Published June 25, 1999
Long-awaited spring brings sense of renewal to Russian Far East
The long Russian winter was yielding to spring this year, but Father David Means, who serves the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, wouldn’t take his long underwear off yet.
"It was a long, cold spring," said Father Means who was in Anchorage last week to renew his visa. "It was very windy, and there was ice in the bay for a long time."
Finally, June 8 dawned bright and warm and the thick-bearded priest shed his long johns.
On June 9, he put them back on.
Nevertheless, light and the traditional season of rebirth have replaced the dark winter in the Russian Far East, a winter well chronicled in the Anchorage media.
When people in Anchorage heard tales of people in small Russian villages faced with eating dogs and fearing that their heat supply might run out before the subzero temperatures did, they responded with an outpouring of goods and cash.
It was well used and much appreciated, Father Means said. "We continue to have people come up to us and express appreciation."
Through a program sponsored by the Municipality of Anchorage, people could purchase pre-packaged boxes of staples at local stores for shipment to the Russian Far East.
About 15,000 boxes were sent, many to Father Means and Father Michael Shields, who is from Palmer and well-known to Southcentral Alaskans.
The Archdiocese of Anchorage supports the two priests in Magadan and assists two Maryknoll priests in Khabarovsk and Sakhalin Island.
Church of the Nativity in Magadan, which administers cash donations made through the Russian Desk of the Archdiocese, has been able to help feed "thousands of people" through the generosity of donors here, Father Means said. And the assistance hasn’t been limited to Magadan.
"In the little village of Olya, four hundred individuals are receiving food packages for a four-month period."
The heat was never completely off this winter, although the city-owned utility continued to turn it down. But the constant fear and rumors took their toll.
"It was sort of the despair that we all tend to feel," said Father Means, especially "in the early winter when we didn’t know what to expect."
Then there was the electricity. For a couple of months, one part of the city after another would be dark for days, he said.
"One night, Father Mike and I went to deliver food to an apartment. The lights were all out and the stairwell was completely blackened. Imagine walking up those four flights of stairs, literally feeling our way along the walls."
This summer, hot water is available only two or three days a week and many continue to work without pay. The coming winter looks grim. "People have lost faith in Yeltsin," Father Means said.