103-year-old US resident links her longevity to her Russian roots

Russian roots and family history

Evgenia Bailey, a US resident whom Life.ru calls the oldest member of the Russian diaspora in the country, celebrated her 103rd birthday in early November and told RIA Novosti that she attributes her age to heredity. According to her, she did not think she would live so long until, in 2009, she met her mother's relative in Saint Petersburg: the woman showed her a photograph of her father, who had lived to 103 — exactly as old as Bailey is now. 'So in that respect, my roots come from my Russian relatives,' Gazeta.Ru quotes her as saying.

A family of settlers

Bailey was born in the USA on November 1, 1923 to Russian émigrés Maria and Pavel Nikonenko. Her parents arrived in California on July 1 of that year aboard the American ship Merritt as part of a group of 526 Russian settlers — four months before their daughter was born. Besides heredity, the centenarian herself names faith in God as an important factor in her life: 'I believe that God showed me the way and helped me,' she said. Bailey planned to celebrate her birthday with her family, together with her son and goddaughter, who promised to bring borscht, a mushroom pie, and cutlets.

A contrast with Japan's statistics

The report about Bailey came against the backdrop of data from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: the number of residents of Japan aged 100 and over has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, reaching almost 107,700 people, and this figure has been growing for 56 consecutive years. Women make up 87.6% of Japan's centenarians, and the oldest resident of the country remains 114-year-old Fuesa Kishimoto from Kyoto. Notably, other well-known centenarians have cited various 'secrets': 105-year-old Briton Ivy Minney — sound sleep, and 115-year-old Japanese woman Shigeko Kagawa — constant mental activity, including calligraphy and puzzles.