The Russian Community

 

A theatre at the University of Toronto bears the name of Russian-born George Ignatieff, once chancellor of the University of Toronto and Canada’s former Ambassador to the United Nations. His father, Count Paul Ignatieff, a minister of education to Tsar Nicholas II, gave lectures at what is now the University of Toronto Bookroom and his son, Michael is the current leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. The five sons of Count Paul Ignatieff contributed to Canadian engineering and civil service, adding to the list of accomplishments by Toronto’s Russian community, whose members include scholars, ballet dancers, and musicians, among others.

​

The first Russians to arrive in Canada were fur traders, in the 1790s, and several officers who served with the British navy in Halifax. In the 1870s, German Mennonite colonists from southern Russia settled in Western Canada, followed by some 7,500 Doukhobors, religious dissidents who arrived in 1899.

​

Beginning in the 1890s, several thousand Russian Jews emigrated from Western Russia. Many found work in Canada’s industries, or as farm labourers, loggers, and miners. Among the professionals was Leonid I. Strakhovsky, who pioneered Slavic studies at the University of Toronto. Some Russians joined Canada’s MacKenzie-Papineau battalion which fought for the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War.

​

The first Russian Orthodox church services in Toronto were held in 1915, and a church building was later purchased on Dupont Street. Some of the Russian faithful attended the Bulgarian Macedonian Church on Trinity Street. After the Russian October revolution of 1917, Canada saw the wave of so-called “White Russian” emigration.

​

In 1930, the Christ the Saviour Russian Orthodox Cathedral (now on Manning Avenue) was established on Glen Morris Street. The church was home to choirs, dance groups, cultural groups, and a library of Russian classic books. Cadets and hussar officers from the Russian Imperial Guard of old Russia organized balls, and the woman’s auxiliary held bazaars offering folk crafts and Russian foods. In 1948, Grand-Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the sister of Tsar Nicholas II, arrived from Denmark and became a member of the parish. A parish Sunday school was established bearing her name.

​

Much of the cultural life of the 62,000 Russian-speaking Torontonians centres around the city’s Russian Orthodox churches and organizations. Following the Second World War, Russian refugees came to Toronto from camps in Europe. They helped establish Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, which included a parochial Sunday school and the Sisterhood of Myrrh-Bearing Women.

​

The Federation of Russian Canadians, with 15 branches across Canada, was established in 1942 by the descendants of pre-revolutionary settlers. It publishes a left-wing Russian newspaper called Vestnik (Herald). The 1950s saw the founding of the Russian Canadian Cultural Aid Society, which published the literary magazine Russian Word in Canada for many years and still operates a centre for social and cultural activities.

​

It was only in the mid-1970s that the Russian community of Toronto started to expand again due to considerable Jewish immigration from the Former Soviet Union. After the collapse of the USSR a community of ethnic Russians united by several Russian Orthodox churches (parishes) of Toronto grew considerably. However, ethnic Russians still constitute a minority of Russian speakers in the city. At present Russian-speaking immigrants can be found all over Greater Toronto. There are several areas densely populated by Russian speakers: North York, Vaughan, Thornhill, Richmond Hill, and High Park. North of Toronto—previously populated predominantly by Russian Jews—is presently home to numerous ethnic groups from the Former Soviet Union. Recent years have witnessed quick growth of Russian-speaking communities throughout Greater Toronto. Contrary to preconceived ideas voiced by the Canadian mass media, the community is in no way dominated by notorious “Russian Mafia.” Districts populated by Russian speakers are still among the safest in Toronto.

 

 

Places to Go

 

Christ the Saviour Russian Orthodox Cathedral, (Tel. 416-534-1763, 823 Manning Ave), has a library of more than 2,000 volumes of Russian literature and non-fiction. The Holy Trinity Church, (Tel. 416-979-2990, 23 Henry St), has a library of children’s literature and religious books. Every Sunday, following the Divine Liturgy at 10:00 p.m., parishioners at Holy Trinity Church participate in a meal of Russian delicacies and Russian tea. Pelmeni (Siberian dumplings filled with chopped beef served in meat broth with sour cream), pirozhki (meat or cabbage-filled pastries), and other delights can be bought frozen to take home. Books in Russian and English are sold, along with artifacts and icons. Russian foods can also be purchased after the Sunday Divine Liturgy at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Resurrection, (Tel. 416-651-3226, 213 Winona Dr).

​

Basic Russian breads and cereals include dark whole-grain rye and coarse wheat breads, and kasha (grains, usually buckwheat, cooked as porridge). Zakuski (appetizers) include eggplant, pickled herring, and ikra (caviar). Hearty entrées are beef stroganoff, blinchiki (crepes filled with cottage cheese or preserves and served with sour cream), chakhombili (chicken casserole with tomatoes and onions), and charlottka (Charlotte Russe). The dessert list may include kissel (a fruit purée served with cream) and strawberries Romanoff (cointreau and whipped cream). Popular drinks are Russian tea and ice-cold vodka.

​

Amber European Restaurant, (Tel. 416-763-6164, 2372 Bloor St. W), is a tiny, cosy nook in Bloor West Village, offering Russian menu staples such as borsch and pelmeni as well as other European delicacies. Some other restaurants and Russian food stores include: National, (Tel. 416-650-0019, 1118 Finch Ave. W); International Discount Food, (Tel. 416-739-6651, 2777 Steeles Ave. W.).

​

Several shops in the Jewish commercial district along Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West carry Russian canned goods, including caviar.

​

For nearly 40 years, Troyka Ltd., (Tel. 416-535-6693, 2777 Steels Ave W Unit 11), has been selling Russian literature, cookbooks, dictionaries, magazines, and newspapers. The store also carries handicrafts and souvenirs imported from Russia, including matroshki (stacking dolls), porcelain, hockey sticks autographed by Russian players, icons, folk music recordings, amber and stone carvings, embroidered blouses, and intricate lacquered boxes with scenes from Russian fairy tales. Gifts and books can be purchased at West Arka Gift Store, (Tel. 416-762-8751, 2282 Bloor St. W); and Russian Gift and Book Store, (Tel. 416-636-8888, 616 Sheppard Ave. W).

​

​

Religious Centres, Schools and Other Institutions

 

Most Russians belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, founded in A.D. 988 by Vladimir the Great. Other Russians follow the Baptist, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic faiths.

​

•   RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHRIST THE SAVIOUR CATHEDRAL AND HALL, (Tel. 416-534-1763, 823 Manning Ave). Affiliated with the Orthodox Church in America. Originally an Anglican church built in 1894, the church is decorated with stained glass windows and contains icons painted by the the Grand Duchess Olga in the 1940s. The altar contains icons of saints, including St. Herman, the first saint to be canonized in North America (1970). Vesper services are held each Saturday night and the Divine Liturgy takes place Sunday mornings.
  
  Groups at the church include a women’s auxiliary, the Volga Dance Group, Beryozka Dancers, and the acclaimed Christ the Saviour choir. The Grand Duchess Olga Russian School holds language and history classes in the adjoining hall. Orthodox Sunday school and Orthodox bible study classes are also taught. The parish publishes a bimonthly newsletter.

​

•   RUSSIAN ORTHODOX HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, (Tel. 416-979-2990, 23 Henry St). The parish belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Holy Trinity has a children’s Sunday school (held on Saturday), where Russian language and literature, history, religion, singing, and folk dancing lessons are taught. The children perform at concerts and at the annual Christmas pageant. The parish also has a school choir, and services are sung in Slavonic by the church choir. Vesper services are held Saturdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and the Sunday Liturgy is held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The parish publishes its own bulletin. The Sisterhood of the Holy Trinity Church holds a bazaar once a year to help raise money for convents and monasteries.

​

Other religious sites include:

•   A RUSSIAN SUMMER CHAPEL dedicated to Our Lady of Smolensk (a Russian city), has been built at Beryoski, the Russian cottage site at Jackson’s Point, Lake Simcoe. Regular Sunday liturgies as well as picnics, celebrations, and campfires are held throughout the summer at Beryoski.

•   RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE HOLY RESURRECTION, (Tel. 416-651-3226, 213 Winona Dr). Father John Hrihosrik.

•   RUSSIAN UKRAINIAN CHURCH OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS, (Tel. 416-504-5155, 24 Carr St).

•   JEWISH RUSSIAN COMMUNITY CENTRE, (Tel. 416-222-7105, www.jrcc.org, 5987 Bathurst St., Suite 3).

 

 

Holidays and Celebrations

 

•   RUSSIAN ORTHODOX NEW YEAR is celebrated on January 13 with festivities at church halls.

•   MASLYANITSA (BUTTER WEEK) is celebrated the week preceding Lent. On this occasion, it is customary to serve blini (pancakes).

•   EASTER, the greatest feast day for Russians, is celebrated seven weeks after Butter Week. The Russian Easter table is noted for its beauty and variety.

•   THE DAY OF MOURNING, July 17, is held in memory of Tsar Nicholas and his family, who were executed in 1918.

•   ST. VLADIMIR’S DAY on July 28 honours the saint who brought Christianity to Russia in the l0th century.

•   THE ICON OF POKROV (THE MOTHER OF GOD) is venerated on October 14 by Russian Cossacks as their patron saint.

•   ST. NICHOLAS DAY, held on December 19, honours the saint renowned for his kindness and charitable deeds, particularly to children. Icons of St. Nicholas are placed in Russian homes.

•   CHRISTMAS. December 25 is Christmas for Russian Protestants, while members of the Orthodox churches celebrate according to the Julian calendar on January 7. The highlight of the festive season is a holy supper of 12 meatless dishes in honour of the apostles. The supper begins when the children see the first star in the evening sky. Yolka (Christmas Tree) is the custom of singing and circle-dancing around the Christmas tree as Grandfather Frost (Santa Claus) arrives bearing gifts.

•   FEAST DAYS. Each Orthodox church celebrates a feast day in honour of its patron saint.

 

See Holidays and Celebrations in Glossary.

 

 

Media

 

•   NORTHSTAR COMPASS, (Tel. 416-593-0781, www.northstarcompass.org, 280 Queen St. W., 2nd floor), a monthly magazine, prints news about the present situation in former Soviet Union which is not dealt with in the local news media. This NSC goes to 69 countries of the world. It published news that is in opposition to the present course of events. Videos are available of the history, culture, economy and sports.

•   RUSSIAN CANADIAN INFO, a weekly newspaper, (Tel. 416-226-4777, 5987 Bathurst St., Suite 108).

•   CANADIAN COURIER, a weekly newspaper, (Tel. 416-398-5011, 4400 Bathurst St., Suite 12).

•   RUSSIAN EXPRESS, a weekly newspaper, (Tel. 416-663-3999, 1881 Steeles Ave. W., Suite 207A).