the victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow.
Documentary film screening.
Presentation. Pioneer and Honored Guest:
The Role of Fr. Vladimir Sakovich in Developing the First Russian Orthodox Parish in Hollywood.
Join us for a presentation by Maria Sakovich (MPH, MA) a public historian and independent scholar who researches, writes, and develops exhibits and presentations in the areas of immigration, family, and community history. For many years Maria has been documenting the history of the refuge-emigrants from Russia who arrived in San Francisco in the 1920s and 1930s. Their experiences have been included in several of her articles which have appeared in anthologies and journals. Sakovich is a member of the Institute for Historical Study and editor of its Newsletter as well as a granddaughter of Archpriest Vladimir. March 17, 2024 at 2 pm. For details see flyer.
Presentation, Romanovs in Hollywood:The Royal Family’s Real and Cinematic Journeys.
Join us for a lecture exploring the captivating story of the Romanovs in Hollywood with historians of Russian-speaking Los Angeles, Ivan Podvalov and Sasha Razor. This unique event brings to life the glamorous era when members of the Russian Imperial family mingled with Hollywood’s elite. From Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna’s book promotions in the 1930s to the depiction of Romanovs in classic Hollywood films, our event will uncover the rich and often untold stories of cultural exchange, personal triumphs, and the indelible mark the Romanovs left on the world of entertainment.
Ivan Podvalov (LA CRA chapter representative) and Sasha Razor are the founders of the Russophone Los Angeles Research Collective, the organization that seeks to preserve and promote the Russian diasporic histories of the city.
Merry Christmas!
С Новым Годом!
Slavic Holiday Festival at Russian Center.
The Russian Center in San Franciso (national headquarters of Congress of Russian Americans) came alive on Saturday, December 9, when the Slavic Holiday Fair, organized by their new Operations Manager, Sasha Sabelnik-Whooley was held there. These holiday bazaars were held for several years, but were discontinued some 10 years ago, and not revived following the pandemic. It seemed like an excellent idea to resurrect this holiday pre-Christmas fair and once-again bring the Russian-American community together.
Non-profit organizations like Congress of Russian Americans, Russian-America Women’s League, Museum of Russian Culture SF, St. John’s Academy, Russian School of All Russian Saints Church in Burlingame, All Cossack’s Union of SF, Holy Virgin Cathedral Choir, the Russian River church of Our Lady of Kazan and Russian American Community Services, as well as some commercial vendors sold food (including borscht and cabbage, meat & mushroom piroshki), a wide assortment of desserts and gifts, including jewelry, books, candles, plants, collectibles and other gifts. St. John’s Academy hosted a table with face-painting, Teremok Childcare at Russian Center had a toss challenge for gifts, Congress of Russian Americans, in addition to their table selling books and DVDs, organized a game table with miscellaneous gifts, including books, stuffed animals, games, dolls, cars and other prizes in an “everyone wins” lottery. The Cossack Santa was available for a special photo against a winter background with a selection of authentic Russian costumes to wear in the photo.
The program of children’s performances was most delightful where small children from Teremok recited poetry, sang songs and danced with Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz) and the Snow Maiden (Snegurochka). In addition to Nino’s Rhythmic gymnastics performances, Russian dance by Lucas Klestoff, boyar dance by Olga Prokoshina, Bulgarian dancers, as well as musicians and dancers of Vladimir Riazantseff dance group, children from Sts. Cyril & Methodius High School also sang and recited poetry in Russian, and other performances as well as piano, Ded Moroz and Snegurochka danced several circle dances (horovod) with the children and parents. CRA also sponsored the food and drinks for the children performers.
Sasha, who was not only the organizer of the entire event and MC of the performances, entertained everyone throughout the day in her holiday costume and festive mood, setting the tone for the upcoming holidays of Christmas and New Year, as well as the good news of the possibility of the revival of the annual Russian Festival to be held on March 1, 2 and 3, 2024, once again at the Russian Center SF.
CRA’s Young Ambassadors –
Ode to Fall & Commemoration of Ivan Turgenev.
On November 19, in the hall of the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, under the auspices of the Congress of Russian Americans, a meeting of the Orthodox Youth Literary Club was held. The hall was full of guests! About 40 readers from primary school age to college students took part in the celebration dedicated to autumn poetry. Children born far from Russia recited poems by great Russian poets: Pushkin, Maikov, Pleshcheyev, Fet, Bunin. Students of the Cyril and Methodius High School also delighted the audience with singing and playing the piano! A significant part of the holiday was dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, the author of many wonderful works, poet, writer, propagandist of Russian literature and drama abroad. The CRA youth group recited Turgenev’s poems in prose, which sounded like a mandate to the younger generation: Take care of the Russian language, our beautiful Russian language is a treasure, it is an inheritance handed down to us by our predecessors!” At the end of the holiday, the children were presented with certificates and gifts by CRA representative, Zhanna Wilson. We hope that our meetings will become a wonderful tradition that supports and strengthens Russian culture away from Russia!
Russian poetry reading festival.
Veterans Day presentation.
Veterans Day presentation. “Russian Americans in the US armed forces”.
On the eve of the American holiday of Veterans Day, a presentation entitled “Russian Americans serving in the US Army” was held at the Museum of the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in Los Angeles. The presentation was prepared jointly by the Congress of Russian Americans and Russophone Los Angeles Research/collective. There were also veterans in the hall who kindly agreed to take part. The presentation covered stages of American history from the Civil War to the present day. Events related to the history of the United States and its armed forces were revealed to those present. The United States is a multinational country, and representatives of many nationalities serve in the army, including Russian Americans. Guests were given the opportunity to get acquainted with the heroic biographies of many representatives of the Russian community of the United States who served in the army, with monuments on which the names of the heroes and their destinies are engraved.