It’s Known as “Little Russia”

Brighton Beach Avenue, known as “Little Russia” for the dominating culture of the Russian-speaking immigrants, is a little corner of the Old Country in the New World. Located on the southern tip of Brooklyn, it is best known for its wide variety of restaurants and Russian food delicatessens. Although Manhattan may be one of the most visited destinations and its restaurants are ranked among some of the best in the world, many visitors are discovering a little culinary haven in Brooklyn…Brighton Beach.

A Bit About Brighton Beach…
Brighton Beach, like its neighboring seaside destinations of Coney Island, Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay, began to develop into a wealthy resort area in the late 1870’s. In the early 1900’s, Brighton Beach had four major (and many smaller) hotels along its shore, high-class vaudeville entertainment at the Brighton Theater, and exciting performances at the Brighton Beach Music Hall where Victor Herbert would conduct the symphony orchestra and John Phillip Sousa would play with his marching band. On warm summer days, tourists lounged at the magnificent Brighton Beach hotel or flocked to the Brighton Baths, a 15-acre wonderland of swimming pools, tennis courts, shuffleboards and entertainment. Unfortunately, by the mid-1960’s, many of the neighborhood’s residents had moved to other areas and Brighton Beach had fallen into decline, but was quickly uplifted by the sudden arrival of Russian immigrants.

Little Russia
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, as emigration policies relaxed, Russian Jews, most from the Ukrainian city of Odessa came to the United States and settled in Brighton Beach, which, as the story goes, reminded them of their hometown on the Black Sea. The community flourished, becoming a draw for Russian speaking individuals from areas outside of Odessa as well. Today, wander down two of Brighton Beach’s main thoroughfares–Brighton Beach Avenue and Coney Island Avenue– and you will encounter signs greeting you in Cyrillic lettering and stores selling Russian language books, art and music. Daytime diners head for the local cozy cafes in droves for hearty ethnic foods rarely seen outside of Moscow or St. Petersburg like stroganoff, pirogue or borscht while Brighton Beach’s unique supper clubs serve up live glitzy entertainment (think cabaret singers and dance performances) alongside delicious Russian fare every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night to a well-dressed nocturnal crowd.