APOPKA, Florida—Professional skydiver Igor Tolstov has jumped from airshow airplanes for more than 40 years to the cheers of crowds, but his biggest leap of faith was his solo free-fall from Russia in 2017.
“America is now my nation, my country,” he told The Epoch Times.
Mr. Tolstov, 57, of Deland, Florida, was one of 20 new Americans from 17 countries who raised their right hands and recited citizenship oaths during a July 4 naturalization ceremony at Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka, near Orlando, Florida.
A native of Barnaul, Russia, Mr. Tolstov has been skydiving since he was 14 years old, as a professional since 16. His children and grandchildren remain in western Siberia. He doesn’t know when—or if—he’ll see them again….