“I Identify Myself as Russian Although I Have Never Been to Russia”: Ways of Transferring Identity and Language to Children among the Russian-Speaking Population of the USA.

The main goal of the paper is to analyze ideas and practices involved in the transmission of the Russian language and culture among members of Russian -speaking diaspora in the United States, mostly belonging to the two recent waves of immigration from the Soviet Union and Russia and residing in different parts of America. The bulk of academic publications for this paper were released in Russia with some from the US. Three methods were used: a questionnaire (80 questions, both open-ended and closed distributed via google form among middle-age and young members of the Russian -speaking community – 52 respondents), semi-structured interviews (a total of 20) and participant observation, primarily in Boston area and Ann Arbor, MI. When reflecting on affiliation with the Russian-speaking world the preservation of language and its transmission to future generations is viewed as the most important element of everyday life and aspiration for the Russian-speaking population regardless of their ethnic origin, religious beliefs, political preferences and social status. This attitude, perceived as critical for preserving cultural identity, appears to be true even for cases when such transmission did not prove to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]