США

Антон Ельчин

Leningrad-born star who redefined a generation

Энтони Блинкен

U.S. Secretary of State, rooted in Kyiv

Берни Сандерс

U.S. Senator shaped by a father's flight from empire

Боб Дилан

Voice of a generation, roots in Odessa

Чак Шумер

Senate Majority Leader with Galician-Jewish roots

Дэвид Духовны

Actor and writer with Ukrainian Jewish roots

Элена Каган

First female Solicitor General, SCOTUS Justice

Гвинет Пэлтроу

Oscar winner with roots in the Russian Empire

Харрисон Форд

Han Solo's grandfather fled the Russian Empire

Кёрк Дуглас

Hollywood titan forged from Belarusian immigrant roots

Ленни Кравиц

Rock icon whose roots trace to imperial Kyiv

Леонардо ДиКаприо

Oscar-winning actor with Russian Imperial roots

Майкл Блумберг

NYC mayor, billionaire, grandson of a Russian émigré

Михаил Барышников

Soviet-trained dancer who redefined American ballet

Мила Кунис

Hollywood star born in Soviet Chernivtsi, Ukraine

Милла Йовович

Kyiv-born action icon who conquered Hollywood

Натали Портман

Oscar-winning actress with Lithuanian-Jewish roots

Регина Спектор

Moscow-born singer who made anti-folk poetry in New York

Сергей Брин

Google co-founder who escaped Soviet antisemitism

Стивен Спилберг

Hollywood titan, roots in the Russian Empire

Сильвестр Сталлоне

Rocky's roots run through Odessa

Вайнона Райдер

Hollywood icon with roots in the Russian Empire

Юл Бриннер

Vladivostok-born king of Hollywood's golden age

Юрий Мильнер

Soviet-born physicist turned Silicon Valley kingmaker

Аарон Копленд

Brooklyn-born voice of the American heartland

Абнер Цвиллман

Prohibition-era crime boss known as the Al Capone of New Jersey

Абрахам Маслоу

Brooklyn-born son of Kyiv émigrés who mapped human potential.

Адам Левин

Rock-pop frontman with Russian Empire Jewish roots.

Адам Шифф

California senator who rose through federal law.

Адольф Зукор

The Hungarian-Jewish immigrant who built Hollywood.

Агнес Брукнер

Hollywood actress born in Germany to Russian-German immigrant parents

Аким Тамиров

Tbilisi-born scene-stealer of Hollywood's golden age

Эл Джолсон

The Lithuanian-born cantor's son who became America's first superstar.

Алан Аркин

Comic genius rooted in the Russian Empire's diaspora.

Алан Кинг

Stand-up comedian who turned Jewish immigrant anxieties into American comedy gold

Альберт Брукс

Hollywood's sharpest neurotic, rooted in the Pale.

Альберт Сейбин

From Białystok to the vial that ended polio.

Алекс Карп

Philosopher-CEO who built the surveillance state's brain

Алекс Овечкин

Moscow's goal machine rewrote NHL history

Александр Беркман

Russian-born anarchist who attempted to assassinate a steel baron and shaped American radical politics

Александр Генис

Soviet-born essayist who became the defining voice of Russian emigre literary culture in New York

Александр Георгиев

Rybinsk-born NHL goaltender who became the Colorado Avalanche starter

Александр Годунов

Bolshoi's star who chose freedom over the Bolshoi.

Александр Картвели

The Georgian émigré who armed the U.S. Air Force

Александр Могильный

The Soviet star who skated into freedom

Александр Поляков

The Soviet mind that rewired string theory

Александр Понятов

Russian engineer who invented the videotape recorder and founded AMPEX

Александр де Северски

Ace pilot who armed America's air war

Александр Ванг

American fashion designer raised by parents who emigrated from the USSR

Алексей Абрикосов

Soviet theorist who mapped the invisible architecture of superconductors.

Алексей Китаев

Architect of topological quantum computing

Алексей Ковалёв

Togliatti's magician who rewrote NHL artistry

Алексей Яшин

Sverdlovsk's son who electrified Ottawa.

Алексей Бродович

The Russian émigré who reinvented American design

Алисия Сильверстоун

Gen-X icon shaped by Empire-era roots

Алла Назимова

Yalta-born actress who reinvented Hollywood stardom

Аллен Гинзберг

Beat prophet whose howl echoed Russian anguish.

Аманда Анисимова

Moscow-born, American-raised WTA force.

Аманда Байнс

Nickelodeon star with Russian-Jewish roots on her mother's side

Аманда Сейфрид

Mamma Mia actress with partial Russian ancestry through her mother's German-Russian family

Эми Шумер

Stand-up subversive who made discomfort funny.

Анатоль Литвак

Kyiv-born auteur who mastered Hollywood noir

Андре Агасси

Rebel champion forged from immigrant hunger.

Андреа Мартин

SCTV comedy legend who became a two-time Tony Award winner on Broadway

Андрей Кириленко

Izhevsk's iron-willed forward who redefined NBA versatility.

Андрей Линде

The physicist who inflated the universe

Андрей Окуньков

Moscow-born mathematician who reshaped probability and geometry

Андрей Свечников

Barnaul's prodigy rewriting NHL history.

Андрей Василевский

Ufa's son who became the NHL's last line.

Андрей Филев

Russian-born founder of Wrike who built one of the world's leading work management platforms

Андрей Хусид

Perm-born entrepreneur who co-founded Miro, the world's leading visual collaboration platform

Энди Джасси

Empire-born roots, AWS-built empire.

Анна Курникова

Moscow's golden girl who conquered the world

Анна Требунская

Russian ballroom champion who became a Dancing with the Stars fan favourite

Энн Эпплбаум

Pulitzer laureate who mapped totalitarianism's ruins

Анна Вялицына

Nizhny Novgorod's model who conquered New York

Аннет Махендру

Moscow-born actress who made espionage bilingual

Энни Лейбовиц

The lens that defined American celebrity for 50 years.

Ари Флейшер

Bush's voice at the podium, rooted in the Pale

Арманд Хаммер

The capitalist who charmed the Kremlin.

Арми Хаммер

Hollywood heir to an Odessa oil dynasty

Арнольд Ротштейн

The gambler who bankrolled organized crime

Арсен Томский

Russian founder of InDriver — the ride-hailing app born in Yakutia that challenged Uber globally

Арт Гарфанкел

The golden tenor who echoed an immigrant's longing.

Артём Чигвинцев

Vladivostok-born dancer who conquered Hollywood.

Артемий Панарин

Chelyabinsk grit forged into NHL artistry.

Артур Корнберг

Decoded life's blueprint from immigrant roots.

Артур Миллер

Voice of American conscience, rooted in Ukraine.

Айн Рэнд

From Petrograd tenements to American philosophy

Барбара Уолтерс

The daughter of immigrants who rewrote broadcast history.

Барбра Стрейзанд

From Galician roots to American icon

Барни Балабан

Son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who became president of Paramount Pictures for nearly 30 years

Барри Манилоу

Brooklyn's Borscht Belt heir who conquered pop.

Бен Бернанке

The economist who kept the world from the abyss.

Бен Коэн

The ice cream idealist who turned a scoop into a cause.

Бен Горовиц

Silicon Valley titan shaped by immigrant grit.

Бен Стиллер

Comic royalty with roots in the Pale of Settlement.

Бенни Гудмен

The son of Kaunas immigrants who crowned swing.

Бернард Маркус

Son of Russian immigrants who built retail's cathedral.

Бетт Мидлер

Honolulu-raised daughter of the Russian Empire.

Билли Кристал

Odessa's grandson made America laugh for decades

Билли Джоэл

Piano Man with roots in the Russian Empire

Билли Уайлдер

Galician émigré who reinvented Hollywood cynicism

Бронсон Пинчот

Perfect Strangers star with Russian-descended father who became a beloved sitcom icon

Бадди Хэкетт

Brooklyn comedian with Russian-Jewish roots who was one of Las Vegas's last great stand-up kings

Багси Сигел

Russian-Jewish gangster from Brooklyn who built Las Vegas out of the Nevada desert

Кэлвин Кляйн

Bronx-born designer with Russian roots who invented American minimalism

Карл Райнер

Bronx comedian who co-created The Dick Van Dyke Show and shaped American comedy for six decades

Карл Саган

Brooklyn boy who heard the cosmos call

Кэрол Кинг

Brooklyn songwriter with Russian-Jewish roots who wrote the soundtrack of a generation

Кэрри Фишер

Princess Leia and fearless memoirist with Russian-Jewish roots through her father Eddie Fisher

Чарльз Блюдорн

Viennese immigrant with Russian parents who presided over Paramount's golden age

Челси Хэндлер

Late-night TV trailblazer with Russian-Jewish roots on her father's side

Шерил Берк

Dancing with the Stars champion with Russian Empire roots who became America's most-watched ballroom dancer

Чико Маркс

Eldest Marx Brother, son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother who raised America's greatest comedy team

Чак Паланик

Author of Fight Club, grandson of Ukrainian immigrants from the Russian Empire

Клемент Гринберг

Son of Russian-Lithuanian Jewish immigrants who became the most powerful art critic of the 20th century

Константин Ронин

Russian-born actor who played a KGB spy in The Americans and became a Hollywood fixture

Кортни Лав

Hole frontwoman and grunge icon with Russian-Jewish roots on her father's side

Безумный Русский Хакер

Donetsk-born YouTuber Taras Kul who became America's favourite science and life-hacks host

Кёрли Говард

The Three Stooges' most beloved Stooge, son of Lithuanian-Russian Jewish immigrants

Даниил Трифонов

Nizhny Novgorod piano prodigy called the most complete musician of his generation

Дэнни Кей

Brooklyn comedian and UNICEF ambassador born to parents from the Russian Empire

Даррен Аронофски

Brooklyn auteur with Russian-Ukrainian Jewish roots who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Whale

Даша Некрасова

Minsk-born actress and Red Scare podcast host who became a cult voice of millennial disillusionment

Даша Жукова

Moscow-born art patron and Garage Museum founder who brought contemporary art to Russia

Дэйв Франко

Hollywood actor with Russian-Jewish roots on his mother's side

Давид Диггс

Hamilton Tony winner with Russian-Jewish roots on his mother's side

Дэвид Копперфилд

The world's greatest illusionist, son of a mother with Russian Jewish roots

Дэвид О. Селзник

Son of a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant who produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca

Дэвид Ремник

Russian-Jewish descended New Yorker editor who won the Pulitzer for his book on the Soviet collapse

Дэвид Сарнов

Born in a Belarus shtetl, built NBC and RCA — the man who invented American broadcasting

Дэвид Швиммер

Friends star with Ukrainian-Russian Jewish roots who played Ross Geller for a decade

Давид Янг

Yerevan-born entrepreneur who co-founded ABBYY and brought Russian AI to the world

Диана Арбус

Russian-Jewish immigrant granddaughter who became the most influential American photographer of the 20th century

Диана фон Фюрстенберг

Belgian-American fashion icon whose father came from Kishinev in the Russian Empire

Дианна Агрон

Glee actress with a Ukrainian-Russian Jewish family name that traces to Novgorod-Siversky

Дмитрий Тёмкин

Born in Ukraine, composed the soundtrack of Hollywood's golden age

Дмитрий Чаплин

Rostov-born dancer who became a So You Think You Can Dance star and Broadway choreographer

Дмитрий Орлов

Novokuznetsk-born NHL defenceman and Stanley Cup champion with the Washington Capitals

Доджа Кэт

Grammy-winning pop star with a Russian-Jewish grandmother on her mother's side

Дон Риклз

Brooklyn insult comedian born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents who became Mr. Warmth

Дастин Хоффман

Hollywood titan forged from immigrant roots

Датч Шульц

Bronx gangster with German-Russian Jewish roots who ran Prohibition-era New York

Эдди Кантор

Lower East Side entertainer with Russian Jewish roots who became a radio king and Hollywood star

Эдвард Г. Робинсон

Romanian-born Hollywood gangster icon whose family came from the Russian Empire

Ефим Зельманов

Soviet-born mathematician who solved a century-old problem and won the Fields Medal

Ефрем Зимбалист

Rostov violin virtuoso who became director of the Curtis Institute and shaped American classical music

Эмма Гольдман

Lithuanian-born anarchist who became the most dangerous woman in America

Эрих фон Штрогейм

Born in Vienna with Russian Empire connections, became Hollywood's greatest director and most hated villain

Эрнст Неизвестный

Yekaterinburg sculptor who argued with Khrushchev and created the Tree of Life

Эрика Баду

Neo-soul queen with Russian-Jewish roots on her mother's side

Евгений Дынкин

Soviet mathematician who pioneered probability theory and Dynkin diagrams before emigrating to Cornell

Юджин Клейнер

Vienna-born venture capitalist with Russian roots who co-founded Kleiner Perkins and Silicon Valley itself

Евгения Леонтович

Moscow-born actress who electrified Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1970s

Евгений Малкин

Magnitogorsk-born NHL superstar and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Евгений Кузнецов

Chelyabinsk-born NHL star and three-time Stanley Cup champion with Washington Capitals

Евсей Домар

Russian Empire-born economist who co-created the Harrod-Domar growth model

Эзра Миллер

The Flash actor with Russian-Jewish roots who became one of Hollywood's most unconventional stars

ФПС Россия (Кайл Майерс)

Georgian-born American whose fake Russian persona became one of YouTube's first viral sensations

Фанни Брайс

Lower East Side comedian with Russian immigrant parents who became the Ziegfeld Follies' greatest star

Фёдор Емельяненко

Ukraine-born MMA legend known as The Last Emperor — considered the greatest heavyweight fighter ever

Фёдор Ларк

Russian-born actor who became a character actor fixture in Hollywood

Фред Астер

The greatest dancer in Hollywood history, son of a father who emigrated from the Russian Empire

Фред Зиннеманн

Born in Rzeszow in the Russian Empire, directed High Noon and A Man for All Seasons

Фивуш Финкель

Yiddish theatre legend from Brooklyn with Russian-Polish roots who found new fame in Picket Fences

Гарри Каспаров

Chess genius turned democracy's fiercest advocate

Гари Штейнгарт

Leningrad-born novelist whose satirical fiction made him the voice of the Russian-American experience

Гэри Вайнерчук

From Soviet Babruysk to Silicon Valley's loudest voice

Джин Симмонс

KISS co-founder born in Haifa to a Hungarian mother with Russian roots

Джин Уайлдер

Willy Wonka actor whose father emigrated from Russia and who defined gentle comic genius

Геннадий Тартаковский

Moscow-born animation auteur who created Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Primal

Джордж Баланчин

The Georgian-Russian who reinvented ballet for America

Джордж Бёрнс

Lower East Side comedian with Russian-Austrian Jewish roots who performed until age 98

Георгий Гамов

Odessa-born physicist who cracked the Big Bang, decoded DNA, and explained nuclear fusion

Джордж Гершвин

Brooklyn-born son of Odessa, soundtrack of America

Джордж Сорос

The speculator who broke the Bank of England

Гильда Рэднер

SNL's original queen of comedy with Russian-Lithuanian Jewish roots

Глеб Савченко

Moscow-born professional dancer and Dancing with the Stars fan favourite

Гоголь Бордель

Eugene Hutz — born in Soviet Ukraine, created Gypsy punk and made immigration into a celebration

Голди Хон

Oscar-winning actress whose mother had Russian-Jewish roots stretching to Hungary

Григорий Пятигорский

Born in Dnipro, became the greatest cellist of the 20th century after fleeing the Bolsheviks

Григорий Брейт

Mykolaiv-born nuclear physicist who co-discovered the ionosphere and helped build the atomic bomb

Грегори Пинкус

Son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who co-invented the contraceptive pill and changed the world

Григорий Ратов

St. Petersburg actor and director who played every European rogue in 1930s Hollywood

Григорий Маргулис

Moscow mathematician who won the Fields Medal for revolutionising the theory of Lie groups

Граучо Маркс

The Marx Brothers' razor-tongued wit, son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother who built America's greatest comedy team

Гарольд Эджертон

Nebraska engineer with Russian-German immigrant parents who invented the electronic flash and made bullets visible

Арпо Маркс

The silent Marx Brother — son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother — whose harp playing was genuine genius

Гарри Уорнер

Born in the Russian Empire, co-founded Warner Bros and brought sound to cinema

Харви Файерстайн

Torch Song Trilogy playwright with Russian-Jewish roots who reshaped LGBTQ+ visibility on Broadway

Харви Кейтель

Brooklyn's raw nerve, forged in Minsk & Iaşi

Хеди Ламарр

Hollywood's most beautiful star co-invented spread spectrum technology that underpins Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Хелена Рубинштейн

Born in Krakow in the Russian Empire, built the first global cosmetics empire

Хенни Янгман

King of the One-Liners, son of Russian immigrant parents who defined American stand-up

Генри Киссинджер

German-Jewish refugee who became America's most consequential Secretary of State

Герман Мюллер

Nobel Prize-winning geneticist with Russian-immigrant father who discovered radiation causes mutations

Гершель Бернарди

Broadway and Hollywood actor with Ukrainian-Russian Jewish roots who voiced Charlie the Tuna

Хайман Риковер

Born in Russian-controlled Poland, became the Father of the Nuclear Navy

Ида Розенталь

Minsk-born immigrant who co-founded Maidenform and invented the modern bra

Идина Мензел

Frozen's Elsa and Broadway's Elphaba — her grandparents came from Russia and Eastern Europe

Игорь Джиджикин

Moscow-born actor who played the villain in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Игорь Ларионов

The Professor — Voskresensk-born centre and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Игорь Оленикофф

Moscow-born real estate billionaire and art collector who became one of America's wealthiest immigrants

Игорь Шестёркин

Moscow-born Vezina Trophy winner and the NHL's best goaltender

Игорь Сикорский

Born in Kyiv, invented the helicopter and transformed modern aviation

Игорь Стравинский

Born near St. Petersburg, composed The Rite of Spring and changed music forever

Илья Кабаков

Born in Dnipro, became the most celebrated conceptual artist of the Soviet underground

Илья Ковальчук

Tver-born sniper and one of the NHL's most prolific goal-scorers of the 2000s

Илья Найшуллер

Moscow director who made the first-person action film Nobody and the viral Hardest Button to Button video

Илья Прусикин

Little Big frontman from Siberia who nearly won Eurovision and invented Russian rave pop

Илья Сорокин

Siberian-born goaltender who became one of the NHL's most electrifying netminders with the New York Islanders

Илья Суцкевер

The Soviet-born mind reshaping artificial intelligence

Ирина Шейк

From the Urals to the world's runways

Ирвинг Берлин

The immigrant who wrote America's anthem

Ирвинг Тальберг

Son of Russian Jewish immigrants who became Hollywood's greatest producer before dying at 37

Айзек Азимов

The Russian-born prophet of the Space Age

Исаак Башевис Зингер

Born in the Russian Empire's Polish territories, won the Nobel Prize writing Yiddish stories of a vanished world

Израиль Гельфанд

Self-taught Ukrainian Jewish mathematician who became one of the 20th century's greatest algebraists

Иван Проворов

Yaroslavl-born NHL defenceman and Columbus Blue Jackets cornerstone

Дж. Б. Прицкер

Governor of Illinois whose great-grandfather emigrated from Kyiv and built the Hyatt hotel empire

Дж. Дж. Абрамс

Creator of Lost and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens — grandfather emigrated from Russia

Джек Бенни

The comedian's comedian — his parents emigrated from Poland and Russia to build America's greatest comedy legacy

Джек Блэк

Tenacious D rocker and comedic force whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Джек Кёрби

Son of Austrian-Russian Jewish immigrants who co-created Captain America, the Fantastic Four and the Marvel Universe

Джек Уорнер

Born to Russian-Empire parents in Canada, became the longest-serving Warner Brother and Hollywood royalty

Джеки Мэйсон

Minsk-descended stand-up comedian who became Broadway's greatest Jewish comic voice

Яков Маршак

Kyiv-born economist who founded econometrics and shaped modern economic science

Джейк Джилленхол

Hollywood star whose mother Naomi Foner has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Якоб Дилан

The Wallflowers frontman and son of Bob Dylan, whose Odessa-born grandparents fuel one of music's greatest legacies

Джеймс Франко

Oscar-nominated actor and polymath whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Ян Кум

From Soviet Kyiv to a $19B messaging empire

Джанет Йеллен

US Treasury Secretary and first female Fed Chair — her father emigrated from the Russian Empire's Polish territories

Януш Камински

Polish-born cinematographer who shot Schindler's List and became Spielberg's visual eye

Джаред Полис

Governor of Colorado — his grandparents fled Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire to build an American family

Яша Хейфец

Born in Vilnius, became the greatest violinist of the 20th century — possibly of all time

Джейсон Александер

George Costanza on Seinfeld — his parents have Russian-Jewish roots from the Pale of Settlement

Джейсон Райтман

Director of Juno and Up in the Air — son of Ivan Reitman, grandson of Czech-Russian Jewish refugees

Джейсон Сигел

How I Met Your Mother star and Muppets writer with Russian-Jewish roots on his father's side

Джефф Голдблюм

Jurassic Park icon whose grandparents came from Russia and Austria-Hungary

Джеффри Тэмбор

Arrested Development and Transparent star with Hungarian-Ukrainian Jewish ancestry

Дженнифер Коннелли

Oscar-winning actress whose mother carries Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Дженнифер Джейсон Ли

The Hateful Eight actress with Austrian-Russian Jewish roots through her mother's family

Дженни Слейт

SNL comedian and Obvious Child star with Russian-Jewish roots on her father's side

Джерри Сайнфелд

The greatest stand-up comedian of his generation — his father's family came from Ukraine and Hungary

Джерри Стиллер

Father of Ben Stiller and Seinfeld's Frank Costanza — his family came from Galicia and the Russian Empire

Ежи Нейман

Born in Bendery, Russian Empire — the statistician who invented the confidence interval and modern hypothesis testing

Джим Дауни

The most influential writer in Saturday Night Live history — with Russian heritage

Джоан Риверс

Brooklyn comedian with Russian-Jewish parents who became the queen of American stand-up

Хоакин Феникс

Oscar-winning actor whose mother Arlyn Dunetz has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Джои Рамон

Queens-born punk icon whose mother Charlotte Mandell has Russian-Jewish roots

Джон Гарфилд

The Bronx's great Russian-Jewish actor who invented the working-class screen hero and was destroyed by McCarthy

Джон Бон Джови

New Jersey rock legend with partial Russian ancestry on his mother's side

Джон Стюарт

The Daily Show host whose family name was Leibowitz — grandparents came from Poland and Ukraine

Джона Хилл

Superbad star and Oscar-nominated actor whose family traces to Russia and Austria

Джонас Солк

Son of Lithuanian-Belarusian Jewish immigrants who developed the polio vaccine and refused to patent it

Джонатан Сафран Фоер

Everything Is Illuminated author whose grandparents fled Poland and Russia — he went back to find what they left behind

Иосиф Бродский

Leningrad poet expelled by the Soviets who became America's Poet Laureate and won the Nobel Prize

Джозеф Гордон-Левитт

Inception and 500 Days of Summer star whose grandparents came from Russia and Romania

Джозеф Шенк

Born in Rybinsk — became one of Hollywood's founding fathers and co-founded 20th Century Fox

Джош Гробан

Multi-platinum tenor with Polish-Russian Jewish roots who became America's classical-pop crossover star

Джуди Гарланд

Born Frances Gumm — her parents came from Russia and Poland, she became Hollywood's most beloved star

Джулиана Маргулис

ER and The Good Wife Emmy winner with Galician-Russian Jewish roots

Карина Смирнофф

Kharkiv-born ballroom champion and Dancing with the Stars professional dancer

Кэт Деннингс

2 Broke Girls star with Russian-Jewish immigrant grandparents

Кейт Хадсон

Almost Famous Oscar nominee whose grandmother Laura Steinhoff has Hungarian-Russian Jewish roots

Кеннет Эрроу

Nobel-winning economist with Romanian-Russian roots who proved markets can't be perfectly rational

Кевин Клайн

Oscar-winning actor whose father had Russian-Jewish roots and whose comedy is pure immigrant wit

Кирилл Капризов

Novokuznetsk sniper who became the Minnesota Wild's all-time leading scorer

Комар и Меламид

Moscow conceptual art duo who invented Sots Art, emigrated to New York, and turned democracy into a painting

Кайра Седжвик

Emmy-winning The Closer star whose mother has Russian and German-Jewish roots

Лана Вуд

Natalie Wood's sister — born to Russian immigrant parents, played a Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever

Ларри Файн

The Three Stooges' middle Stooge — son of Russian-Jewish immigrants from Philadelphia

Ларри Кинг

Brooklyn broadcaster with Belarusian-Austrian Jewish roots who interviewed every world leader for 25 years

Лорен Бэколл

The sultry voice and the Look — Hollywood icon whose parents came from Romania and Belarus

Ли Дж. Кобб

The original Willy Loman — Russian-Romanian Jewish actor who defined American theatrical realism

Ли Филипс

American actor and director with Russian Empire Jewish roots

Ли Страсберг

Born in Ukrainian Galicia, invented Method Acting and taught Brando, Dean, Pacino, and De Niro

Ленни Брюс

Brooklyn comedian with Russian-Jewish roots who died for free speech and reinvented stand-up

Леонард Бернстайн

America's maestro, born of the Pale's diaspora

Леонард Нимой

The son of Iziaslav who became Spock

Леонид Гурвич

Moscow-born economist who won the Nobel Prize at 90 for inventing mechanism design theory

Леонид Радвинский

Odessa-born tech entrepreneur who owns OnlyFans and built a $2 billion content empire

Леопольд Ауэр

Hungarian-born violin teacher who trained Heifetz, Milstein and Zimbalist — the greatest pedagogue in history

Лера Ауэрбах

Chelyabinsk-born composer and pianist who became one of the most performed living composers in the world

Лев Горн

Stavropol-born actor who became a fixture of American film and television

Льюис Майлстоун

Born in Chisinau (Moldova), directed All Quiet on the Western Front — the greatest anti-war film ever made

Лекс Фридман

Moscow-born mind mapping the AI frontier

Лив Шрайбер

Ray Donovan star whose mother has Ukrainian-Polish Jewish roots — one of Hollywood's finest actors

Лиза Боне

Cosby Show breakout star whose mother has Russian-Jewish ancestry

Лиза Эдельштейн

House MD's Dr. Cuddy — her Russian-Jewish grandparents shaped a family of achievers

Лиза Кудроу

Phoebe Buffay on Friends — her grandmother came from Ilya, Belarus (Russian Empire)

Литл Биг

St. Petersburg rave-pop collective who created gypsy punk anthems and nearly won Eurovision with UNO

Лайза Минелли

EGOT winner and Cabaret icon whose grandmother came from Russia and Poland

Логан Лерман

Percy Jackson star whose family traces Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Лу Рид

Walk on the Wild Side — his parents came from the Russian Empire's Jewish communities

Луис Б. Майер

Born in Minsk, built MGM into the most powerful studio in Hollywood history

Луис Лепке

Brooklyn gangster with Russian-Jewish roots who ran Murder Inc. — and went to the electric chair

Мадлен Олбрайт

First female US Secretary of State — her family fled Nazi Europe, with roots in Russian-ruled Jewish communities

Мэгги Джилленхол

Secretary actress and The Deuce star whose mother Naomi Foner has Russian-Jewish roots

Максим Чмерковский

Odessa-born ballroom champion who became Dancing with the Stars' most beloved bad boy

Максим Покровский

Moscow rock frontman — lead singer of Nogu Svelo, Russia's most beloved quirky rock band

Мэн Рэй

Born Emmanuel Radnitsky in Philadelphia to parents from Kyiv and Minsk — became Surrealism's greatest photographer

Мэнди Мур

This Is Us star and pop singer whose maternal grandfather has Russian-Jewish roots

Мэнди Патинкин

Inigo Montoya and Saul Berenson — his grandparents came from Lithuania and Russia

Марк Бениофф

Salesforce founder whose grandfather Isaac came from Kyiv — built a $200 billion cloud empire

Марк Ласри

Moroccan-born distressed-debt billionaire with Eastern European Jewish heritage who co-owned the Milwaukee Bucks

Мария Успенская

Born in Tula, brought Stanislavski's Method to America and trained the golden age of Hollywood actors

Мария Шарапова

Siberian-born icon who conquered global tennis

Марк Кьюбан

Billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner whose grandparents came from Russia via the Chabenisky family

Марк Ротко

From Dvinsk to the sublime: Rothko's color fields

Марина Линчук

Minsk-born Victoria's Secret Angel who became one of the world's top supermodels

Мэтью Бродерик

Ferris Bueller actor whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Мэттью Вайнер

Mad Men creator with Russian-Jewish roots who gave American TV its greatest portrait of the 1960s

Макс Фактор

Born in Zdunska Wola (Russian Empire), invented modern makeup and built Hollywood's most famous cosmetics brand

Макс Левчин

PayPal co-founder who coded his way from Kyiv to Silicon Valley

Майя Рудольф

SNL star whose father Richard Rudolph has Lithuanian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Майим Бялик

Big Bang Theory and Blossom actress with Ukrainian-Polish Jewish roots who also has a PhD in neuroscience

Мел Брукс

Brooklyn comedy genius whose mother came from Kyiv — created Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and The Producers

Мелвин Кэлвин

Son of Lithuanian-Georgian Jewish immigrants who won the Nobel Prize for mapping photosynthesis

Мелвин Дуглас

Son of a Riga-born concert pianist — twice Academy Award-winning Hollywood legend

Меррик Гарланд

US Attorney General and almost-Supreme Court Justice — his grandparents fled the Russian Empire's pogroms

Мейер Гуггенхайм

Born in Lengnau, Switzerland — founded the dynasty that built the Guggenheim Museums

Мейер Лански

Born in Grodno, became the Mob's Accountant — the financial genius behind American organised crime

Майкл Болтон

How Am I Supposed to Live Without You — his family name was Bolotin, from Russian-Jewish immigrants

Майкл Шейбон

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist whose family traces Lithuanian and Russian Jewish roots

Михаил Чехов

Anton Chekhov's nephew — born in St. Petersburg, trained Hollywood's greatest actors in his Method

Майкл Делл

Founded Dell at 19 in his college dorm — his family name was Tal, changed from Russian-Jewish origins

Майкл Дуглас

Hollywood royalty, rooted in the Russian Empire

Майкл Дудикофф

American Ninja star whose father emigrated from Russia — an unexpected action hero of the 1980s

Майкл Корс

Fashion mogul whose mother Joan has Austrian-Russian Jewish roots — built a $10 billion luxury empire

Михаил Струков

Born in Yekaterinoslav — the aviation engineer who invented the assault glider and built Chase Aircraft

Михаил Фокин

Born in St. Petersburg — the choreographer who reformed ballet and created The Dying Swan for Pavlova

Микки Коэн

Born to Kyiv Jewish immigrants — became the most feared gangster in Los Angeles

Майк Николс

Born in Berlin, father from Siberia — the only person to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony AND the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Майк Тодд

Born to Ukrainian-Polish Jewish immigrants — the showman who made Around the World in 80 Days and married Elizabeth Taylor

Михаил Шемякин

Moscow-born artist who was expelled from the Soviet Union and befriended Vladimir Vysotsky in Paris

Михаил Сергачев

Nizhnekamsk-born NHL defenceman and two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning

Милла Йовович

Born in Kyiv, raised between Moscow and Los Angeles — became The Fifth Element and Resident Evil icon

Милтон Берл

Mr. Television — his parents came from Russia, he put America in front of TV sets

Милтон Фридман

Son of Ukrainian immigrants who won the Nobel Prize and became the most influential economist of the 20th century

Миша Ауэр

Born in St. Petersburg, became Hollywood's greatest comic supporting actor of the 1930s

Мо Далиц

Russian-Jewish bootlegger who built Las Vegas alongside Bugsy Siegel and became its most legitimate mogul

Мо Говард

The boss Stooge — born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents, the driving force behind The Three Stooges

Молли Пикон

The Queen of Second Avenue — her parents came from Kyiv, she became the greatest Yiddish theatre star in history

Монк Истман

Russian-Jewish gangster who ruled New York's Lower East Side and died a decorated WWI hero

Моррис Михтом

Born in Russia, invented the Teddy Bear — one of the most beloved toys in history

Мстислав Ростропович

Born in Baku — the greatest cellist in history, who played Bach as the Berlin Wall fell

Мюррей Букчин

New York anarchist thinker with Russian-Jewish roots whose ideas inspired the Kurdish revolution in Syria

Настя Люкин

Born in Moscow, became America's Olympic gymnastics all-around champion in Beijing 2008

Натали Вуд

Born to Russian immigrants from Barnaul — became one of Hollywood's greatest stars

Наташа Поли

Perm-born supermodel who became one of the world's most recognisable faces on the runway

Натан Мильштейн

Born in Odessa, trained by Auer and Ysaÿe — one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century

Натан Шварц

Born in Odessa — bought a failing Massachusetts boot company and built it into Timberland

Неемия Персофф

Jerusalem-born character actor with Russian-Jewish parents who became a Hollywood legend

Нил Даймонд

Sweet Caroline singer whose grandparents came from Russia and Poland — 130 million records sold

Нил Седака

Brooklyn pop genius with Russian-Turkish Jewish roots who wrote Laughter in the Rain and Calendar Girl

Николас Шенк

Born in Rybinsk alongside his brother Joseph — became president of MGM's parent company Loew's Inc.

Николь Шерзингер

Pussycat Dolls frontwoman whose Ukrainian grandfather gave her an unexpected Russian Empire connection

Никита Кучеров

Maykop sniper who became the NHL's greatest points-per-game player and two-time Stanley Cup champion

Нина Берберова

Born in St. Petersburg — émigré novelist who was rediscovered at 80 and became a literary sensation

Ноа Уайли

ER's Dr. Carter — his father Stephen Wyle has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Ноам Хомский

The exile's son who rewired linguistics

Норман Мейлер

Son of a Lithuanian-Russian Jewish immigrant father — two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and American literature's great pugilist

Оксана Баюл

Orphaned in Dnipro, became Olympic figure skating champion at 16 — Ukraine's greatest sporting moment

Олег Шардин

Russian-born co-founder of Miro — the collaborative whiteboard platform used by 60 million people

Олег Кассини

Born in Paris to a Russian diplomat family — became Jackie Kennedy's official couturier

Олег Тактаров

Born in secret Soviet nuclear city Sarov — became UFC champion and Hollywood actor

Олег Видов

Soviet heartthrob who defected from the USSR — became a Hollywood actor and freedom symbol

Ольга Фонда

Born in Ukhta, Komi Republic — Russian actress who built a Hollywood career in action and thriller films

Оскар Зариски

Born in Kobryn, Belarus — became one of the greatest algebraic geometers in history

Отто Преминджер

Born in Chernivtsi — the Hollywood director who fought censorship and made Anatomy of a Murder

Отто Струве

Born in Kharkiv into Russia's greatest astronomical dynasty — became America's foremost astronomer

Пинк (Алиша Мур)

Pop-rock superstar — her father's family has partial Eastern European Jewish roots

Паша Ковалёв

Siberian ballroom champion who became Strictly Come Dancing's most passionate professional dancer

Патрисия Аркетт

Oscar and Emmy winner whose mother Brenda has Polish-Russian Jewish roots

Пол Муни

Born in Lviv, became one of Hollywood's greatest actors and the conscience of 1930s cinema

Пол Рейзер

Mad About You star whose family came from Russia and Romania — a quintessential New York Jewish comedian

Пол Радд

Ant-Man and Clueless star whose parents came from Russia and Belarus — the most likeable man in Hollywood

Пол Самуэльсон

Son of Polish-Russian Jewish immigrants who became America's greatest economist and won the first US Nobel in Economics

Пол Саймон

Folk poet shaped by immigrant longing

Пол Стэнли

KISS co-founder whose father's family came from the Russian-partitioned territories of Poland

Пола Абдул

American Idol judge and pop star whose mother has Russian-Canadian Jewish roots

Павел Буре

The Russian Rocket — Moscow-born hockey superstar who was the NHL's most electrifying scorer

Павел Дацюк

Sverdlovsk magician who became the NHL's greatest two-way forward and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Пегги Гуггенхайм

Granddaughter of Meyer Guggenheim — became the greatest patron of modernist art in history

Питер Фальк

Columbo — his parents came from Russia and Poland, he became the most beloved detective on television

Питер Шукофф

Epic Rap Battles of History co-creator with Russian ancestry — YouTube's greatest comedy series

Филипп Кан

Paris-born tech pioneer whose mother was a Russian Jewish violinist — invented the camera phone

Питирим Сорокин

Born in Vologda, sentenced to death by Lenin, escaped to become Harvard's greatest sociologist

Раде Шербеджия

Croatian actor who plays the definitive Hollywood Russian — Eyes Wide Shut, Batman Begins, 24

Ральф Лорен

His parents came from Pinsk, Belarus — he invented the American dream as a fashion

Рашида Джонс

Parks and Recreation star whose great-grandfather came from Latvia (Russian Empire)

Рэд Баттонс

Oscar-winning comedian whose parents came from Russia — a Borscht Belt legend

Рид Хоффман

LinkedIn founder and PayPal Mafia member with Eastern European Jewish roots

Рене Обержонуа

Odo from Star Trek DS9 — his grandfather was a celebrated Russian-born painter

Ричард Фейнман

The quantum rebel whose roots ran to Minsk

Ричард Льюис

The prince of pain — his parents came from Russia and Romania, he turned neurosis into an art form

Ривер Феникс

Stand By Me actor whose maternal family had Russian-Jewish roots — died at 23 leaving an extraordinary legacy

Роальд Хоффманн

Born in Zolochiv, Ukraine — survived the Holocaust hiding in an attic, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Роб Райнер

Son of Carl Reiner — directed When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride, carries Russian-Jewish heritage

Роберт Дауни мл.

Iron Man forged from Empire-era roots

Роберт Солоу

Son of Brooklyn Jewish immigrants from Russia — won the Nobel Prize and defined modern growth economics

Родни Данджерфилд

He got no respect — his father left for Russia, his mother had Hungarian-Russian roots, he became comedy royalty

Роман Якобсон

Born in Moscow — the linguist who invented structuralism and transformed how we understand language

Розалин Ялоу

Granddaughter of Ukrainian-German Jewish immigrants who won the Nobel Prize for inventing radioimmunoassay

Розанна Аркетт

Desperately Seeking Susan star — shares Polish-Russian Jewish roots with sisters Patricia and David

Рубен Мамулян

Born in Tiflis — the Armenian-Georgian director who invented the moving camera and directed the first Technicolor film

Рудольф Абель

Born in England to Russian revolutionary parents — became the KGB's greatest illegal spy in America

Рут Бейдер Гинзбург

Her mother's parents came from Odessa — the Notorious RBG became America's most beloved Supreme Court Justice

Сэм Генновей

American author and urban planner with Russian-Lebanese roots who wrote the definitive books on Walt Disney

Сэм Рэйми

Evil Dead creator and Spider-Man director — his family came from Russia and Hungary

Сэмюэл Голдвин

Born Schmuel Gelbfisz in Warsaw — co-founded Hollywood itself and produced its golden age

Сэмюэл Земуррей

Born in Kishinev — the Banana Man who overthrew a Central American government and ran United Fruit

Сара Джессика Паркер

Sex and the City icon — her father Stephen Bar-Kahn carries Russian-Jewish heritage

Саша Алекс Слоан

Introspective American pop singer-songwriter whose first name honours Russian heritage

Саша Фарбер

Moscow-born Dancing with the Stars professional and fan favourite

Саша Лусс

Born in Magadan — the Russian Far East model who starred in Anna and became an international face

Саша Пивоварова

Moscow-born Prada muse and avant-garde supermodel who redefined the early 2000s runway

Сол Беллоу

His parents came from St. Petersburg — he won the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer and redefined the American novel

Савелий Крамаров

Moscow's most beloved comic actor who defected to Hollywood and starred alongside Clint Eastwood

Скарлетт Йоханссон

Hollywood titan with Russian Empire roots

Шон Пенн

Two-time Oscar winner whose grandfather came from Merkinė, Lithuania (Russian Empire) — one of Hollywood's greatest actors

Зельман Ваксман

Born in Nova Pryluka, Ukraine — discovered streptomycin and won the Nobel Prize, saving millions from tuberculosis

Семён Варламов

Samara-born NHL goaltender and Vezina Trophy finalist with the New York Islanders

Сергей Кусевицкий

Born in Vyshny Volochyok — the conductor who made the Boston Symphony Orchestra the greatest in America

Сергей Бобровский

Novokuznetsk-born goaltender — two-time Vezina Trophy winner and one of the NHL's greatest netminders

Сергей Довлатов

Born in Ufa, failed to publish a single story in the USSR — then became America's most beloved Russian voice

Сергей Фёдоров

Pskov-born genius who became the greatest two-way forward in NHL history and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Сергей Прокофьев

Born in Donetsk — composed Peter and the Wolf, Romeo and Juliet, and returned to Stalin's USSR to his doom

Сергей Рахманинов

Born near Novgorod — the composer whose Second Piano Concerto is the most romantic music ever written

Сергей Зубов

Moscow-born defenceman — one of the most offensively gifted blueliners in NHL history and two-time Stanley Cup champion

Шеки Грин

Las Vegas comedy legend whose parents came from Russia — the greatest improvisational comedian of his era

Шелдон Адельсон

His father came from Lithuania and Ukraine — the casino mogul who became America's most powerful political donor

Шемп Говард

The original third Stooge — his Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents also raised Moe and Curly

Шолом-Алейхем

Born in Pereyaslav, Ukraine — the Mark Twain of Yiddish literature whose Tevye the Dairyman became Fiddler on the Roof

Сид Сизер

His parents came from Poland and Russia — the TV comedy genius who launched Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Carl Reiner

Сидни Люмет

Son of Warsaw-born actor Baruch Lumet — directed 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network

Саймон Кузнец

Born in Pinsk, Belarus — invented GDP and won the Nobel Prize for measuring economic growth

Вячеслав Фетисов

Moscow-born captain of the Soviet hockey dynasty who defected, won the Stanley Cup, and became Russia's sports minister

Слава Рубин

Born in Minsk — co-founded Indiegogo and pioneered the global crowdfunding industry

София Кенин

Moscow-born WTA star who won the Australian Open at age 21 and represented the USA

Соломон Хурок

Born in Pogar, Russia — became America's greatest impresario and brought Russian culture to the world

Соня Таюрская

Irkutsk-born Little Big member who became an unlikely international pop star

Софи Такер

Born in Tulchyn, Ukraine — the Last of the Red-Hot Mamas and one of the original American pop stars

Стэн Гетц

His parents came from Kyiv — the Sound became the most beautiful saxophone tone in jazz history

Стэн Ли

The immigrant's son who built Marvel's universe

Стелла Адлер

Born in New York to Odessa-born Yiddish theatre king Jacob Adler — taught Brando, De Niro and Beatty

Степан Пачиков

Born in Azerbaijan — pioneered handwriting recognition software and co-founded Evernote

Степан Тимошенко

Born in Chernihiv, Ukraine — the father of engineering mechanics and the most important engineer of the 20th century

Стив Балмер

His father's family came from Pinsk, Belarus — became Microsoft CEO and owns the LA Clippers

Стивен Сигал

Action star with claimed Russian Cossack ancestry who became a Russian citizen and Putin ally

Самнер Редстоун

His father came from Russia — built Viacom, CBS, and MTV into the world's largest media empire

Сюзанна Хоффс

The Bangles frontwoman with Russian-Jewish roots — Eternal Flame and Walk Like an Egyptian

Тад Шульц

Warsaw-born New York Times journalist who covered the Bay of Pigs and became one of America's greatest foreign correspondents

Тамара де Лемпицка

Born in Warsaw — the Art Deco queen whose portraits of the jet set defined the glamour of the 1920s

Татьяна Патиц

Hamburg-born supermodel of Baltic-Russian origin — one of the original five supermodels of the 1990s

Татьяна Проскурякофф

Born in Tomsk, Siberia — the archaeologist who cracked the Maya code and transformed ancient history

Татьяна Толстая

Leningrad-born writer and TV host — great-grandniece of Leo Tolstoy and Russia's sharpest satirical voice

Тейлор Момзен

Gossip Girl actress turned rock frontwoman — her maternal grandmother has Russian Jewish roots

Теодор Бикель

Born in Vienna to Ukrainian Jewish parents — the original Tevye on Broadway and one of folk music's great voices

Теодор Кослофф

Born in Moscow — the Imperial Ballet dancer who became Cecil B. DeMille's choreographer and silent film star

Феодосий Добжанский

Born in Nemyriv, Ukraine — the geneticist who unified Darwin and Mendel and founded modern evolutionary biology

Тимоти Шаламе

Hollywood's poet-prince with Russian roots

Тимур Бекмамбетов

Born in Kazakhstan, directed Night Watch — the biggest Russian blockbuster ever — then conquered Hollywood

Тони Кёртис

Born to Hungarian-Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire — starred in Some Like It Hot and became Hollywood royalty

Тоути Филдс

Her parents came from Russia — the stand-up comedian who defined self-deprecating comedy before Joan Rivers

Тиа Леони

Madam Secretary actress whose mother has Polish-Russian Jewish roots

Валентин Чмерковский

Odessa-born ballroom champion and Dancing with the Stars fan favourite — Maksim's brother

Вэл Килмер

Top Gun's Iceman and Batman — his paternal grandmother had Russian-Swedish roots

Вэл Льютон

Born in Yalta — the producer who invented psychological horror and made RKO's greatest films

Валентин Гапонцев

Moscow physicist who founded IPG Photonics — the world's largest fibre laser company

Валентина Шевченко

Bishkek-born UFC flyweight queen with Soviet athletic roots — one of MMA's all-time greats

Валентина Зеляева

Born in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia — the supermodel from Siberia's Buddhist heartland who walked for Chanel and Prada

Валерий Буре

Pavel Bure's younger brother — NHL forward and husband of figure skater Candace Cameron

Валерий Люкин

Born in Aktobe, Kazakhstan — Soviet Olympic champion who trained his daughter Nastia to Olympic gold

Валерий Ничушкин

Chelyabinsk sniper who became a Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner with Colorado

Вик Морроу

Combat! star whose parents came from the Russian Empire — the quintessential TV tough guy

Виталий Здоровецкий

Влада Рослякова

Born in Omsk, Siberia — became one of the world's top supermodels and a Chanel muse

Владимир Горовиц

Born in Berdychiv, Ukraine — the greatest pianist of the 20th century, who fled Russia with Nathan Milstein in 1925

Владимир Ипатьев

Born in Moscow — the chemist who invented high-octane aviation fuel and enabled the Allied air forces to win WWII

Владимир Набоков

Exiled genius who reinvented the English novel

Владимир Тарасенко

Yaroslavl sniper who became one of the NHL's most electrifying goal-scorers with the St. Louis Blues

Владимир Воеводский

Born in Moscow — won the Fields Medal for work so abstract it reshaped the foundations of mathematics

Владимир Зворыкин

Born in Murom — the father of television, who invented the iconoscope and kinescope

Владислав Намесников

Volgograd-born NHL forward who has played for multiple teams across a decade in the league

Уоллес Шоун

The Princess Bride's Vizzini — his Russian-Jewish grandfather shaped a playwright who became Hollywood's most quotable villain

Уолтер Кёниг

Chekov on Star Trek — his parents came from Lithuania and the Russian Empire

Уолтер Маттау

Born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents on the Lower East Side — Oscar winner and the grumpiest genius in Hollywood

Братья Уорнер

Born in Krasnosielc, Poland (Russian Empire) — the four brothers who built Hollywood's most socially conscious studio

Василий Леонтьев

Born in St. Petersburg — won the Nobel Prize for input-output analysis, the model governments use to run economies

Вакси Гордон

Уильям Фокс

Уильям Фридкин

His grandfather came from Russia — the director of The Exorcist and The French Connection

Уильям Пейли

His parents fled Russia — he built CBS into America's most powerful broadcast network

Вуди Аллен

Brooklyn neurosis rooted in Pale of Settlement grit

Ксения Дели

Яков Синай

Born in Moscow — won the Abel Prize for transforming ergodic theory and the mathematics of chaos

Яков Смирнофф

Born in Odessa — the comedian who turned being a Soviet immigrant into America's best-loved joke

Иегуди Менухин

His parents came from Gomel and Crimea — he became the greatest violinist of his generation and a human rights champion

Йип Харбург

Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side — wrote Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Brother Can You Spare a Dime

Зак Эфрон

High School Musical star whose grandfather has Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Зеппо Маркс

The 'straight man' Marx Brother — his parents came from Alsace and the Russian Empire

Зиро Мостел

His parents came from Brody, Galicia — the original Tevye AND the original Max Bialystock

Зои Кравиц

Hollywood heir with roots in the Russian Empire

Стивен Тайлер

Aerosmith frontman, roots in Belarusian shtetl

Александр Солженицын

The conscience of Russia, forged in the Gulag.

Михаил Лукин

Moscow-born Harvard physics professor — one of the world's leading quantum computing scientists

Феликс Зандман

Survived the Holocaust hidden in a pit for 17 months — then built Vishay Intertechnology, one of the world's largest electronics companies

Александр Тамас

Post-Soviet-born Silicon Valley tech investor — backed SpaceX and co-founded Vy Capital

Никита Кан

Russian-born philanthropist and real estate developer — partner of Oracle founder Larry Ellison

Артём Милинчук

Post-Soviet-born founder of FarmTogether — pioneering digital farmland investment for ultra-high-net-worth individuals