Verbivka (Swedish: Gammalsvenskby, "Old Swedish Village") is a part of the village Zmijevka in Khersons'ka oblast', Ukraine which has a Swedish cultural heritage. Kherson (Херсонська область, Khersons’ka oblast’ in Ukrainian) is a region of southern Ukraine, just north of Crimea. ... Kinship and descent is one of the major concepts of cultural anthropology. ...

The founding of Gammalsvenskby

The population of Gammalsvenskby traces its origins back to Hiiumaa (Dagö) in present-day Estonia, once a part of the Realm of Sweden. Under the reign of Catherine II of Russia, the Swedish-speaking population left the island in August 1781. With the promise of being granted fertile land, they were relocated to the south of Ukraine, used as colonists in territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire. Some sources label the migration as outright expulsion, others point to the fact that the poor and oppressed farmers were given what must have seemed like a generous offer at the time. The outcome, however, was to be disastrous. Many of the around 1 000 villagers died during the march to their new home. Upon arrival, they found no trace of the houses they had been promised would be ready for them. The first year in Ukraine an even larger share of the group lost their lives. According to church records only 135 people were still alive in March 1783. Tahkuranna the northern most part of Hiiumaa, Estonia Hiiumaa (Swedish, German: Dagö) is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. ... The Realm of Sweden or Svenska väldet is a term that historically was used to comprise all the territories under the control of the Swedish monarchs. ... Catherine II of Russia Catherine II the Great (21 April 1729—6 November [O.S. 17 November] 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst, — sometimes referred to as an epitome of the enlightened despot — reigned as Empress of Russia for more than three decades, from June 28, 1762 until... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl...

Maintaining the Swedish heritage

Three neighbouring villages were founded a few years later by German colonists: Schlangendorf, Mülhausendorf and Klosterdorf. Today, these villages are all part of Zmijevka. As a consequence of this, the Swedes were outnumbered, and in the following years many of the priests and teachers serving the area were German. This, along with a growing shortage of arable land caused the relations between Gammalsvenskby and the German villages to be rather strained at times. Modern arable agriculture typically uses large fields like this one in Dorset, England. ...

Although contacts with Sweden were virtually nonexistent for around a century, the people of Gammalsvenskby maintained their traditions and their Lutheran(Church of Sweden) faith. They also kept their old Swedish dialect. At the end of the 19th century, some ties were reestablished. A considerable amount of money was raised in Sweden and Finland to build a Swedish church, inaugurated in 1885. Visits from Sweden became rather frequent, and some villagers even subscribed to Swedish newspapers. Luthers seal Lutheranism is a Christian tradition based upon the main theological insights of Martin Luther. ... Bishop Lennart Koskinen with some young people. ...

The Russian revolution

World War I once again cut off the communication channels. After the Russian revolution, the villagers pleaded for the right to leave the Soviet Union and settle down in Sweden, where their case had been adopted by a movement with a nationalist flavour, supported by archbishop Nathan Söderblom. On August 1, 1929, around 900 villagers arrived in Sweden. Just a handful had opted to remain in Gammalsvenskby. Nearly a hundred soon moved on to Canada, a country to which earlier emigrants from Gammalsvenskby had gone. Most of them settled in Manitoba. Some later returned to Sweden. Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million The First World... The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a series of political events in Russia, which, after the elimination of the Russian autocracy system, and the Provisional Government (Duma), resulted in the establishment of the Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. ... Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom, better known as Nathan Söderblom (January 15, 1866 - July 12, 1931), was a Swedish clergyman, and later Archbishop of the Church of Sweden and laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) Official languages English (some French services are provided, but French does not have official status at the provincial level) Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 14 6 Area Total...

The majority of the villagers stayed in Sweden, many of them settling in Gotland. Despite their common origins, they were not allowed to stay in a single, common settlement. Considered immigrants in a country in the middle of a severe economic crisis, they were sometimes met with hostility. Soon, some of the villagers started to talk about going back to the Soviet Union. Actively persuaded by the Swedish Communist party, the first families left before the end of 1929. ▶ (help· info) is the largest island in the Baltic Sea with a size of 2,994 km². It is also the largest island belonging to Sweden. ... The name Communist Party of Sweden (Sveriges Kommunistiska Parti, abbreviated SKP) has been used by several political parties in Sweden: Communist Party of Sweden - used 1921–1967 by the party today known as the Left Party. ...

Back in the USSR

In total, around 250 villagers chose to return to the Soviet Union. Together with members of the Swedish communist party sent by the Comintern, they established a minor collective farm called Svjedkompartija - the Swedish Communist Party. The Comintern (from Russian Коммунистический Интернационал (Kommunisticheskiy Internatsional) – Communist International), also known as the Third International, was an independent international Communist organization founded in March 1919 by Vladmir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and the Russian Communist Party (bolshevik), which intended to fight by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of... Collective farming is an organizational unit in agriculture in which peasants are not paid wages, but rather receive a share of the farms net output. ...

But life in the Soviet Union turned out to be hard. The starvation in Ukraine 1932-1933 gave birth to the idea of going back to Sweden, some villagers signing a list stating that they wanted to the leave the country. This led to the arrest of 20 people by the secret police, the GPU. Five of them were sent to prison. Several villagers were killed in the Stalinist purge of the following years. Soviet poster of the 1920s: The GPU strikes on the head the counter-revolutionary saboteur State Political Directorate was the secret police of the RSFSR and USSR until 1934. ... The Great Purge (Russian: ) is the name given to campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s. ...

When the German army marched into the village on August 25, 1941, the soldiers were welcomed as liberators. With the retreat of the German army in 1943, the Swedes were evacuated together with the Germans of the area. Many ended up in Krotoschyn in Warthegau in the occupied Poland, and nearly 150 were caught by Soviet authorities at the end of the war and sent to labor camps - Gulags, but were allowed to return to Ukraine as early as 1947. Others managed to go to Sweden or directly back to Gammalsvenskby. German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Polish Defensive War of 1939 Wehrmacht (help· info) (Defence force) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen) was the name given by Nazis to the territory of Greater Poland which was occupied, annexed and directly incorporated into the German Reich after defeating the Polish army in 1939 (as opposed to the General Government, GG). ... A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are engaged in forced labor. ... Gulag (Russian: ГУЛАГ (help· info)) is an acronym for Главное Управление Исправительно—Трудовых Лагерей и колоний, Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey i kolonii, The Chief Directorate [or Administration] of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies of the NKVD. Anne Applebaum, in her book Gulag: A History, explains: Literally, the word GULAG is an acronym, meaning Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei, or...

Gammalsvenskby today

After the fall of the Soviet Union, contacts with Sweden have been reestablished. Some economic support has been given by the Church of Sweden and Gotland Municipality. In 1994 Chumak, a Swedish-owned company that produces oil, ketchup and canned food, was established in the nearby town of Kakhovka. Today, the village have 150-200 people that share a Swedish cultural heritage. Only a few of them still speak the Swedish dialect fluently. Bishop Lennart Koskinen with some young people. ... Gotland is the single Municipality of Gotland County, in Sweden. ...

External links and further reading

• The Svenskbyborna society in Sweden (in Swedish)
• A comprehensive history of Gammalsvenskby in English
• A page about Gammalsvenskby (in Swedish)
• Recent short article on Gammalsvenskby: 'A Swedish village in Ukraine', in hidden europe magazine, May 2006 (Issue 8), pp. 40-43. ISBN 1860-6318. hidden europe (in English)