Russian San Francisco (Images of America)

Even before San Francisco was founded as a city, Russian visitors, explorers, and scientists sailed to the area and made contact with both the indigenous people and representatives of the Spanish government. Although the Russian commercial colony of Fort Ross closed in 1842, the Russian presence in San Francisco continued and the community expanded to include churches, societies, businesses, and newspapers. Some came seeking opportunity, while others were fleeing religious or political persecution. In the 1920s, San Francisco’s Russian population grew exponentially as refugees of the Russian Revolution and civil war arrived, and by the 1950s, a vibrant and culturally rich Russian émigré community was thriving in San Francisco. Today the 75,000 Russian speakers who live in the San Francisco Bay Area continue to pass on their heritage to their children.