The first to leave Russia deserted it in 1917, when the Revolution broke out and chaos prevailed. This is the first wave of emigration. The second wave takes place at the end of the Second World War:many Soviet citizens leave the USSR. In the 1970s, after the creation of the state of Israel, Russian Jews obtained permission to emigrate there:this was the third wave of Soviet emigration.
We speak of emigrants when in reality they are Soviet exiles. Indeed, while some chose to leave the country, others were undeniably in danger and had to flee. Although convinced that they would return quickly, they saw the USSR grow and the Bolsheviks remain in power.
Francophone authors, writing in French, such as Elsa Triolet, Joseph Kessel, or Nathalie Sarraute, represent Russian emigrants who have adopted the language of their host country. Vladimir Nobokov is also a Soviet immigrant adopting a new language. He writes Lolita in English, for lack of Russian-speaking readers. The emigrant readership does not have the means to support its writers. We are talking about Russia beyond the border. Its representatives are also convinced of having taken with them the Russian culture before the Bolshevik revolution, as well as the Orthodox religion. Other writers, like Boris Zaitsev, wanted to stay in the Soviet Union to fight Bolshevism, then end up outside their country to stay alive.