07.1996 - Source: Library of Congress

According to 1989 Soviet census 153,000 Roma are living in Russia ("Country Studies - Russia (data as of 1996): Ethnic groups") [ID 11412]

"The 1989 Soviet census indicated that Russia was home to about 153,000 Roma, commonly known as Gypsies. However, the actual size of the population is unknown because many Roma do not register their nationality; experts assume that the true number is much higher than the official estimate. Most of the Roma currently in Russia are descended from people who migrated from Europe in the eighteenth century; they now call themselves Russka Roma. Another group, called the Vlach Roma, arrived after 1850 from the Balkans. Other Roma travel seasonally to Moscow from Moldova and Romania and back. Members of this group are often seen begging on Moscow streets; this activity has figured largely in the negative stereotype of the Roma among ethnic Russians. Most Roma have been unable or unwilling to gain employment in any but a few occupations. (…) In general, post-Soviet Russian society has included the Roma with other easily identified non-Slavic groups, particularly those from the Caucasus, who are accused of exploiting or worsening the economic condition of the majority population. In the 1990s, violence has erupted between Russians and Roma on several occasions. The wide dispersion of the Russian Roma population--there are at least six distinct groups, with little contact among them--has limited their ability to organize. In the 1990s, some Russian Roma have participated in international movements to gain support abroad. The various groups have widely varying political views. The elite musical performers and intelligentsia, for example, supported the socialism of the Soviet Union, but the wealthy Lovari group, which the government persecuted in Soviet times, is strongly antisocialist."

Document(s): Country Studies - Russia (data as of 1996): Ethnic groups

1989 - Source: NUPI - Centre for Russian Studies

History of the Roma in Russia ("Ethnic Groups") [ID 11411]

"In the first years of Soviet rule, measures were taken to raise Gypsies' education level (professional Gypsy Theatre, literature journal, preparation of Gypsy schools) and to make them settle. Later on, the Gypsies shared the destiny of other deported populations. Thousands of Gypsies were deported to Siberia. In 1956, there was adopted a Soviet decree on bringing the Gypsies to a settled way of life, by which it was forbidden to move to another place. The Soviet policy in relation to the Gypsies brought about many problems, especially low education level. The democratization process in Russia made it possible to establish Gypsy culture associations in 1991 (Moskovskoye tsyganskoye kulturno-prosvyetitelskoye obshchestvo and Sektsiya tsyganskoy kultury pri Rossiyskom fonde kultury).
Gypsies maintain a powerful sense of identity. They preserve their own Gypsy folk culture although they adopt the language of the respective society. They often meet suspicion and hostility. 500,000 Gypsies (incl. Gypsies living in Russia) were killed, sent to concentration camps, in the countries occupied by Nazi Germans in World War II. The most serious anti-Gypsy riots in recent years took place in Odessa in 1992."

Document(s): Ethnic Groups