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Ruska Roma

Romani ethnic group of Russia and Belarus

Summary

Romani ethnic group of Russia and Belarus

The Ruska Roma (Руска Рома), also known as North Russian Gypsies (севернорусские цыгане) or Khaladytka Roma (Халадытка Рома; ), | access-date = 2016-02-11 are the largest subgroup of Romani people in Russia and Belarus, with smaller remnants of the group living in Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, the United States, France, and Canada. They formed in the Northwestern part of the Russian Empire from the Polska Roma who immigrated to the country in the 18th century.

Ruska Roma are divided into territorial subgroups, whose names come from the locality. For example, Pskovska Roma (from Pskov), Smolyaki (from Smolensk), Siberyaki (Siberian), Zabaykaltsi (Transbaikalian) and Bobri (beavers). Furthermore, Ruska Roma are related to Belaruska Roma: they have a common origin and were traditionally called Chaładytka Roma.

The Ruska Romani language contains Russian, Polish, and German lexicon, as well as some Russian and Ukrainian grammar. Most Ruska Roma are Orthodox Christians.

Role in Russian history

Romani musicians in the Russian empire, 1865

Judging by the language of Russian Roma, their ancestors spent time in Germany and Poland before coming to the East Slavic territories. Sources start mentioning Roma on the territory of Russia from the beginning of the 18th century. For instance, Scottish traveler John Bell wrote about Roma arrivals from Poland, sent away from the Tobolsk region in 1721.

Arrivals became involved in entertainment, playing and singing at large celebrations. During the 19th century, Russian Roma living in Moscow and Saint Petersburg created Romani choirs, which became popular among the Russian urban population. Nomadic Russian Roma engaged in horse dealing and fortune telling.

A drastic change in the life of nomadic Russian Roma took place in 1956 when a Soviet government decree banned Roma from their nomadic lifestyle. They were forced to settle in houses. Nowadays Russian Roma often live dispersed, but they tend to settle amongst other Roma to form a sense of belonging. Russian Roma prefer to live in private houses, but it is not uncommon for a Russian Romani family to live in a flat.

Notable individuals

Nikolai Slichenko – Russian singer
Nikolai Shishkin – Russian theatre personality
Valentina Ponomaryova – singer, theatre actor
Timofey Prokofiev – marine infantryman, Hero of the Soviet Union

References

Literature

References

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

roma-(romani-subgroup) romani-in-russia romani-in-ukraine ethnic-groups-in-ukraine ethnic-groups-in-russia ethnic-groups-in-belarus

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