Stand on the western shore of Little Diomede Island in Alaska, and you can see Russia with the naked eye. Not the distant outline of Siberia, but actual Russian territory—Big Diomede Island, sitting just 2.4 miles across the icy waters of the Bering Strait.

This is the closest point between two nations that spent decades in a Cold War standoff, close enough that residents of Little Diomede can wave to the Russian weather station on Big Diomede. Well, they could if anyone waved back. Big Diomede has been uninhabited except for military personnel since the 1990s.

Yesterday and Tomorrow Islands

The gap between these islands isn't just geographical—it's temporal. The International Date Line runs directly between them, creating a 21-hour time difference (20 hours during daylight saving time). Big Diomede is nearly a full day ahead of its American neighbor, earning them the nicknames "Tomorrow Island" and "Yesterday Isle."

This creates the surreal situation where you can look across less than three miles of water and see tomorrow. Literally. On New Year's Eve, Russians on Big Diomede celebrate while Americans on Little Diomede still have an entire day of the old year remaining.

A Village at the Edge of America

Little Diomede is home to about 115 Iñupiat people, living in one of the most remote communities in the United States. Their ancestors have inhabited this rocky outcrop for thousands of years, long before Russia and America existed as nations.

The village clings to the western shore of the island, with houses built on stilts to withstand the brutal Arctic conditions. There are no cars—the island is too small and steep. During winter, residents hunt seals and walrus on the ice between the two Diomedes, though crossing the invisible border is strictly forbidden.

Life here means extreme isolation. Mail delivery is unpredictable, depending on weather and ice conditions. The island's children attend school via video conference. When someone needs medical care beyond what the local clinic can provide, they wait for weather good enough for a helicopter evacuation.

When Russia and America Were Even Closer

Before 1867, there was no border here at all. Both islands belonged to Russia, and indigenous peoples freely traveled between them. Then the United States purchased Alaska for $7.2 million, and a new boundary was drawn through the Bering Strait, splitting the Diomede Islands between two nations.

During the Cold War, the strait became a heavily monitored frontier. The Soviet Union forcibly relocated the residents of Big Diomede to the mainland and established military installations. Families were separated, sometimes able to see their relatives' homeland but forbidden from visiting.

Today, despite being neighbors, crossing between the islands requires the same complex visa processes as traveling between Moscow and New York. The 2.4-mile strait is one of the most difficult borders in the world to legally cross, even though you could swim it in calm conditions (not recommended—the water temperature rarely exceeds 40°F).

The View Across Tomorrow

On clear days, residents of Little Diomede can see Russian territory without binoculars. They can watch the lights of Big Diomede's weather station at night. They live with a constant visual reminder that the world's two largest nuclear powers share not just a planet, but a neighborhood.

And somewhere in that 2.4-mile gap runs an invisible line—half maritime border, half International Date Line, fully symbolic of how geographic proximity doesn't always mean political closeness.

Related Tags