Russians drawn to misty valley

KENDALL, Wash. -- Peaceful Valley, a hamlet in the misty foothills of the northern Cascades, might have faded away years ago if the Russians hadn't started coming.

Now, the community has a higher concentration of people of Russian descent than anywhere else in America, according to the 2000 census. Nearly a quarter of Peaceful Valley's 2,579 residents reported Russian ancestry.

"I feel comfortable here," said Nadia Lagutochkin, who teaches English as a second language at the elementary school, where posters in the hallways spell out common Russian phrases.

She is among the many Russian immigrants who settled in this former logging community during the 1990s, drawn by cheap housing and strong churches.

Like Lagutochkin, many are fundamentalist Christians who fled what they regarded as the stifling influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Their status as refugees allowed them to bypass U.S. immigration quotas.

At Kendall Elementary, one-third of the 600 students speak Russian, according to principal Stephen Merz. A Russian Pentecostal Church rents the auditorium for services, which draw about 400 people.

'I like everything'

School bus driver Alex Tikhonov moved to the Peaceful Valley area seven years ago for the church and the close-knit, rural atmosphere.

"I could see that it's hard to grow good kids in big areas like Seattle," said Tikhonov, who has six children, ages 6 to 17. Here, 2 1/2 hours north of Seattle, he can count on his neighbors to let him know if his children get into mischief.

He was also able to afford land and a doublewide mobile home, accomplishing his goal of becoming a homeowner. The median home value in Peaceful Valley in 2000 was $107,800. Fifty-seven percent of the homes are mobile homes.

He said his fellow bus drivers, who nicknamed him "Axle" because he also worked as a mechanic, have made him feel welcome.

"I got to tell you, I like everything," Tikhonov said.