Voznesenka (Russian: ''Вознесенка'', ) is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the

Kenai Peninsula Borough Kenai Peninsula Borough is a borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,799, up from 55,400 in 2010. The borough seat is Soldotna, the largest city is Kenai, and the most populated community is the censu ...

23 miles northeast of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Brief overlook

Located on the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

, about east of

, Voznesenka is one of several villages founded by Russian

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

in the Fox River area. The village was founded in 1985 by residents who decided to leave Nikolaevsk and begin new settlements in the

Kachemak Bay Kachemak Bay ( Dena'ina: ''Tika Kaq’'') is a 40-mi-long (64 km) arm of Cook Inlet in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. The communities of Homer, Halibut Cove, Seldovia, Nanwalek, Port Gra ...

area. The name in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

means ''Ascension'' (вознестись, voznestis' – to ascend) referring to the holiday of the

Ascension Ascension or ascending may refer to: Religion * "Ascension", the belief in some religions that some individuals have ascended into Heaven without dying first. The Catholic concept of the Assumption of Mary leaves open the question of her deat ...

. The village is situated on a bluff over Kachemak Bay, and is at the end of the maintained road system on the western Kenai Peninsula. A switchback trail leads about down to the beach; it can be traveled by foot or 4-wheel drive vehicle except at the highest tides to reach the neighboring village of Kachemak Selo. There are more than 40 families living in Voznesenka. Although unincorporated, the community has a mayor, a community council, and a water-utility board. There is also a community church and a public school in the village. The school maintains a student population of roughly 115 students. The community also had a wrestling and football team which lasted through 2018. Emergency services are provided by Kachemak Emergency Services Area Fire and EMS. The community is accessible by gravel road, the paved access road from Homer ending where the village begins. In 2009, the Mile 17 fire threatened the village. There are two more villages that Russian Old Believers live in. Those villages are Razdolna and Kachemak Selo.

References

1985 establishments in Alaska Old Believer communities in the United States Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean Populated places established in 1985 Russian-American culture in Alaska Russian communities in the United States Unincorporated communities in Alaska Unincorporated communities in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska {{KenaiPeninsulaAK-geo-stub