LOS ANGELES — "In Ukraine, we were Jews. In America, we are Russians. But in reality, we are from Ukraine, when it was part of the U.S.S.R."
This is how Marina Yusim describes her pluralistic identity. As someone who is the product of multiple cultures (her mother's family was from Odessa, a historic Ukrainian city on the Black Sea, and her father from northern Russia), her notions of identity and loyalty fluctuate.
A week after Vladimir Putin launched a military invasion of Ukraine, Marina stood over the stove at her home in Studio City, stirring a pot of shredded carrots, beets and chopped bell pepper. In another pot, chunks of potato and cabbage bobbed together in boiling water.
