The Red, the White and the Blue

The two waves of immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union, in the 1970s and the 1990s, have created the largest (over one million people) and most distinct cultural and linguistic ethnic community. Russian-speaking immigrants soon developed their own cultural institutions and attained significant political power. Rising communication needs led to the swift development of Russian media, including radio, television and over one hundred newspapers and periodicals, which fulfill a dual function: preserving one's former identity and ties to the old country while addressing newly created problems of acculturation, thereby reflecting contradictory trends of segregation and integration typical of migrant communities. This article explores the characteristics of the Russian broadcast and print media in Israel during their golden age and analyzes their social and cultural context by relating to two factors: the structural position of the Russian cultural minority as a voluntary `returning Diaspora', and the type of cultural field developed by this type of minority.