Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners!
This is not at all what I intended to write you today - but I just received the names of those killed in Kodiak yesterday, and in case you have not, you will want the information:
Stefan F.
Basargin,
36; Pavel F. Basargin, 30; Zahary F. Martushev, 25; Iosif F.
Martushev, 15; and
Andrian Reutov, 22.
The survivors were identified as Feodot Basargin, 33; Andrean V.
Basargin, 25;
Anton Rijkoff, 30; and Ivanov.
Old Believers are
scattered
throughout Russia, Asia and the Western Hemisphere. About 1,500 are believed to live in Alaska.
"Everybody knows everybody. It's a tragedy," said Greg Yakunin, an Old
Believer
and fisherman who knew all of the passengers, from the town of
Nikolaevsk.
"They were all friends of mine," he said. "I could have been on that
plane,
too."
Iosif Martushev was a ninth-grader at Kachemak Selo school, and Reutov
and
Zahary Martushev were former students there, said Randy Creamer, the
school's
principal.
The small school sits near Homer on the Kenai Peninsula in one of
three Old
Believer villages in the area.
Creamer described Iosif as an artistic student who loved to make
sketches of
moose, snowmobiles and fishing boats. Zahary Martushev was married and
had
several children, and Reutov got married last fall, Creamer said.
The school planned to have extra staff on hand to counsel students
when classes
resume Wednesday, Creamer said.
"This being such a small place, it's hitting people really hard," he
said.
Two survivors were flown to Anchorage for treatment, including Feodot
Basargin,
who was in fair condition, said John Callahan, spokesman for
Providence Health
and Services Alaska. The conditions of the other three were not
available, but
Alaska State Troopers said the two who remained in Kodiak were treated
and
released.
Kodiak and Homer each have
populations
of roughly 6,000.
Fr. Serge
