Persecution by the Russian tsarist government forced Orthodox Old Believers into remote rural areas, where they continued to practice their old rituals, periodically moving when threats of persecution caught up with them again. Several groups migrated to the United States in the 1960s, settling in rural Oregon and Alaska. The continue to observe ancient traditions, worship practices, and "living memory" in many cultural domains.

"Published by the Alaska-Siberia Research Center (AKSRC), Juneau, Alaska (with assistance and additional funding provided by the Shared Beringian Heritage Program, U.S. National Park Service, Anchorage, Alaska)"--Title page verso.