Editing Nikolaevsk, Alaska

{{About|a CDP in Alaska||Nikolayevsk (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Nikolaevsk, Alaska
|settlement_type          = [[Census-designated place]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Russian Old Believers in Nikolaevsk AK USA.jpg
|image_caption            = Russian [[Old Believers]] Church in Nikolaevsk
|imagesize                = 250x250px
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
| image_map             = Nikolaevsk_Municipal_Map.png
| map_caption           = Location in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Alaska]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|Borough]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska|Kenai Peninsula]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Borough [[mayor]]
|leader_name              = [[Peter Micciche]]
|leader_title1            = [[Alaska Senate|State senator]]
|leader_name1             = [[Gary Stevens (politician)|Gary Stevens]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
|leader_title2            = [[Alaska House of Representatives|State rep.]]
|leader_name2             = [[Sarah Vance (politician)|Sarah Vance]] (R)
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 90.25
|area_land_km2            = 90.25
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 34.84
|area_land_sq_mi          = 34.84
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 328
|population_density_km2   = 3.63
|population_density_sq_mi = 9.41

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Alaska Time Zone|Alaska (AKST)]]
|utc_offset               = -9
|timezone_DST             = AKDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -8
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 256
|elevation_ft             = 840
|coordinates              = {{coord|59|48|43|N|151|36|36|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 99556
|area_code                = [[Area code 907|907]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 02-54085
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1417063
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|unit_pref = Imperial
}}
'''Nikolaevsk''' ({{lang-rus|Никола́евск|p=nʲɪkɐˈɫa(j)ɪfsk}}) is a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in [[Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska|Kenai Peninsula Borough]] in the U.S. state of [[Alaska]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population of the CDP is 328,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nikolaevsk CDP, Alaska - Census Bureau Profile |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US0254085 |access-date=May 7, 2022 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> up from 318 in 2010. [[Nikolaevsk School, Alaska|Nikolaevsk School]] serves school-age children from the area.

==History==
The town was settled by a group of [[Old Believers]] from [[Oregon]] around 1968, and remains a largely ethnic Russian town to this day.<ref>Vitaliev, Vitali. (n.d.) [http://www.travelintelligence.net/wsd/articles/art_584.html Old Believers in Alaska] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029041021/http://www.travelintelligence.net/wsd/articles/art_584.html |date=October 29, 2006 }}, Travelintelligence.com. Retrieved November 9, 2009</ref> The travels of the group from Russia, as well as the story of the founding of Nikolaevsk, is told in a 1972 article in ''[[National Geographic]]'',<ref>Rearden, Jim. (September 1972).  A Bit of Old Russia Takes Root in Alaska. ''National Geographic'', 142:3, 401–424</ref> a 2013 episode on the [[National Geographic Channel|NatGeo]] channel called ''Russian Alaska'', and a 2013 article in ''The Atlantic'' magazine.<ref>Wendi Jonassen and Ryan Loughlin  [https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/a-17th-century-russian-community-living-in-21st-century-alaska/275440/ A 17th-Century Russian Community Living in 21st-Century Alaska] Retrieved July 8, 2017</ref>

The first church was built in 1983. The second church was constructed in 2014.

In May 2023, it became known that the Old Believers community of Nikolaevsk, Alaska, consisting of fr. Nikola Yakunin, his son Deacon Vasily Yakunin and about 20 families decided to join the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]] (semi-autonomous part of [[Moscow Patriarchate]]) on the rights of the [[edinoverie]]. It was reported that the community was largely Americanized and it turned out to be problematic to pray in the already almost forgotten [[Church Slavonic language]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Старообрядцы Аляски воссоединились с Церковью на правах Единоверия |publisher= Сокрытая Русь |url=https://sokryt.ru/news/staroobryadcy-alyaski-vossoedinilis-s-cerkovyu-na-pravakh-edinoveriya |website=sokryt.ru |language=ru |date=May 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Alaskan Old Believers Reunited with the Church |publisher= Сокрытая Русь |url=https://sokryt.ru/en/news/alaskan-old-believers-reunited-church |website=sokryt.ru |language=en |date= May 19, 2023}}</ref> They planned to build a new church for the community in [[Homer, Alaska|Homer]], near Nikolaevsk, because the old church<ref>http://nikolaevsk.oldrite.org/</ref> will remain under the jurisdiction of the [[Lipovan Orthodox Old-Rite Church]] according to U.S. law.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Geography==
Nikolaevsk is on the west side of the [[Kenai Peninsula]] at {{coord|59|48|47|N|151|40|6|W|type:city}} (59.813043, -151.668387).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It is bordered to the south and west by the [[Anchor Point, Alaska|Anchor Point]] CDP and to the north by the [[Happy Valley, Alaska|Happy Valley]] CDP. Road access is via the North Fork Road, which junctions with the [[Sterling Highway]] {{convert|9|mi|0}} to the west in Anchor Point.<ref>[[The Milepost]], 59th edition, page 635, {{ISBN|978-1-892154-21-7}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the CDP has a total area of {{convert|90.2|km2|order=flip}}, all of it recorded as land. The North Fork of the [[Anchor River]] forms the southern border of the community, and the [[Chakok River]] forms the western border.

Nikolaevsk is in the boreal wet forest biome, according to the [[Holdridge life zones]] system.

==Climate==
Nikolaevsk features a [[subarctic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Dfc'') with short, quite mild summers and long, cold winters. Nikolaevsk experiences a significant marine influence.

Homer 8 NW is a weather station near Nikolaevsk, at an elevation of 1080&nbsp;ft (329 m).<ref name = "homer8nw">{{cite web|url = https://geographic.org/global_weather/alaska/homer_8_nw_672.html |publisher = geographic.org |title = Data of Meteorological Station Homer 8 Nw, Alaska |access-date = February 9, 2024}}</ref>
{{Weather box
|single line = yes
|location = Homer 8 NW, Alaska, 1991-2020 normals, 1977-2020 extremes: 1080ft (329m)
|Jan record high F = 53
|Feb record high F = 52
|Mar record high F = 54
|Apr record high F = 67
|May record high F = 76
|Jun record high F = 79
|Jul record high F = 81
|Aug record high F = 82
|Sep record high F = 69
|Oct record high F = 59
|Nov record high F = 51
|Dec record high F = 46
|year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 40.5
|Feb avg record high F = 41.7
|Mar avg record high F = 44.3
|Apr avg record high F = 51.8
|May avg record high F = 64.5
|Jun avg record high F = 69.3
|Jul avg record high F = 70.8
|Aug avg record high F = 69.1
|Sep avg record high F = 61.0
|Oct avg record high F = 52.4
|Nov avg record high F = 43.2
|Dec avg record high F = 40.0
|year avg record high F = 73.2

|Jan high F = 28.1
|Feb high F = 30.7
|Mar high F = 32.9
|Apr high F = 41.8
|May high F = 50.9
|Jun high F = 57.2
|Jul high F = 60.5
|Aug high F = 59.6
|Sep high F = 52.7
|Oct high F = 41.9
|Nov high F = 32.6
|Dec high F = 29.1
|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 23.2
|Feb mean F = 25.5
|Mar mean F = 26.9
|Apr mean F = 35.5
|May mean F = 43.6
|Jun mean F = 49.8
|Jul mean F = 53.8
|Aug mean F = 53.0
|Sep mean F = 46.7
|Oct mean F = 36.7
|Nov mean F = 27.7
|Dec mean F = 24.5
|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 18.3
|Feb low F = 20.4
|Mar low F = 20.8
|Apr low F = 29.2
|May low F = 36.4
|Jun low F = 42.4
|Jul low F = 47.0
|Aug low F = 46.4
|Sep low F = 40.7
|Oct low F = 31.5
|Nov low F = 22.9
|Dec low F = 19.9
|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -1.2
|Feb avg record low F = 3.4
|Mar avg record low F = 4.9
|Apr avg record low F = 17.1
|May avg record low F = 28.5
|Jun avg record low F = 35.5
|Jul avg record low F = 40.6
|Aug avg record low F = 39.1
|Sep avg record low F = 30.8
|Oct avg record low F = 18.8
|Nov avg record low F = 8.8
|Dec avg record low F = 4.1
|year avg record low F = -4.9

|Jan record low F = −30
|Feb record low F = −19
|Mar record low F = −6
|Apr record low F = −2
|May record low F = 19
|Jun record low F = 29
|Jul record low F = 32
|Aug record low F = 31
|Sep record low F = 19
|Oct record low F = 2
|Nov record low F = −12
|Dec record low F = −17
|year record low F =

|precipitation colour= green
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.08
|Feb precipitation inch = 1.88
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.24
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.41
|May precipitation inch = 1.24
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.57
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.33
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.26
|Sep precipitation inch = 4.56
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.63
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.19
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.34
|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 17.60
|Feb snow inch = 17.20
|Mar snow inch = 13.30
|Apr snow inch = 6.50
|May snow inch = 0.60
|Jun snow inch = 0.00
|Jul snow inch = 0.00
|Aug snow inch = 0.00
|Sep snow inch = 0.60
|Oct snow inch = 4.70
|Nov snow inch = 13.70
|Dec snow inch = 26.40
|year snow inch =

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 12.8
|Feb precipitation days = 11.6
|Mar precipitation days = 10.1
|Apr precipitation days = 10.3
|May precipitation days = 11.8
|Jun precipitation days = 12.5
|Jul precipitation days = 14.1
|Aug precipitation days = 16.3
|Sep precipitation days = 18.0
|Oct precipitation days = 16.3
|Nov precipitation days = 13.6
|Dec precipitation days = 16.0

|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 10.1
|Feb snow days = 9.4
|Mar snow days = 8.9
|Apr snow days = 4.2
|May snow days = 0.8
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.3
|Oct snow days = 2.9
|Nov snow days = 7.9
|Dec snow days = 12.3

|source 1 = NOAA<ref name = NOAA1>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00503672&format=pdf
|title = Homer 8 NW, Alaska 1991-2020 Monthly Normals 
|access-date = February 9, 2024
}}
</ref>
|source 2 = XMACIS2 (records & monthly max/mins)<ref name = XMACIS2>
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS
|access-date = February 9, 2024
}}
</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1990= 371
|2000= 345
|2010= 318
|2020= 328
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 6, 2013}}</ref>
}}
Nikolaevsk first reported on the 1990 U.S. Census as a census-designated place (CDP).

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Largest ancestries (2000) <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=U.S. Census website |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=October 18, 2016 }}</ref> !! Percent 
|-
| [[Russian Americans|Russian]]  || 67.5% 
|-
| [[German Americans|German]]  || 7.5%
|-
| [[English Americans|English]]  || 7.2%
|-
| [[Irish Americans|Irish]]|| 3.6%
|-
| [[French American|French]] ||2.6% 
|-
| [[Dutch Americans|Dutch]]|| 1.0% 
|-
| [[Hungarian Americans|Hungarian]] || 1.0% 
|-
| [[Swedish Americans|Swedish]]  || 1.0% 
|-
| [[Americans|American]] || 1.0%

|}
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Languages (2000) <ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.mla.org/map_data_results&SRVY_YEAR=2000&geo=&state_id=2&county_id=&mode=place&lang_id=&zip=&place_id=54085&cty_id=&region_id=&division_id=&ll=&ea=y&order=&a=y&pc=1|title=Data Center Results|website=apps.mla.org|accessdate=January 13, 2019}}</ref> !! Percent 
|-
| Spoke [[Russian language|Russian]] at home || 66.57% 
|-
| Spoke [[English language|English]] at home || 33.43%
|-
| Spoke English "not well" or "not at all." || 5.52%
|-
|}
As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 345 people, 96 households, and 72 families residing in the CDP.  The population density was {{convert|9.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 122 housing units at an average density of {{convert|3.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the CDP was 81.74% [[White people|Caucasian]], 1.74% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.29% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 1.16% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 2.03% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 13.04% from two or more races.  0.29% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

Out of the 96 households, 57.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 3.59 and the average family size was 4.33.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 45.2% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.5% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.1 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,625,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Nikolaevsk%20CDP,%20AK|title = Search Results}}</ref> and the median income for a family was $39,375. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $10,956 for females.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Nikolaevsk%20CDP,%20AK|title = Search Results}}</ref> The [[per capita income]] for the CDP was $10,390.  About 15.8% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Census-designated places in Alaska]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:Russian communities in the United States]]
[[Category:Russian-American culture in Alaska]]
[[Category:Old Believer communities in the United States]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1968]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in Alaska]]