Russian clubs in Argentina established by immigrants from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union have been maintaining the Russian spirit and Russian culture in Latin America for nearly 100 years. Whereas other countries of the region have a Russian diaspora mostly in capital cities, Russian clubs in Argentina are active all over the country, from north to south. The club known as Russian House at the End of the World operates in the southernmost city of Ushuaia. In 2015, members of this community and Russian travelers placed a sign with the inscription "Kamchatka 19,649 km" in the Wolf Valley, a popular winter tourist center.
Yet, today, Russian clubs in Argentina are challenged with self-identify criticism just like all Russian-speaking diasporas in the world. There are even cases of vandalism against Orthodox churches despite the fact that Easter, together with Victory Day, is the central unifying holiday. A year ago, vandals desecrated the walls of the Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Buenos Aires with an aggressive inscription. Ever since it has been fenced off and guarded by police around the clock.
Ukrainians held a rally in front of the Russian embassy on the anniversary of the start of the SMO. Compatriots from Russia also took part in it. However, those were not the typical immigrants but rather the newly arrived Russians who had left their homeland after Crimea's reunification with Russia.
Despite their former cohesion, nowadays Russian Argentines face the same disconnecting tensions as those in other countries. This is primarily due to the international crisis that the whole world has been exposed to. Another reason is that many immigrants have family roots in Western Ukraine and Belarus.
In 1926/27, Argentina and Paraguay saw mass arrivals of Russian-speaking immigrants from Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, the territories that had been transferred to Poland after the Soviet-Polish war in 1920/21. People were fleeing repression and oppression by the Polish authorities. They included Russians, Little Russians, and Galicians, as well as Lithuanians and Latvians. There were about 30,000 people in all. In 1928, Argentina closed its borders to migrants, so they began to settle in neighboring Paraguay. Some of them were considered to be of Polish diaspora since they had Polish identity papers. At that time people used to refer to themselves as Russians and did not think about their ethnic roots, no matter what land of the former Russian Empire they came from. However, today emissaries from the Canadian Ukrainians and contemporary Ukraine make attempts to split them into Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Lithuanians, and Belarusians.
Silvana Yarmolyuk-Stroganova, the head of the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots in Argentina, is also a descendant of those post-revolutionary settlers. The large Russian-speaking colony Fram was set on Paraguayan land from 1934 to 1944. It lived off farming. At the beginning of the 1940s, however, the Paraguayan authorities began to show their support for Nazi Germany, and 80 percent of the colony's settlers relocated to Argentina having illegally crossed the Paraguay River. This diaspora established its own Russian clubs, such as Vostok, Belinsky, Pushkin (it no longer exists), Dnepro, Gorky, and Ostrovsky. They still have art classes, festivals, and club events. They are a part of the KSORS Argentina as the Federation of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian Clubs.
In the 1990s, Russian Argentinians got new songs, dances, movies, and literature from Russia through mass emigration from the former Soviet Union. "We used to dance folk dances in an old-fashioned way, the way we remembered them. And they showed us the correct movements. They enriched us both spiritually and culturally. Today's emigrants can offer us nothing but money. The emigration after Crimea can make you pass out," says Silvana Yarmolyuk-Stroganova with an ironic smile. “They arrived with money. Many of them work remotely and get good salaries. They are rather arrogant and don't mingle with the "old" Russians. They have their own life, their own interests, and their social circle. And yet, every time I am shocked to hear them harshly criticize Russia, even despise it. I'm sure that these people won't stay here for long. They won't get settled in Argentina. They will go back, and very soon.”
According to Silvana, it is easy to explain the recent scandal with Russian expectant mothers that travel to Argentina's maternity hospitals in large numbers. They used to be ignored. "However, now, every Russian is literally examined through a microscope all over the world. So, they suddenly discovered that there is such a clever way to obtain Argentine nationality. This business was organized by Russian citizens, and it has been prospering successfully since at least 2012," Silvana said.
The Argentine government defers to the opinion of the Russian-speaking diaspora, unlike in other countries.
“As early as February 24, 2022, our KSORS wrote an official letter outlining a supportive position on the special military operation that had commenced. We sent this letter to the Russian embassy. We are a large and united Russian diaspora, which is why we conduct our activities independently. The state supports us, it takes us into account," Silvana Yarmolyuk explained confidently and gave an example of how the KSORS stood up for RT. “RT has been active in Argentina since 2012. In 2015, the left-wing liberal government attempted to have it shut down. At that time, I spoke on national central television and pointed out that as Argentine Russians, we have the right to a multipolar view. So, they didn't shut it down. Our diaspora has an influence in this country. Having experienced years of dictatorship, Argentina respects human rights and follows them very closely. They respect the rights of diasporas because Argentina began its modern history by inviting people from Europe. When a year ago our compatriots desecrated the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Buenos Aires, I appealed to the authorities. As a result, the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church in South America, me, and our representatives were immediately included in the State Commission for Countering Discrimination against Religious Figures. There is no Russophobia in our society or at the state level. We are not engaged in politics as a public association. Nevertheless, we have friends in parliament and legislative assemblies at various levels, and we address them if we feel the need to.”
There are two facts that testify to the impact and unity of the Argentinean Russians. It was through the tremendous outreach efforts of the Russian diaspora that the Argentinean authorities purchased our "Sputnik V" vaccine first in the world. In September 2022, the participants of the regional conference of compatriots initiated the adoption of the term "Russophobia" into the international legal framework and defined it as a criminal offense. As we know, President Putin instructed the relevant agencies to define this legal term so that it could be applied in international courts. According to Silvana Yarmolyuk-Stroganova, the newly established International Russophile Movement will be welcomed throughout Latin America with great enthusiasm. Thus, the Russian world stands strong in this region and attracts an increasing number of supporters to its community.
