Twin Cities Guide for Russian Speakers
A collection of places relevant to the Russian-speaking community in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN
A collection of places relevant to the Russian-speaking community in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN
The Twin Cities are home to a significant Russian-speaking population, but they are often overlooked as a cultural group. While there is no single neighborhood in which Russian speakers reside and Russian-owned businesses are situated, Russian culture is widespread throughout the Greater Twin Cities area.
It was important for us to show that Russian-speakers play a valuable role in the community. For example, many local business owners come from Russian-speaking countries, and many of them share the experience of having lived in the former Soviet Union. They serve this community, and we would like this guide to serve them. This guide is designed for Russian tourists to the U.S, recent Russian-speaking arrivals, and also for anyone who wants to learn more about the Russian-speaking community in the Twin Cities. The sites that our guide presents are also places where those who are learning Russian can hone their language skills with native and heritage speakers.
We hope that our guide has inspired you to visit these places. Considering that there is no single neighborhood in Minnesota serving as a central hub of Russian activity, we thought it would be useful to create a collection of wonderful sites where Russian-speaking people can gather and find community. This list is a work in progress as there are many other local businesses and organizations run by and for Russian speakers, and in the future we will strive to include them in our guide. If you are a business owner or organization leader serving the Russian speaking community and are interested in being featured in a future edition of our Twin Cities Guide, please reach out to us at tlefko@msn.com .
We also encourage you to visit the listings of Minnesota businesses organizations that are headed by and cater to Russian speakers at http://www.zerkalomn.com/ .
Twin Cities Guide authors: Eva Birkholz, Sophia Holland, Eli Ivanov, David Katz, Scotland Kraker, Rachel Liebherr, Samantha Nordmark, Lucien O’Brien, Sophia Sahm, Nur Shan, Brooke Lane, Julia Dworkin, and Talia Ostacher.
Twin Cities Guide Editor: Julia Chadaga
Twin Cities Guide web designer: Eva Birkholz
Special thanks to Valery and Larisa Bekman; Todd Lefko of East-West Connections; Anne Redmond; Rebecca O’Kerns; Tam Perlman of Macalester’s Digital Resource Center; Paul Schadewald, director of Macalester’s Civic Engagement Center; Brooke Schmolke; Artur Chaika; Yelena Hardcopf; Vladimir Rovinsky of Theatre Novi Most; Tamara von Schmidt-Pauli; and staff at St. Panteleimon Church.