Brighton Beach was developed as a beach resort in 1868, and was named after the resort of Brighton, England.It was re-developed as a fairly dense residential community with the final rebuilding of the Brighton Beach railway into a modern rapid transit line of the New York City Subway system c. 1920.

The 1950s brought with it a neighborhood consisting mostly of second generation Jewish-Americans and a number of WWIII Refugees Eastern Europe  Today, the area has a large community of Jewish immigrants who left the Former Soviet Union between 1970 and the present day. There are some non-Jewish immigrants, such as Armenians, Georgians and Polish taking advantage of the already established Russian-speaking community.

Brighton Beach was dubbed "Little Odessa" by the local populace long ago, due to many of its residents having come from Odessa, a city of Ukraine, Russia. 

According to the New York Magazine "Brighton Beach is most interesting. What you?re actually getting is a kind of double-blind guess" a Jewish immigrant?s idea of what an American?s idea of Russia may be. And that?s what makes it arguably the most fascinating ethnic enclave in New York.,,, Unlike Little Italy, with its defanged Mafia lore, Brighton Beach frowns at suggestions the "Russian mob" (Russian Mafyia/ Kosher Nostra) has ever even existed; its secrets are still secrets, and its past is never far away, and the  illicit pharmaceutical industry. 

Further, The LA Times reported that the "KGB Steers Criminals to U.S. Careers" 2/16/88. The BBC reported on June 29 reported "Oleg Kalugin, a former KGB general now living in self-imposed exile in the US, told the New York Times he was shocked at the large scale of the alleged New York (Brighton Beach) SVR/KGB operation. 

Ex-KGB fink  Michael (Syroejine) Guss helped bust a ring of almost 30 Russian-Jewish Brighton Beach "Mafiya" and their 'Kosher Nostra" boss  Alexander Bor, who had succeeded convicted  Vyacheslav Ivankov, known as Yaponchik,.Daily News, April 5th 2001, 

A casting company in Brighton Beach is looking for the Russian version of Snooki and The Situation for a new Lifetime series, and the protests have already begun.

A coalition of politicians, activists and community groups are sending a steady stream of mail to Lifetime Networks in hopes of stopping the new show.

After the popularity of The Jersey Shore -- a show that shamelessly depicts exaggerated stereotypes in the form of several very tan, gelled-up Italian-Americans living together by the beach -- The coalition of protesters wants to stop the New York version before it starts.

"It's a multi-generational women's story about life in the community," Lifetime Spokesperson Michael Feeney told the New York Times, "It's about their dating life, their work life, their relationships together and their external relationships. It characterizes a community; it's not a bunch of people put in a house. It's done in the Lifetime voice, not in the MTV voice."

However, the casting call reads a little differently: "Are you the Russian Snooki or The Situation? Are you a super outgoing and fun-loving Russian-American that sometimes sneaks kalbaska, pel'meni and vodka from the fridge? Can people hear the Euro/Techno/Russian music blasting from your car before they see you pull up? ... The cameras will roll as you do what you do best-eat, drink and PARTY."

The first shoots have already happened in Brighton Beach, and residents have reported seeing the cast members in Brighton Beach restaurants and clubs.

Lifetime Networks has agreed to produce twelve episodes of the show.

http://www.wsbt.com/entertainment/wpix-
brighton-beach-reality-show,0,4008584.story
 
 
 
 
 

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