Sacramento Slavic Community Reacts To Ukraine Crisis
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The same day President Joe Biden warned Russia's Vladimir Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would cause "widespread human suffering," some members of the Sacramento Slavic community are sharing fears and thoughts for their families who still live in Ukraine.
Sacramento has one of the largest Russian-speaking populations in the U.S., one community leader estimates in the greater Sacramento area there are upwards of 100,000 Slavic immigrants who call California home.
Many came to the U.S. in the late 1980s as part of a wave of religious refugees from Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus and the remaining Soviet republics in the southern region.
On Saturday, President Biden told Russia's Putin that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but "equally prepared for other scenarios," the White House said Saturday. It offered no suggestion that the hour-long call diminished the threat of an imminent war in Europe.
Biden also said the United States and its allies would respond "decisively and impose swift and severe costs" if the Kremlin attacked its neighbor, according to the White House.
With this news, Slavic Sacramento Editor-in-Chief spoke to CBS13 about the impacts these headlines make on the Slavic immigrant community in Sacramento.
"Half of it is basically Ukrainian part and [the] other half is Russian. How you could be a good friend to your Ukrainian or Russian friend who thinks differently, right?" said Ruslan Gurzhiy, founder of Slavic Sacramento.
Gurzhiy, who immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus in 2001, said he created the online daily news site to serve the Slavic community and help build trust for media sources. He said he felt he had to do something.
"[To] give our Slavic community an opportunity to get involved in local life, local business that's why I started Slavic Sacramento," said Gurzhiy.
Another member of the Sacramento Slavic community told CBS13 they are worried about their family who still live in Ukraine.
"Of course they do worry about, it's very serious very dangerous, and then very high risk. It could be a war," said Roman Romaso.
Romaso left Ukraine 32 years ago and moved to California to, "start a new life." He is a father of four and last visited Ukraine in 2021. He said he talks to his family often, but feels helpless now.
"Yes we do worry. We are praying, we do worry, we try to support. We do our best to support our Ukraine," said Romaso.
Romaso said he does what he can to support others who move to the U.S. through the Slavic Assistance Center, a nonprofit.
