Russian imprint in the peculiar mosaic of Argentine identity

The article deals with the impact of the Russian immigration and the activities undertaken by the Russian Orthodox Church on the Argentine Republic. The aim of the article is to assess the contribution made by the Russian migrants to the formation and history of the Argentine nation. From 1881 to 1914, more than 4.2 million migrants moved to Argentina, with the Russians being the fourth largest group. By 1914, the migrants accounted for 30% of the population (3.9% were Russians); thus, Argentina was developing as a country of immigration. Today, by contrast, Argentina is becoming a country of emigration, as there is a worrying human capital outflow. Therefore, it is useful to recall and evaluate the positive potential of the Russian migration to Argentina. The methodological basis of the article comprises the induction, the logical intuitive method, the method of periodization, the historical interpretative method and the institutional approach. The article examines Argentina’s policy of attracting migrants, its reasons and the response to this policy in the form of six waves of migration from Russia to Argentina. It analyses the contribution of the representatives of the waves to the industrial and intellectual areas in Argentina, and the impact of the immigration flows on the country’s identity. It also considers the historical and contemporary influence of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Argentine religious field. It is concluded that the Russian migration contributed to the development of the Argentine rural and urban areas, culture and science, as well as reinforced Argentina’s identity as a multi-ethnic and multicultural, arrogant and self-critical country. The Russian Orthodox Church historically has been the centre of the Russian diaspora´s cultural life in Argentina, and at present it has undertaken numerous cultural and religious initiatives facilitating the intercultural dialogue.

1. Archimandrite Avgustin (Nikitin) (2001) Russkii khram v Buenos-Airese. K stoletiyu so vremeni osvyashcheniya [Russian church in Buenos Aires. Marking the centenary of the consecration], Posev, no. 10, pp. 32-36. (In Russian)

2. Arshin K. (2021) Migratsionnaya politika Argentiny: sovremennye tendentsii [Migration policy of Argentina: current trends], Latin America, no. 12, pp. 50-66. (In Russian)

3. Astakhov E.M. (2014) Argentinskaya proektsiya «Russkogo mira» [Argentine projection of the «Russian world»], Cuadernos Iberoamericanos, no. 3, pp. 14-23. (In Russian)

4. Astakhov E.M. (2015) Russkii mir v Argentine [Russian world in Argentina], Latin America, no. 2, pp. 59-68. (In Russian)

5. Ermolaev V.I. (1961) Ocherki istorii Argentiny [Essays of the History of Argentina], Sotsekgiz, Moscow, Russia. (In Russian)

6. Fonseca B., Rouvinski V. (2019) Los rusos de América Latina, Military Review. Edición Hispanoamericana, Segundo Trimestre 2019, pp. 59-67.

7. Gálvez L. (2003) Historias de inmigración: Testimonios de pasión, amor y arraigo en tierra argentina (1850-1950), Grupo Editorial Norma, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

8. Kleidermacher G., González A. (2020) Propuesta teórico-metodológica para analizar las representaciones sobre migrantes y nacionales, Si Somos Americanos, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 38-66.

9. Kudeyarova N.U. (2017) Epokha massovykh migratsii v Latinskoi Amerike: globalizatsiya vs lokalizatsiya [The mass migration epoch in Latin America: globalization vs. localization], Latin America, no. 2, pp. 76-91. (In Russian)

10. Kurganskiy K.S. (2009) Belaya emigratsiya v Latinskoi Amerike: popytka sokhraneniya russkoi kul’tury, traditsionnogo byta i pravoslavnoi very (na primere Argentiny i Paragvaya) [White émigrés in Latin America: an attempt to preserve the Russian culture, traditional life and Orthodox faith (cases of Argentina and Paraguay)], Cultural life of Southern Russia, no. 4, pp. 5-7. (In Russian)

11. Nechaev S.Yu. (2009) Russkie v Latinskoi Amerike [Russians in Latin America], Veche, Moscow, Russia. (In Russian)

12. Ryazanczev S.V., Grebenyuk A.A. (2014) Nashi za granitsei: russkie, rossiyane, russkogovoryashchie, sootechestvenniki: rasselenie, integratsiya i vozvratnaya migratsiya v Rossiyu [Our people abroad: Russians, Russian citizens, Russian speakers, compatriots: settlement, integrationandrepatriationto Russia], Institutsotsial’no-politicheskikhissledovanii RAN, Moscow, Russia. (In Russian)

13. Ryazanczev S.V., Xramova M.N. (2016) Sovremennoe sostoyanie i perspektivy russkogovoryashchikh obshchin v stranakh Latinskoi Ameriki [Current status and prospects of Russian-speaking communities in Latin America], Nauchnoe obozrenie. Ser. 1. Ekonomika i pravo, no. 6, pp. 5-14. (In Russian)

14. Shejnbaum L.S. (1984) Argentinskii etnos: Etapy formirovaniya i razvitiya [Argentine ethnos: Stages of formation and development], Nauka, Moscow, Russia. (In Russian)

15. Sizonenko A.I. (2013) Russkaya diaspora v Yuzhnoi Amerike [The Russian diaspora in South America], Cuadernos Iberoamericanos, no. 1, pp. 369-373. (In Russian)

16. Sizonenko A.I. (2015) Rossiya - Argentina: yubileinaya godovshchina [Russia – Argentina: Anniversary year], Latin America, no. 10, pp. 20-25. (In Russian)

17. Zalczberg Ѐ. (2014) Sel’skokhozyaistvennye kolonii evreev iz Rossii v Argentine [Agricultural colonies of the Jews from Russia in Argentina], Zametki po evreiskoi istorii, no. 3, pp. 15-25. (In Russian)