Two Russian men from Chukotka arrived on a 16-foot fishing vessel at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island in October in an attempt to avoid being draft to fight in Ukraine.
After three months of detention, they were released in Washington earlier this month. Charlie McCann (a feature writer at The Economist’s longform magazine 1843), caught up to them.
McCann wrote a detailed account about why escaped Russia and how they sought asylum in the United States. She also includes two men whose lives are familiar to Alaskans in her story.
Listen:
This transcript has been lightly edited to improve clarity.
Charlie McCann – Their names are Sergei & Maksim. They are from Chukotka, a small town called Egvekinot. It is located right on the coast. Sergei and Maksim are friends since childhood. Their parents are both fishermen and they met each other through them. Maksim became a fisherman and caught salmon, which he called red fish. Sergei, a trucker, owns his own haulage business.
Casey Grove It seems that things got a little strained after Russia invaded Ukraine. And, you know what, it is still a mystery to us as to what was going on in Russia with the Russian people at that time. How was their experience?
Charlie McCann : That’s a great point. It’s also why it was so interesting to talk with them about their opinions on the current events. They are strongly opposed to the war on Ukraine. They both said to me, “Why aren’t we there?” What’s the point of all this war? “So many people are dying,” they both said. Sergei is a particularly outspoken individual. For a long time, he has been an irritation to the Russian government. He was speaking about how Chukotka was receiving a lot of money for road construction, but the roads were not being built.
He would rail against local corruption to anyone that would listen to him. He told me that he was detained for two days after being arrested in June. After being detained by the government, and being warned, he said, “I have to leave, this country.” Conscription was then initiated a month later. To transport the men to Ukraine, military officers started knocking on doors of citizens in his village. Sergei and Maksim got the knock and were able to identify the person because everyone was buzzing about the mobilization. They didn’t answer the knock at the door because they knew they wouldn’t be sent to the front if they did. Sergei realized, I believe, that it was the knock at the door that made him realize that “Now is the right time.”
Casey Grove – Well, we all know they did it. Tell me more about their journey. You mean, what was it like? How did they cross the Bering Sea?
Charlie McCann – It was nerve-racking because of so many reasons. They set out to explore the Chukotka Peninsula. They are worried about being found out by the locals. They remained consistent with their story that they were searching for dead walrus to remove the tusks, and then sell them. They were terrified that they would be found out by border patrol. These towns are surrounded by border patrol, which makes them very militarized. The sea was another major concern.
They encountered severe storms on the first or second day. One particularly frightening moment occurred on the fifth and final day. Can you even imagine what that was like? These two men have left Russia behind. They gave up everything, including their lives, and all they knew to start a new life in America. They are now so close. They are, I believe, only 20 miles from Alaska. Sergei then sees the huge waves. They feel the wind. They feel the water getting more choppier. They open their weather app and see that the cyclone is right in front of them. They didn’t even consider returning to shore. They knew this was their last chance to reach the U.S. so they just kept going. The water became more and more rough. Sergei described a moment in which it felt like they were trapped between two walls of water. They were so big. They both got sprayed by water. The bilge pump works overtime. They survived because Maksim spent so much time on the water. Maksim is a skilled boatman and managed to keep them from being swept away by the cyclone. They never get pulled too far into the eye of storm. They made it.
Casey Grove – It’s incredible. They arrived in Alaska and they found this little village, Gambell, on St. Lawrence Island. How were they received? How did they feel welcomed?
Charlie McCann – Yeah, it was initially tense. It’s understandable, since they were wearing camo jackets. A few locals had seen the scene and asked if the Russian soldiers were there. But Sergei and Maksim quickly clarified the situation. They spoke via Google Translate and stated that they were not Russian soldiers. We are actually trying to escape from the Russian military. They came to declare asylum.” They fed them, and I believe Sergei and Maksim tried to do the same for them. There was a fair amount of food brought with them, so there was a little exchange. The local police were called in to assist. A few police officers showed up and were taken to the station, where they stayed the night. Then, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intervened. They were probably helicoptered from Gambell by Coast Guard, and deposited at Anchorage, where ICE took control.
Casey Grove : I also got the impression that they were very happy to cross the ocean alive and make it to America to begin a new life. However, things are different today than when people fled the Soviet Union. Tell me about their journey to this point. They spent quite a lot of time in detention.
Charlie McCann : They were quite surprised. They were expecting some bureaucracy but weren’t prepared for what they got. They were taken into ICE custody and flown from Anchorage, Washington to Tacoma, Washington. There they were placed in a detention center and are now being held for many months. They claimed that they didn’t know what was happening. The situation was as follows: Asylum seekers arrive in America without permission to stay. If they don’t have the right visa or other documentation, they are held. This has been happening for several decades. They will be held until they are able to post bail.
They were held for three months in very poor conditions. They shared a large room with 70 other detainees. It was very poor food. It was basically rice, beans, beans, rice the entire time. They weren’t allowed to go outside. They were only allowed to go outside for a few hours a day, or maybe into the backyard. It was hard because of these conditions but also because of the uncertainty in their situation. I don’t know how long they would stay there or how they would get out. The language barrier made it even more difficult. So I asked them how they dealt with it. They said it was pure escapism. They were able to acquire some Russian language books so they were reading a lot. Sergei claimed that he had read 19 books and that they were reading Russian classics. Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy were just a few of the names that you might recognize. They were eventually able to post bail and were released earlier in the month.
Casey Grove : Wow. They bail out and you flew to Washington to speak to them. Was that what it was like? What did they have to say about the future?
Charlie McCann : Sergei was only out for five days when I met them. Maksim was also released the day before. After three months of being separated, they were able to adjust to the U.S. and to freedom. Sergei spoke about keeping up with the news and keeping up to date with events in Russia, Ukraine, etc. Maksim seemed very quiet and reserved after he was released from what felt like prison. He may have felt overwhelmed. They’re actually just trying to get their feet on the ground. Volunteers are helping the children by looking for bikes to get around.
Sergei is probably learning English. They are out now, right? They are optimistic about the future and trying to make plans. Sergei is a very energetic and dynamic person. He was thinking about his next steps and what jobs he might have in the U.S. He thought it would be wonderful to have a deposit-recycling program. Maksim had only been out for one day. He seems to be still sort of collecting his thoughts. I asked him what he might like to do. He said he wanted to be reunited and fishing boat.
Casey Grove: A true fisherman!
Charlie McCann :
Casey Grove – They also mentioned a desire to return to Alaska.
Charlie McCann Sergei stated, “Look, We’re North Americans, where we’re accustomed to the Arctic climate.” Their initial thought was that they would return home to Anchorage. Maksim believed that he would. Sergei, being an entrepreneur type, thought Anchorage, but that he would also see Anchorage. He said that he would travel wherever there was supply and demand.
