Pavel Sulyandziga, an indigenous leader from the Russian far East, is filing for political asylum in the United States. He lives in Yarmouth with his wife Irina Shafrannik and their five children, from left, Alina, 5, Alisa, 3, Andrey, 1, Alyosha, 7, and Anna, 10.
Sulyandziga grew up in a remote mountain village called Krasny Yar. Last year he moved to Maine with his wife and five youngest children.
Alisa, 3, and Andrey, 1, watch a video in one of the bedrooms in their Yarmouth apartment.
Sulyandziga swings his son Andrey, 1, in the living room. Yarmouth resident Tom and Svetlana Bell, who grew up in the same village as Sulyandziga, helped the family find an apartment and start their new life in America.
Irina Shafrannik makes a traditional Russian meal of meatballs and rice for dinner.
Alina, 5, reads a book in the living room while her father eats dinner.
Anna, 10, speaks English very well and often serves as an interpreter for her parents.
Sulyandziga joins his family for a traditional meal. The indigenous leader from the Russian Far East is filing for political asylum in the United States.
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