exterior of russian orthodox church with golden onion dome roof
Credit: SF Planning

Russian American Historic Context Statement

The Russian American Historic Context Statement chronicles the history of the Russian community in San Francisco. The context statement seeks to identify longtime Russian residential enclaves, Russian-owned businesses, properties associated with prominent Russian Americans and Russian descendants, and important religious, social, and political organizations that have influenced San Francisco’s Russian American heritage. 

Work on the Russian American Historic Context Statement began in the Fall of 2023. The current draft was authored by Dr. Nina Bogdan, who co-authored Russian San Francisco, an Images of America publication (2010) and has published a recent article about the San Francisco Russian community in the Journal of Russian American Studies (Spring 2021). She has presented regularly on the history of San Francisco’s Russian American community since 2010, both at community events and at academic conferences. Her dissertation, focusing on that history, was nominated for the Nevins prize in 2021 and her book manuscript on the same subject is currently under peer review. Dr. Bogdan was born and raised in San Francisco’s Russian-American community.

The context statement includes information on the following:

  • Settlement and Immigration Patterns
  • Cultural and Social Movements
  • Community and Religious Institutions
  • Russian-American Businesses 

The first draft of the Russian American Historic Context Statement is available for public review and comment.

This historic context statement is intended to facilitate the identification and evaluation of local Russian American cultural resources and offer recommendations for their preservation. This cultural context is one of several the department has completed and are in-progress to ensure the appropriate documentation of the City’s expansive and diverse story, as part of the Citywide Cultural Resources Survey. Other cultural, architectural, and thematic contexts are detailed on the Citywide Historic Context Statement webpage. 

In October of 2024, Department staff collaborated with Western Neighborhoods Project (WNP), SF Public Library, and other community partners to host a focus group regarding the Russian American Historic Context Statement. The focus group allowed community members to provide feedback and contribute their histories to the context statement.

The Russian American Historic Context Statement will be presented as an informational item at the Historic Preservation Commission Hearing on July 16, 2025 (event details will be posted six days prior to event).