6/9/13 - A drive to Kilolaevsk Village
The Yakunin clan was much smaller in 1968 when they started building a Russian Orthodox village called Nikolaevsk in an isolated corner of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula just outside Anchor Point.
Members of the Old Believers, a Russian Orthodox sect that left the church in 1666, in the face of state-issued church reforms, traveled more than 20,000 miles over five centuries in the search for the perfect place to protect their traditions from outside influences. And finally found it in Alaska.
They lived in tents the first few months, while everyone pitched in to build the first few homes and buildings. In the beginning, the community tried to live a subsistence lifestyle, harvesting their own vegetables. There was a gate to the community that reinforced the self-isolation they were seeking.
Now, in 2013, Nikolaevsk remains a small village of about 350 people. Eligible bachelors must leave the tiny village to look for a bride. The women wear teal, pink, red, and purple satin dresses, all made with the same basic design that covers their bodies down to their ankles. Married women cover their hair with scarves that match their colorful gowns.
Because of fishing and their ability to adapt, the Yakunin Clan lives comfortably and are able to afford large boats and trucks.
The community didn't have a priest when they arrived in Alaska in 1970. They had lived without clergy since the reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church. With their newfound freedom in the United States, this community had the means to look for a priest as they were longing for a leader. In 1983, they traveled to Romania, found a bishop, and deemed him worthy to ordain the group's first new priest in over 300 years.
This created a huge controversy, another split within their small society. The new priest and his followers built a traditional onion-domed church across the street from the more humble priestless church in Nikolaevsk, where those suspicious of the blasphemous ordaining continued to congregate. In 1985, the priestless church burned to the ground, leaving nothing but a mound of ash.
Visiting Nikolaevsk was like stepping back in time.
Read MoreMembers of the Old Believers, a Russian Orthodox sect that left the church in 1666, in the face of state-issued church reforms, traveled more than 20,000 miles over five centuries in the search for the perfect place to protect their traditions from outside influences. And finally found it in Alaska.
They lived in tents the first few months, while everyone pitched in to build the first few homes and buildings. In the beginning, the community tried to live a subsistence lifestyle, harvesting their own vegetables. There was a gate to the community that reinforced the self-isolation they were seeking.
Now, in 2013, Nikolaevsk remains a small village of about 350 people. Eligible bachelors must leave the tiny village to look for a bride. The women wear teal, pink, red, and purple satin dresses, all made with the same basic design that covers their bodies down to their ankles. Married women cover their hair with scarves that match their colorful gowns.
Because of fishing and their ability to adapt, the Yakunin Clan lives comfortably and are able to afford large boats and trucks.
The community didn't have a priest when they arrived in Alaska in 1970. They had lived without clergy since the reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church. With their newfound freedom in the United States, this community had the means to look for a priest as they were longing for a leader. In 1983, they traveled to Romania, found a bishop, and deemed him worthy to ordain the group's first new priest in over 300 years.
This created a huge controversy, another split within their small society. The new priest and his followers built a traditional onion-domed church across the street from the more humble priestless church in Nikolaevsk, where those suspicious of the blasphemous ordaining continued to congregate. In 1985, the priestless church burned to the ground, leaving nothing but a mound of ash.
Visiting Nikolaevsk was like stepping back in time.
Anchor River
Mike's son, David and Mike along the Anchor River
Mike's son, David and Susan along the Anchor River
Driving into Nikoleavsky
St. Nicholas Church in Nikoleavsky
House in Nikoleavsky
Walking to church in Nikoleavsky
Walking to church in Nikoleavsky