American society. Nina Bogdan challenges the stereotype of the White Russian ̌migř as an aristocrat in exile, revealing the diversity within California's Russian communities in terms of social backgrounds, political affiliations, and geographic origins. Bogdan details the historic Russian presence in northern California, particularly Fort Ross, and examines how ̌migřs incorporated this presence into the strategies and tactics used to establish a foundation for community while developing their Russian American identity. Consulting Russian-language sources generated by the diaspora alongside American public discourse and thousands of government documents, Bogdan traces the divergent paths Russian ̌migřs took to become, or not become, middle-class white Americans, a century prior to the latest mass exodus of Russians from their homeland in 2022. Set against a backdrop of national and global events - the Great Depression, World War II, McCarthyism, and the Cold War - Before We Disappear into Oblivion explores the factors that shaped the Americanization of one ethnic group in an environment where cultural affiliation became submerged in favour of a constructed racial identity. Nina Bogdan is a historian, independent scholar, and consultant. She lives in Tucson, Arizona."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Russians in San Francisco Prior to 1917: Pan-Ethnic Orthodoxy and Emerging Communities

The Mysterious Russian Arrives: Ethnic and Class Ambiguities

Between Dreams and Reality: Culture, Conflict, Identity, and Byt

"Even the Teetotalers Drank": Surviving On and Off the Job in America

Imagined Russia: Homeland Hearths and Dreamlike Landscapes

Family Matters: Nostalgic Homelessness and Dual Lives

"White Russians in the 'New World'": Marketing and Monitoring Identity

Constructed Mirages: Authentic and Imagined Russian Enclaves

Pawns on a Chessboard: The New Exodus and the Post-War Russian Community.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Bogdan, Nina. Before we disappear into oblivion.

ISBN:

9780228024736

0228024730

OCLC:

1466058576

Publisher Number:

90102619775