City in eastern Washington state has become home to many Russians and Ukrainians

SPOKANE (Washington), May 23 – Eric Miller bakes 90 loaves of bread each day in a bakery named Mariupol after his hometown, and many who buy his bread are among 200 residents in and around Spokane who also are from the city in Ukraine on the coast of the Sea of Azov. From 1990 to 2000, the number of people of Russian or Ukrainian ancestry more than quadrupled in Spokane, a city on the high desert plain in eastern Washington close to the border with Idaho. In Spokane County, the number of Russians and Ukrainians more than doubled, U.S. Census data showed. “We live here, we are part of the community,” said Alexandr Kaprian, Miller’s brother-in-law and one of the first Mariupol residents to settle in Spokane. “In order for our children to have a better future, we need to educate others about who we are and why we came.”

The 2000 Census found more than 4,900 people of Russian or Ukrainian ancestry in Spokane, compared with some 1,000 in 1990. In Spokane County – which includes the city of Spokane – they numbered more than 7,700 in the latest census. People of Russian and Ukrainian ancestry now make up 2.5 percent of Spokane’s population and nearly 2 percent of the county’s.

Members of the Slavic community contend the number of people from former Soviet republics is much higher. They say the census asked for only Russian or Ukrainian ancestry, and many people who speak Russian but came from former socialist republics such as Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Uzbekistan may have been misidentified or lumped as “other” in the count. It’s also likely that thousands more didn’t respond because they don’t speak English, said Gregori Senchenko, who immigrated from Ukraine as a teen-ager in 1989.

A history of Soviet oppression also could have intimidated some families from replying to the census, said Miller, who also left Mariupol in 1989. “It’s that KGB heritage,” he said. “They’re scared. If they can hide, they will.” Many of the new residents came to escape religious persecution and poverty, choosing Spokane for its relatively mild climate, affordable cost of living and the strength of its Russian-speaking churches. “It’s better here because I have enough food for my kids,” said Nadia Chekulayev, a mother of seven and former Mariupol resident. “We are happy in Spokane.”

The growing immigrant population inevitably takes a toll on charities, schools and social services. About 15 percent to 18 percent of low-income families who come to Mission Community Outreach Center in northeast Spokane are of Russian or Ukrainian descent, said Walter Shields, the executive director. Elena Solodyankin, who moved to Spokane 11 years ago from Kyrgyzstan, said coming to a new country presents a variety of challenges. “We need more time to adjust, to learn another culture and language. … It’s not easy to start a new life,” said Solodyankin, who will earn a master’s degree this spring.

Svitlana Sharkevych, a native of Ukraine and a mother of three, said she quickly found she needed to study English to survive. She is among more than 700 adults from the former Soviet republics who enroll in free English courses each year at the Institute for Extended Learning.

The influx of Slavic peoples is having its effect on Spokane. Public agencies now publish some pamphlets in Russian, and community newspapers printed in the Cyrillic alphabet have become widespread. Teachers, police, social workers and many others are required to study Slavic culture, and eight Spokane-area churches serve people who worship in Russian.

At the city’s East Valley High School, last year’s beauty queen for the annual lilac festival was Natalya Litoshyk, who was born in Kyrgyzstan.