[Wildgoose]

I know both usages, and as an Englishman I am a native English speaker. However, I would agree that the most common usage would be the non-Red opponents of the communistic takeover of Russia in the early 1920s. Isn't the cocktail named as a direct reference to these people?

[shakow]

I don't think so, they're Belgian IIRC? I think “Russian” is just for the vodka base, and black/white for without/with cream.