• Source: Afro-Russians

Afro-Russians (Russian: Афророссияне, romanized: Afrorossiyane) are Russians of African descent. The Metis Foundation estimates that there were about 30,000 Afro-Russians in 2013.




Terminology


Representatives of African peoples in the Russian language have been commonly called negry. The word negr comes from Spanish: negro (the color black in Spanish) through other European languages (German: Neger, French: nègre).




History






= Russian Empire

=

There was never an observable number of people of African descent in Russia, even after Western European colonization of the continent. For centuries Russia was too isolated to interact with Africa. Russia's non-involvement in the colonization of Africa or the Atlantic slave trade prevented it from developing significant relationships with African tribes or colonies. Despite this, Abram Petrovich Gannibal, a Russian of princely African descent, became a general and nobleman in the Russian Empire. After being kidnapped from Logone (in contemporary Cameroon) by Ottoman forces as a boy, he was sold to Russian diplomat Fedor Golovin in 1704 and gifted to Tsar Peter the Great, who freed and adopted him. As an adult, he rose to nobility, and served the Russian Empire in both civil and military capacities. He is also a maternal great-grandfather to the famed Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.




= Early Soviet period

=

After the revolution several African-American families came to the Soviet Union under the auspices of the Comintern. Among them were Oliver John Golden and his wife Bertha Bialek, bringing with them a group of 16 African-American experts in the cultivation of cotton; well-known African-American poet Langston Hughes with a group of 22 filmmakers; Paul Robeson with his family; and many others. Some of them stayed in Russia and their descendants still live there.




= Post-War, the Festival Children

=
When African nations gained independence from colonialism, the Soviet Union offered scholarships to young people from these nations. About 400,000 Africans studied in the former Soviet Union between the late 1950s and 1990.
The mixed race African descended children were called "festival children" because of their appearance and timing of their birth. Festival children is a household stereotype or cliché that appeared under the Soviet Union in the 1960s-1980s, implying that children were born to Soviet people and one of the parents could be a person from Africa, Latin America, or foreign Asia. Specifically, this phraseology refers to those born under the Soviet Union from different ethnicities or nations that are distant around the world.
It is believed that the first significant arrival of Africans, mestizos and mulattoes was for the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow in 1957. Presumably, the combination of these words could have been influenced by the opening line of the festival's anthem: "Children of different nations, we live the dream of peace...". ("Hymn of Democratic Youth").
Many Africans also attended the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.




Notable Afro-Russians



Abram Gannibal (1696–1781) – statesman, military leader, and politician, great-grandfather of Alexander Pushkin.
Ivan Gannibal (1735–1801) – military leader, the son of Abram Gannibal.
Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) - was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era. He is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet, as well as the founder of modern Russian literature, great-grandson of Abram Gannibal.
Lyukman Adams (born 1988) – half-Nigerian triple jumper
Aleksandr Alumona (born 1983) – half-Nigerian footballer
Jacques Anthony (born 1992) – rapper
Coretti Arle-Titz (1881–1951) – black American born actress and singer
Allan Dugblei (born 1985) – half-Ghanaian footballer
Alice Edun – half-Nigerian singer
Nkeirouka Ezekh (born 1983) – half-Nigerian Olympic curler
Brian Idowu (born 1992) – three quarters-Nigerian Russian Premier League footballer
Victor Keyru (born 1984) – Sierra Leonian-Russian basketball player
Yelena Khanga (born 1962) – Russian journalist and TV anchor of Zanzibari-American descent
Stanislav Lebamba (born 1988) – half-Congolese footballer
Cyrille Makanda (born 1980) – half-Cameroonian basketball player
Avua-Siav Leo Nelson (born 1980) – half-Ghanaian footballer
Peter Odemwingie (born 1981) – half-Nigerian footballer
Adessoye Oyewole (born 1982) – half-Nigerian footballer
James Lloydovich Patterson (born 1933) – Russian child actor, naval officer, and poet of African-American and Ukrainian descent
Jean Sagbo (born 1959) – Beninese-Russian politician. Elected councilman of the town of Novozavidovo
Jerry-Christian Tchuissé (born 1975) – Cameroonian-Russian footballer
Emiliya Turey (born 1984) – part-Sierra Leonean handball player
Grigory Siyatvinda (born 1970) – part-Zambian actor
Elladj Baldé (born 1990) – half-Guinean figure skater
Isabel dos Santos (born 1973) – half-Angolan businesswoman
Epiphanny Prince (born 1988) – Russian-American basketball player
Greta Onieogou (born 1991) – half Nigerian half Russian Canadian actress
Zhosselina Maiga – half Malian basketball player
Artyom Ntumba (born 2003) – half Congolese, half Russian footballer
Victor Cole (born 1968) – half Sierra Leonean, half Russian Major League Baseball player
Pierre Narcisse (1977-2022) – Cameroonian-born Russian singer




Social movements


Afro-Russian social movements have emerged in recent years as a response to the discrimination and marginalization experienced by people of Russian-African descent.
The Sputnik Association is a social movement founded in London, UK in 2006 by a group of Russian emigrants and Afro-Russian people. The association was created to provide a platform for Russian emigrants and mixed-race Russian people living abroad to connect and celebrate their shared cultural heritage.




See also



Afro-Abkhazians




References






External links


Funmetis a Foundation for Afro-Russian Children
(in Russian) Article "Afro-Russians" from Rossiyskaya Gazeta
(in Russian) Article "Black Man" from Online Vremya
Василий из "Чернобыля". История реального ликвидатора [ENG SUBS]

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Afro-Rusia
• Demografi Turki
• Kelompok minoritas di Turki
• Afro-Russians
• Abkhazians of African descent
• Afro-Eurasia
• Afroasiatic languages
• Abram Petrovich Gannibal
• Format18
• Jean Sagbo
• Sagallo
• Yelena Khanga
• List of topics related to the African diaspora