Pentecostal and Ukrainian Baptist churches were active in western Ukraine. Both were persecuted when western Ukraine was united with Soviet Ukraine. Pentecostals were less than 1 percent of the population in Ukraine, but they, along with Jews, became one of the largest refugee groups from the former Soviet Union. Ukrainian Pentecostals are hard-working people with strong family ties and strict rules against drugs, alcohol and smoking. Birth control is rejected by their religion and they often have big families.
Children are usually under the care of elderly family members.
Because housing is limited, Ukrainian Pentecostals often live three generations to an apartment. The primary reason for leaving Ukraine is religious repression. Of the approximately 8,500 Ukrainian refugees in King County, about 60 percent are Pentecostals. There has been a constant flow of refugees from both groups to the Puget Sound area since 1985. Most Ukrainian Pentecostals in the Puget Sound area came from rural areas and small towns.