Journey Of Faith Building Bridges To The Future Will The Next Generation Preserve Russian Heritage?

For Americans, the names Vadim, Tanya, Tatiana and Alexey summon images of fur hats, summer dachas and Omar Sharif and Julie Christie in “Dr. Zhivago.” They’re exotic and beautiful.

But the names seem old-fashioned to Vera Dudla, a high school senior and native Ukrainian. When she marries and has children she will choose Jennifer and Brendan.

“I like American names better,” she says. “It’s something new.”

Uprooted from their homelands and replanted in Spokane, young Russians quickly become American.

The change is too rapid for some Russian adults, who worry their culture will evaporate.

The adults see it coming: If young Russians keep the Russian language, it will be more because the language will help them with their careers than because of pride in their culture.

Young Russians’ blue-collar ethos will diminish as they recognize that higher education is important to achieving what their American neighbors have. Some will move away from their strict religions and join American churches.

“We can see the trend,” says Siberian refugee Nicolai Chernyy, the father of five children. “A Russian person can get lost here.”

Parents react by insisting their children speak only Russian at home. They bristle at profanity, bad manners and disrespect for adults, which they see as the dark side of freedom in America.

“We don’t like the American idea that when a child turns 18 he is independent and can do whatever he wants,” says Russian pastor Alexandr Kaprian.

The fast pace of life here threatens even simple Russian manners such as bringing candy when visiting friends, or serving food to visitors.

“Many Russians are saying in America we stop being good friends; we are good acquaintances,” Chernyy says. “If you saw a person lying on the ground in Russia you would ask what is the matter. Here you don’t even approach. This is not right.

“One should have a Russian soul.”

Despite their parents’ fears, Russians in their teens and 20s say they will not discard all their traditions. They will choose among values learned at home and in the outside world.

Sergey Napelenok, 20, calls himself Russian-American. In one breath he worries his youngest siblings will forget the Russian language, in the next he grumbles that adults at a Russian church don’t like his trendy haircut.

“I will always be part of the Russian community, but I will go to an American church,” he says. Five years in the United States are a small part of his parents’ experience “but it’s one-fourth of my life.”

The Spokane Community College student wants to be an architect and “rebuild Spokane,” but many Russian young men he knows aren’t interested in college. They want to work, get married and “have a whole bunch of kids.”

The young women, however, may not be willing.

Yelena Pavlenko, 17, says America changed her view of women’s roles.

“In America, a woman can do what she wants to do. In Ukraine, the woman has to ask her husband.”

Tanya Pushkar, 17, appreciates more freedom. “All women here have more free time,” she says. “Most women in Ukraine come home from work and do the cooking and the washing. Here you can buy food at the store, put it in the microwave and do other stuff. It’s easier.”

Dudla, 18, isn’t sure she’ll marry a Russian. Her pastor says it’s OK for Russians to marry Americans as long as they’re Christians.

Some friendships between American and Russian teenagers have formed, but many Russian teens continue to seek one another as friends and future mates. Their parents disapprove of dating, so they go skating or to the park in groups, Russian teenagers say.

Young evangelical Russians will have smaller families than their parents did, community leaders predict. Birth control is becoming more accepted, although it is still a religious question, says Kaprian.

“Most are changing their minds. They read writings by American pastors who explain those things differently. I still don’t believe in killing our children with abortion, but there are other ways to plan a family.”

A few Russian teenagers will go to four-year colleges, but most want to attend community colleges or go straight to work. They have career goals in marketing, business, teaching and graphic design.

Many take vocational courses in construction trades, auto body repair and electronics.

“Everybody wants to make money,” says 16-year-old Aleksey Makhnov, whose goal is to own a business.

Russian churches will continue to exert a strong pull on young Russians, say several teenagers. American churches are too much like social clubs, they say.

“If you’re a serious Christian you are not going to change,” says Inna Rud, 15. “Some people don’t really care about religion. They come to church to see friends.”

To keep young Russians in the fold, churches will conduct services in both English and Russian. They may adopt more modern music, predicts Pavlenko, pianist at the Slavic Pentecostal Church.

This generation of Russians feels deep ties to their native countries and some discomfort with America, especially when their American peers question the refugees’ right to be here.

“In schools there are problems between Americans and immigrants,” says Pavlenko. “Some say immigrants shouldn’t have come. They should remember that some time ago, except for Indian people, their ancestors were immigrants too.”

Being Russian in America means fighting low self-esteem, Rud says.

“Sometimes I wish I would have been American,” she says. “But in 10 or 15 years, I know I will feel great about myself that I am from another country and know another language.”