Greeks in St. Petersburg

Formally, 1,154 Greeks live in the city according to the 2010 census, but in reality, 2 to 2.5 thousand have Greek origin in the city, although they have been assimilated, they can be distinguished by characteristic surnames, such as Feofanovich , Feofilaktovich , Kharlampievich , etc. e. ^[3] Most purebred Greeks are elderly people who have in half the cases children from mixed marriages, some of whom consider themselves to be either Greeks or Russians.

The dynamics of the Greek population in the city of St. Petersburg

Tsarist Russia

The first Greeks began to settle in St. Petersburg virtually from the day it was founded, often joining the military and civilian service and replenishing the Russian nobility ^[12] . They were mainly sailors from the ports of the Mediterranean or the fleeing subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Peter I valued the Greeks as knowledgeable in maritime affairs and hired them to work at the Admiralty Shipyards ^{[13] [14]} .

The Greeks were actively engaged in trade, bringing goods from the Mediterranean Sea. So between the Moika embankment and Millionnaya street the first Greek settlement was formed , where a large Kharchev market was organized. After a large-scale fire, the Greeks formed a new settlement in Sands, near the current Ligovsky Prospect. Several noble families of Greek merchants and bankers lived in the city ^[13] . So, Ivan Fedoseevich Botsis , who had once served in the Venetian fleet and was known for taking part in the battles of the Northern War and in the devastating raids on Sweden, joined Peter at the service ^[14] . Even after the death of Peter, many Greeks remained close to the imperial court ^[14] .

The events of the Crimean War led to the numerous flight of the Greek Orthodox population from Turkish territories, including to St. Petersburg. So, in 1865, at the expense of the millionaire Konstantin Bernardaki, the Greek community erected a Greek church , the service in which lasted until 1939 ^[13] .

In St. Petersburg, John Kapodistrias lived for some time as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Subsequently, he will become the ruler of independent Greece. Another famous figure, Nikolai Kristofari , became the first owner of a passbook in Russia, who, being a poor immigrant over the years of work in the city, managed to become a well-known public figure and work in the field of charity and banking ^[13] . Also, a famous poet, playwright and translator Vasily Kapnist was born and raised in St. Petersburg, his descendants also acted as senators, writers and revolutionaries and even became victims of repression after the revolution ^[13] .

Soviet period

It is known that after the revolution, the Greeks, who came from noble families, became victims of repression. During the NEP era, many Greek merchants, bakers, restaurant owners continued to successfully develop their business ^[3] . The Greek Church was closed in 1939, and demolished in 1961. Joseph Brodsky dedicated a short poem to this event;

Now there are so few Greeks in Leningrad that we broke the Greek Church

- Joseph Brodsky ^[3]

The life of the Greek community between the 20s and 50s is not known; they could become victims of Stalinist repressions and assimilate into Russian society. To avoid reprisals, children in mixed families were recorded on the name of the Russian parent ^[3] . And in 80% of families with Greek roots in St. Petersburg, one of the relatives was repressed ^[3] .

However, after the Second World War, the Greeks again began to move to the city ^[3] and form the Greek community in the 70s ^[14] . A small part of the Greeks were political emigrants who fled from Greece after the defeat in the civil war of 1947-50 . Most Pontic Greeks come from the Black Sea coast. 10% come from Mariupol ^[3] . Community members for a long time remained fragmented until the emergence of national public events and the Internet ^[3] . The first official Greek community was registered in 1992 ^[3] .

After the collapse of the USSR, some Greeks left for their historical homeland, having received such an opportunity ^[3] .

According to unofficial data, 2,000 to 2,500 Greeks live in St. Petersburg, most of whom hail from the Black Sea coast. 10% come from Mariupol ^[3] . The older generation of Greeks is fluent in Greek and lived in compact Greek settlements. Among the younger generation, 38% of the respondents are native speakers. In most families, Russian is used as the main language of communication ^[3] . Most Greeks of St. Petersburg to this day remain religious and have long sought the authorities to rebuild the Greek temple ^[15] , in addition to this, they celebrate Greece’s independence from the Ottoman Empire ^{[3] [13]} .

In 2003, the Russian-Greek Club named after Demetrius Benardaki was created, which also fights for the restoration of the Greek church and organizes various Greek cultural exhibitions and events ^[14] .

In 2007, the Greek community formed the Aetos youth public organization with a football club ^[14] .