Religion, Migration, and Settlement on the North American Pacific Rim
An account of the Russian immigrant experience in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia over the last 200 years. The book focuses on six Christian groups to study the role of religion in their decisions to emigrate and in their adjustment to American culture.
In 1987, when victims of religious persecution were finally allowed to leave Russia, a flood of immigrants landed on the Pacific shores of North America. By the end of 1992, over 200,000 Jews and Christians had resettled in a land where they had only recently been considered "the enemy". "Russian Refuge" is a comprehensive account of the Russian immigrant experience in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia since the first settlements over two hundred years ago. Susan Hardwick focuses on six little-studied Christian groups - Baptists, Pentecostals, Molokans, Doukhobors, Old Believers, and Orthodox believers - to study the role of religion in their decisions to emigrate and in their adjustment to American culture. The book also has narratives from 260 personal interviews.