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Born in the Soviet Union, and then adrift after the USSR collapsed, Artem Zhdanov never felt he belonged to any country until he came to Alaska and found his home. The latest installment of Becoming Alaskan.

"Having previously been a citizen of three different countries — the U.S.S.R., Kyrgyzstan, and Russia — he recently obtained his American citizenship. He said he was moved by his naturalization ceremony, something that doesn’t happen in Russia, where he became citizen at age 16 after simply completing paperwork. “It was the very first time in my life I could say, ‘They actually welcome me here. I can belong.’”"


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David James is an Alaskan author and literary critic whose work has been published by the Anchorage Daily News, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Anchorage Press, Alaska Dispatch News, Alaska Pulse, Alaska Magazine, and Ester Republic. He is editing a forthcoming anthology of Alaska writing.
Kendell Macomber discusses aerial dancing,which she practices and teaches in Fairbanks, and her pathway into the Fairbanks professional dancing world, where she is a prominent contributor. One day I saw aerialists, and I said, that’s the next level; I have to do that. So I got up in the air and haven’t looked back.” Read more here .
Elena Savostianova came to Fairbanks from Belarus and found her place in town by volunteering. Another installment in the series, "Becoming Alaskan." “Alaska accepted us as new immigrants. The community accepted us. We need to give back something. I feel like I do now because I work for Alaskan people. It’s really good to know you can do something important.”