With the Sochi Winter Olympic Games less than a week away, all eyes are on Russia.
Russophiles in New York can get a taste of the Motherland in Little Odessa, an insular neighborhood just blocks from Brooklyn's Brighton Beach boardwalk that's a perfect microcosm of the former Soviet Union.
Once a summer getaway for wealthy New Yorkers, Brighton Beach saw an influx of Jewish immigrants escaping Facism and Nazism in Europe around the time of World War II. The 1970s brought a second wave of Ukrainian Jews from the time the Soviet Union relaxed its immigration policies, through its dissolution.
The neighborhood was filled with young families once again, and it became known as "Little Odessa," after the port city on the Black Sea.
Today, the culture thrives in its odd shops, food emporiums serving traditional delicacies, and colorful, Russian-speaking characters.
Brighton Beach is located in the southernmost part of Brooklyn. It's one of the last stops on the Q line headed to Coney Island.
The main strip, Brighton Beach Avenue, sits under a subway trestle. It's lined with boutiques, grocery stores, restaurants, and salons.
Everyone seems to speak Russian. It's the dominant language used on signs and in conversation.
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