That’s the announced reason and it’s always true.
There’s also a substantial Russian mafia presence in Seattle including Russian attorneys, doctors.
There’s also a substantial Russian ethnic community in Seattle, many descendants of which stem from the Russian revolution.
In the 1920s, more than 15,000 White Army orphans were put on two barely seaworthy ships in Shanghai and led to San Francisco by Orthodox monks and priests. One ship was offloaded in San Francisco while the other ship was directed to Seattle. About 7,000 orphans were offloaded in Seattle.
Today the descendants of the orphans brought to Seattle number about 50,000 in the region.
Coincidentally, the number of Soviet refugees in the Seattle region is also about 50,000. But there is a sharp cultural contrast between the descendants of the Russian Revolution and the more recent Soviet refugees. The two groups do not mix well, there is always tension and a contest of sorts.
The infiltration and espionage activity around Seattle is palpable and markedly so even to those at a distance.
Interesting Thanks.