The Russian-lipovans from Romania are believers of the old orthodox rite and are known in the whole world under the name of „old believers” (“of old belief”) or “old rite believers” (“of old rite”). The religious schism which took place in Russia in the 17th century and the persecution that was unleashed against those who opposed the reform, determined hundreds of thousand of Russian old believers to leave their homeland and migrate to different corners of the world. Many old believers settled down beginning with the 18th century on the Romanian territory, being known here under the name of lipovans.

It is unanimously appreciated that the settling of the Russian-lipovans in the present geographical zones where they live now, took place during the 18th century, but it is hard to specify the regions from Russia where they came from. The transit habitats known are the Don and Kuban, where the old believers from all the provinces of Russia took refuge and a part of them left for Romanian territories.