Russian Americans are people who were born in the United States yet have Russian heritage in some form. Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as those who settled in the Russian territories in northern America throughout the nineteenth century, may all be considered to be "Russians." Eastern Europeans and East Slavics make up the biggest proportion of Russia's population, which is also the second-largest Slavic population overall. Russian Americans are the nineteenth-largest heritage group in the United States and the eleventh-largest from Europe.
After escaping religious persecution in Russia in the mid-19th century, waves of Russian immigrants sought refuge in the United States, among them Russian Jews and Spiritual Christians. In coastal cities, such as Alaska and Brooklyn (New York City) on the East Coast, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland (Oregon) on the West Coast as well as Great Lakes cities such as Chicago and Cleveland, these organisations concentrated their efforts. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War of 1917-1922, a large number of White émigrés migrated in the United States, particularly in New York, Philadelphia, and the New England states. Following this, emigration from Russia became very limited throughout the Soviet period, as a result of the Cold War (1917-1991). After the Soviet Union was dismantled in 1991, however, immigration to the United States grew significantly, reaching record levels.
There are numerous Jewish Americans who trace their ancestors' roots back to Russia in many major U.S. cities, and Americans of East Slavic descent, such as Belarusian Americans and Rusyn Americans, who describe themselves as Russian Americans on occasion. Aside from that, several non-Slavic communities from the post-Soviet sphere, such as Armenians in the United States, Georgians in the United States, and Moldovans in the United States have a lengthy historical link with the Russian American population.