How is the Russian-speaking community of Portland

The Russian-speaking population of Portland, Oregon, is more than 40 000 people, which makes the Russian-speaking community in this city one of the largest in the country.

You can hear Russian language in Portland in shops and churches, as well as in a Russian-language school and on a Russian radio station operating in the city, writes Oregon Live.

According to official sources, the number of Russian-speaking residents of Portland is not so large, since the official bodies refer to the Russian-speaking community only immigrants from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, not counting immigrants who came from the Caucasus countries, who for the most part also speak Russian.

But even the Census Bureau concluded that Eastern European immigrants play a very important role in Oregon life. In 2008-2013, Russian and Ukrainian languages ​​together ranked third among the most common state languages, second only to English and Spanish.

This is not very noticeable for several reasons.

Large waves of Russian-speaking migrants tend to prefer to settle nearby. The last influx of religious refugees in the 1990s and early 2000s concentrated in East Portland and Gresham. Representatives of the earlier waves settled in the Woodburn area. About 14 000 Russian-speaking immigrants live in Vancouver and surrounding areas of Clark County. Clark County residents represent one of Portland’s largest Russian-speaking communities.

Their number, in combination with 25 000 Slavic immigrants living in the Multnomah district, and 2000 residing in the Washington county, is in general 41 000 people.

In Portland, there are a large number of stores with signs in Russian. In the city you can find traditional Eastern European groceries, Russian sausage, sweets and even bath brooms.

The city also has restaurants with Russian cuisine, which are designed not only for immigrants, but also for Americans who want to try something new. In such restaurants and shops, Russian-speaking sellers often work, who in addition to basic services will offer buyers information about insurance from a Russian company or other useful news from the community.

Some cemeteries in Oregon also have sections where Russian-speaking immigrants are buried. There are gravestones in the style common in Eastern Europe.

Portland also has a Russian immersion program in one of the city's schools, which opened in 2007 and serves more than 250 children. Russian posters and announcements can be seen in classrooms at this school, and in a few years the program will be expanded so that students can receive a full education in Russian even in high school.

According to the organizers of the program, 90% of classes are conducted in the lower grades of this school in Russian and only 10% in English. With each subsequent year, the share of Russian subjects decreases. About half of the students in the program are Russian-speaking, the rest are Americans whose parents want to introduce them to Russian culture.

One of the largest Russian-speaking groups in the Portland area are evangelicals, for whom the church is not only a religious place, but also the center of social life.

On Fridays, hundreds of believers gather in the Slavic church on 82 Avenue. During the service, they sing songs and listen to the sermons of their pastors in Russian. This church is designed for 1000 people during the service.

Churchwarden Stepan Chapsky admitted that although there are many Ukrainians in the parish, Russian is the chosen language of service, because Slavic migrants understand it, regardless of which part of the former Soviet Union they came from.

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