Congress of Russian Americans

SINCE 1973

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St. John Benevolent Fund Virtual Fundraiser Oct 1, 2022

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Please register to join us for a ZOOM fundraising event on Sat Oct 1, 2022  from 11 am to 1pm (PDT).
The event will feature presentations by His Eminence Bishop James of Sonora, by Mother Maria, the Administrator of the Orthodox School in Bethany, and by Archpriest Serhii Ekshyan, the Head of the Synodal Department of Social Services, representing Peace to You, a foundation under the auspices of Metropolitan Onuphry, Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
A prize drawing will conclude the event.
Your donation is tax deductible and goes entirely toward the cause you choose. Your name will be included in the prize drawing.
Sincerely,
the Board of Trustees

CRA Scholarship & Youth conference.

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thumbnailCongress of Russian Americans (CRA), was a proud sponsor, along with the Russian American Women’s League (RAWL) of the recent week-long Orthodox Youth Conference 2022. With the blessing of Archbishop Kyrill of the Western American Diocese of the ROCOR church, the conference and camp was organized by V. Rev. Paul Volmensky of the Holy Ascension Church in Sacramento, CA the week of July 17 through 23 at the Russian River Orthodox church of Our Lady of Kazan in Guerneville, CA. Nestled amongst the California majestic redwoods and on the shores of the Russian River, named Ashokawna by the Southern Pomo Indians and renamed Slavyanka when the Russian American Company (RAC) came to Northern California in 1812 and established the settlement of Fort Ross. RAC established three ranches near Fort Ross, one of which, the Kostromitinov Ranch, stretched along the Russian River near the mouth of Willow Creek. The Russian River is the second-largest river (after the Sacramento River) flowing through the nine-county Greater San Francisco Bay Area. According to the USGS, variant names of the Russian River include Misallaako, Rio Ruso, Shabaikai, and Slavyanka.
There were over 50 participants at the conference that included youth of various ages and several parents who came to help supervise and oversee some of the activities. With a full daily schedule of prayer, speeches, workshops and projects, the group did have some time for special outings, including a trip and special supper at Fort Ross, Armstrong Redwood Forest, the Petrified Forest and pilgrimage to the Holy Assumption Monastery (both in Calistoga), as well as a day at the beach at Bodega Bay with seal watching at Goats Rock and kayaking on the Russian River.
The camp was broken down by 8:30am on Saturday, July 23 when the liturgy began in celebration of the Feast Day of the Our Lady of Kazan church. The potluck lunch was coordinated by Victoria Sabelnik with a core group of Russian River residents and guests bringing food, salads, desserts, drinks to add to a delicious barbeque of ribs and chicken. After a speech by Bishop Theodosy to thank the clergy, nuns and over 100 guests that attended the festal luncheon, the sponsors, CRA and RAWL were thanked. Bishop Theodosy thanked CRA for the continued work in the community, especially with the youth. Natalie Sabelnik, CRA president took the opportunity of the youth conference and Feast Day to present Daniil Vorobiov-Wilson with this year’s CRA scholarship. The Vorobiov-Wilson family have been CRA members and volunteers for many years and when Daniil turned 18 he joined CRA himself. His exemplary grades in both English and Russian school, coupled with his many years of volunteering in the community made him an excellent candidate and recipient of the CRA scholarship.
CRA invites all of our Russian-American youth to become members, not just to be eligible for the scholarship, but to participate and volunteer in our numerous projects and programs, which help build work and life skills, promote teamwork and cultivate future leaders in our community.
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Congratulations Russian School graduates.

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Congress of Russian Americans congratulates all of our Russian American community graduates!   All Russian School graduates (whose schools submitted their names) received a congratulatory letter, certificates of achievements, honorary CRA 2022 membership and Gold and Silver Medal recipients received a stipend for their hard work.   We applaud all their accomplishments and wish them the very best of success in their new chapter!
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Happy Orthodox Easter!

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Христос Воскресе!  Воистину Воскресе!
On behalf of the National Board of Directors of the Congress of Russian Americans we wish all of our members, sponsors, donors, supporters, friends,
a most blessed and joyous Easter.   Wishing all of you strong health and prosperity during these difficult times.

CRA Statement

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[gview file=”http://just2009.temp.domains/~russiana/russian-americans/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CRA-Statement-re-Russia-Ukraine-conflict.pdf”]

CRA ELECTIONS – NEW NATIONAL BOARD.

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CRA ELECTIONS – NEW NATIONAL BOARD
Congress of Russian Americans has completed the process of election of its National Board of Directors.
According to the CRA Bylaws the National Board is reelected every three years. Election Committee, chaired by
long-standing CRA member, Anna Derugin, announced the following results:
Natalie G.Sabelnik – President
Alexander R. Sinkevitch– 1st Vice-President
Marina V. Soboleva – 2nd Vice-President
Kira G. Kellerman – Treasurer
Members of the Board in alphabetical order:
Igor A. Alekseev
Michael S. Danich
Ivan Y. Podvalov
Aleksey V. Tarasov
Andrey Y. Zakharenko
Xenia Woyevodsky will remain as Washington DC representative
CRA National Board of Directors term starts January 1, 2022 and runs through December 31, 2024

Slavic Festival in Los Angeles.

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image-15-11-21-07-01 (2)Holy Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles hosted its annual Slavic festival the weekend of November 13-14, 2021 with great success!! It gathered over 300 people, including guests as far as San Francisco. Lots of wonderful events, such as parochial school students performances, parish museum tour, cathedral tour, photo booth, kids playground with inflatable bounce house and a Russian bear, as well as guests from Los Angeles and the Silver Lake Historical Societies. Congress of Russian Americans was on deck with gifts to parochial school children who participated in the festivities (embroidered hats and back packs), as well as the Russian Children Benevolent Society of Los Angeles and Russian Scouts. CRA Board member Ivan Podvalov, presented a lecture about founders of the cathedral who left a footprint in the Hollywood art scene: art directors Alexander Toluboff and Alexander Galitzine, artist and painters such as Vladislav Ulianov, Nikolai Remizov and Sergei Bongart. A student of Sergei Bongart, Mr. Peter Liashkov, whose father, a White Army Officer, was a parish member, talked about his life as Bongart’s student. Liashkov has maintained an art practice since early 1980s. He is professor emeritus from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. During the festival in Los Angeles, a presentation of the book “Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in Memoirs of Witnesses and Contemporaries”, recently published by the Museum of Russian Culture in San Francisco, took place.IMG_4443 2257625444_360189079238109_6827670607314641055_nIMG_4451 3image-15-11-21-06-57-1 (1)IMG_4442 2IMG_4445 2IMG_4369 2

CRA at the Festival of Nations in San Diego.

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By invitation of the organizers, Congress of Russian Americans participated in the Festival of Nations which took place in San Diego on November 7th, 2021. Organizer of the event  is the Club of Russian-American Culture Passport of Rotary International, and hosted this event for a second time. Representatives of 13 nations showcased the culture, food and traditions, each nation had a display and were invited to take stage at the parade of nations which included a short presentation of each nation and its cultural heritage and a performance which included folk dancing and singing. Over 3,000 guests attended the festivities which were held at the county park. CRA Board member Mr. Ivan Podvalov was invited to the stage and read a greeting on behalf of the CRA President which expressed gratitude to the organizers, and emphasized the importance of preserving national cultures and traditions. An interesting observation was made  that all members of the delegations shared one common aspect – Russian language.  IMG_4074 IMG_4094IMG_4103IMG_4130