The Russian Mennonites are a group of Mennonites descended from Dutch and mainly Germanic Prussian Anabaptists who established colonies in South Russia (present-day Ukraine) beginning in 1789. Since the late 1800s, many of them have come to countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. The rest were forcefully relocated, so that none of their descendants now live at the location of the original colonies. Russian Mennonites are traditionally multilingual with Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German) as their lingua franca. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after and influenced by the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons (1496-1561). ... Motto: Suum cuique Latin: To each his own Prussia at its peak, as leading state of the German Empire Capital Königsberg, later Berlin Political structure Duchy, Kingdom, Republic Duke1  - 1525–68 Albert I  - 1688–1701 Frederick III King1  - 1701–13 Frederick I  - 1888–1918 William II Prime Minister1,2... Anabaptists (re-baptizers, from Greek ana and baptizo; in German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the so-called radical wing of the Protestant Reformation. ... The term multilingualism can refer to rather different phenomena. ... Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, is a language spoken by the Mennonites, who are ethnically Dutch, but who adopted an East Low German dialect while they were refugees in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), beginning in the early-to-mid 1500s. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ...

Origins in the Vistula Delta

In the early-to-mid 1500s, Mennonites began to move from the Low Countries (especially Friesland) and Flanders to the Vistula delta region in Royal Prussia, seeking religious freedom and exemption from military service. They gradually replaced their Dutch and Frisian languages with the Plautdietsch dialect spoken in the area, blending into it elements of their native tongues. Plautdietsch is the distinct Mennonite language which developed over a period of 300 years in the Vistula delta region and south Russia. The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... Capital Leeuwarden Queens Commissioner drs. ... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... The Vistula (Polish: ) is with 1,047 kilometers (678 miles) the longest river in Poland. ... Map of Royal Prussia (light pink) History  - Established October 19, 1466  - Loss of autonomy 1 July 1569  - Annexed August 5, 1772 Royal Prussia (German: ; Polish: ) was a province of the Kingdom of Poland and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1772. ... Military service is service in an army or other military organisation, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). ... Frisian is a Germanic group of closely related languages, spoken by about half a million members of Frisian ethnic groups living on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. ... Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, is a language spoken by the Mennonites, who are ethnically Dutch, but who adopted an East Low German dialect while they were refugees in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), beginning in the early-to-mid 1500s. ...

In 1772, most of the Mennonites' land in the Vistula area became part of Prussia in the first of the Partitions of Poland. Frederick William II of Prussia ascended the throne in 1786 and imposed heavy fees on the Mennonites in exchange for continued military exemption. Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ... The Partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Polish: Rozbiór Polski or Rozbiory Polski; Lithuanian: Lietuvos-Lenkijos padalijimai, Belarusian: Падзелы Рэчы Паспалітай) took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Frederick William II (German: ; September 25, 1744 – November 16, 1797) was the fourth king of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. ...

Migration to Russia

Main articles: Chortitza and Molotschna

Catherine the Great of Russia issued a Manifesto in 1763 inviting all Europeans to come and settle various pieces of land within Russia, especially in the Volga River region. For a variety of reasons, Germans responded to this in large numbers. Mennonites from the Vistula delta region of Prussia later sent delegates to negotiate an extension of this Manifesto and, in 1789, Crown Prince Paul signed a new agreement with them.^[1] The Mennonite migration to Russia from Prussia was led by Jacob Hoeppner and Johann Bartsch. Their settlement territory was northwest of the Sea of Azov, and had just been acquired from the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774. Many of the Mennonites in Prussia accepted this invitation, establishing Chortitza on the Dnieper River as their first colony in 1789. A second larger colony, Molotschna, was founded in 1803. Chortitza is a settlement on Dnieper River in Zaporizhia Oblast. ... Molotschna Colony is a former Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhia Oblast in the Ukraine. ... Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from... Paul I of Russia by Vladimir Borovikovsky Paul I of Russia (Russian: ; Pavel Petrovich) (October 1, 1754-March 23, 1801) was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. ... Jacob Hoeppner (1748-1826), was one of two delegates selected by the Mennonite community in Danzig, Prussia, to travel to South Russia and evaluate land along the Dnieper River near Chortitza as a possible settlement. ... The shallow Sea of Azov is clearly distinguished from the deeper Black Sea. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish (official); spoken languages include Abkhazian, Adyghe, Albanian, Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Azerbaijani... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Chortitza is a settlement on Dnieper River in Zaporizhia Oblast. ... The Dnieper River (also known as: Dnepr, Dniapro, or Dnipro) is a river which flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, ending its flow in the Black Sea. ... Molotschna Colony is a former Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhia Oblast in the Ukraine. ...

Two Mennonite settlements on the Vistula near Warsaw, Deutsch-Kazun and Deutsch-Wymysle, came under Russian control when the border was readjusted at the Congress of Vienna. Some of these families emigrated to the Molotschna settlement after it was established. Deutsch-Michalin near Machnovka was founded in 1787.^[2] Many families from this settlement moved to nearby Volhynia in 1802. Swiss Mennonites of Amish descent from Galicia settled near Dubno, Volhynia province in 1815. Other Galician Mennonites lived near Lemberg. The Vistula (Polish: ) is with 1,047 kilometers (678 miles) the longest river in Poland. ... Motto: Contemnit procellas (It defies the storms) Semper invicta (Always invincible) Coordinates: Country Poland Voivodeship Masovia Powiat city county Gmina Warszawa Districts 18 boroughs City Rights turn of the 13th century Government  - Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz (PO) Area  - City 516. ... The Congress of Vienna by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1819. ... Volhynia (Ukrainian: , Polish: , Russian: ; also called Volynia) comprises the historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Western Bug -- to the north of Galicia and of Podolia. ... The Amish (Amisch or Amische) (IPA: ) are an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada (Ontario and Manitoba) that are known for their plain dress and limited use of modern conveniences such as automobiles and electricity. ... Coat-of-arms of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Galicia (Ukrainian: , Polish: , Russian: , German: , Hungarian: , Czech: , Yiddish: , Turkish: , Romanian: ) is a historical region in East Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine. ... Dubno (Ukrainian: Дубно) is a town in Ukraine, in Rivne Oblast, on the Ikva River. ... Lviv ( Львів in Ukrainian; Львов, Lvov in Russian; Lwów in Polish; Leopolis in Latin; Lemberg in German—see also cities alternative names) is a city in western Ukraine with 830,000 inhabitants (an additional 200,000 commute daily from...

When the Prussian government eliminated exemption from military service on religious grounds, the remaining Mennonites were eager to emigrate to Russia. They were offered land along the Volga River in Samara and exemption from military service for twenty years, after which they could pay a special exemption tax.^[3] Two settlements, Trakt and Alt-Samara (to distinguish it from Neu Samara Colony), were founded in 1853 and 1861 respectively. The Volga, widely viewed as the national river of Russia, flows through the western part of the country. ... Samara Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). ... Neu Samara is a Russian Mennonite colony in the Orenburg region of Russia. ...

By 1870 about 9000 individuals had immigrated to Russia, mostly to the Chortitza and Molotschna settlements which, with population increase, numbered about 45,000. Forty daughter colonies were established by 1914 occupying nearly 12,000 km² (4500 mi²) with a total population of 100,000.^[4]

Economy

The colonists formed villages of fifteen to thirty families, each with 70 ha (175 acres) of land. The settlements retained some communal land and a common granary for use by the poor in lean years. Income from communal property provided funding for large projects, such as forming daughter colonies for the growing population.

Initially the settlers raised cattle, sheep and general crops to provide for their household. The barren steppes were much drier than their Vistula delta homeland and it took years to work out the proper dryland farming practices. They grew mulberries for the silk industry, produced honey, flax and tobacco, and marketed fruits and vegetables for city markets. By the 1830s wheat became the dominant crop.^[5]

Expanding population and the associated pressure for more farmland became a problem by 1860. The terms of the settlement agreement prevented farms from being divided; they were required to pass intact from one generation to the next. Since agriculture was the main economic activity, an expanding class of discontented, landless poor arose. Their problems tended to be ignored by the village assembly, which consisted of voting landowners. By the early 1860s the problem became so acute that the landless organized a party that petitioned the Russian government for relief. A combination of factors relieved their plight. The Russian government permitted farms to be divided in half or quarters and ordered release of the village's communal land. The colonies themselves purchased land and formed daughter colonies on the eastern frontier extending into Siberia and Turkestan. These new colonies included Bergtal, Neu Samara Colony and the Mennonite settlements of Altai.^[6] It has been suggested that Western Siberia be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Bergtal (renamed Rotfront in 1927) is an originally German settlement 60 km east of Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan near the border of Kazakhstan that still contains a large German minority today. ... Neu Samara is a Russian Mennonite colony in the Orenburg region of Russia. ... Mennonite settlements of Altai arose after the 1906-09-19 act of the Duma and State Council of Imperial Russia, which provided for a resettlement bureau to distribute free land in Altai Krai. ...

As wheat farming expanded, the demand for mills and farm equipment grew. The first large foundry was established in Chortitza in 1860 and other firms followed. By 1911 the eight largest Mennonite-owned factories produced 6% of the total Russian output (over 3 million rubles), shipped machinery to all parts of the empire and employed 1744 workers.^[7] The annual output of Lepp and Wallman of Schönwiese was 50,000 mowers, 3000 threshing machines, thousands of gangplows in addition to other farm equipment. Flour and feed mills were originally wind-powered, a skill transplanted from Prussia. These were eventually replaced with motor and steam driven mills. Milling and its supporting industries grew to dominate the industrial economy of the colonies and nearby communities. The thrashing machine, or, in modern spelling, threshing machine (or simply thresher), was a machine first invented by Scottish mechanical engineer Andrew Meikle for use in agriculture. ...

Local government

Mennonite colonies were self-governing with little intervention from the Russian authorities. The village, the basic unit of government, was headed by an elected magistrate who oversaw village affairs. Each village controlled its own school, roads and cared for the poor. Male landowners decided local matters at village assemblies.

Villages were grouped into districts. All of the Chortitza villages formed one district; Molotschna was divided into two districts: Halbstadt and Gnadenfeld. A district superintendent headed a regional bureau that could administer corporal punishment and handle other matters affecting the villages in common. Insurance and fire protection were handled at the regional level, as well as dealing with delinquents and other social problems. The Mennonite colonies functioned as a democratic state, enjoying freedoms beyond those of ordinary Russian peasants.^[8]

In addition to village schools, the Mennonite colonies established their own hospitals, a mental hospital and a school for the deaf. They cared for orphans and elderly and provided an insurance program. By being largely self-sufficient in these local matters, they were able to minimize their burden on and contact with the Russian government.

Mennonites stayed out of Russian politics and social movements that preceded the Russian revolution. After the Russian Revolution of 1905 they did exercise their right to vote. Most aligned themselves with the Octobrist Party because of its guarantee of religious freedoms and freedom of the press for minority groups. Abraham Bergmann was an Octobrist member of the Third and Fourth State Dumas; Peter Schröder, a Constitutional Democratic party member from Crimea, was a member of the fourth Duma.^[9] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Octobrist Party (Russian Октябристы) was a non-revolutionary conservative-liberal Russian political party formally called Union Of October 17 (Союз 17 Октября). The partys program of moderate constitutionalism called for the fulfillment of the emperor Nicholas IIs October Manifesto granted at the peak of the Russian Revolution of 1905. ... Freedom Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... State Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire. ... The Constitutional Democratic Party (Constitutional Democrats, formally Party of Popular Freedom, informally Cadets) was a liberal political party in Tsarist Russia. ...

Education

At a time when compulsory education was unknown in Europe, the Mennonite colonies formed an elementary school in each village. Students learned practical skills such as reading and writing German and arithmetic. Religion was included as was singing in many schools. The teacher was typically a craftsperson or herder, untrained in teaching, who fit class time around his occupation.

In 1820 the Molotschna colony started a secondary school at Ohrloff, bringing a trained teacher from Prussia. The Central School was started in Chortitza in 1842. Over three thousand pupils attended the Central School with up to 8% of the colonists receiving a secondary education.^[10] A school of commerce was started in Halbstadt employing a faculty with full graduate education. Those who wanted to pursue post-secondary education attended universities in Switzerland, Germany as well as Russia.

Religious life

Typically each village or group of villages organized an independent congregation. Cultural and traditional differences between Frisian, Flemish and West Prussian Mennonites were also reflected in the their churches. They all agreed on fundamental Mennonite beliefs such as believer's baptism, nonresistance and avoidance of oaths. Pastors of Flemish congregations read sermons from a book while seated at a table. Frisian pastors stood while delivering the sermon.^[11] Congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of church governance in which every local congregation is independent. ... One of four districts of East Prussia in 1920 - 1938. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Nonresistance (or non-resistance) discourages physical resistance to an enemy and is a subdivision of nonviolence. ... An oath (from Old Saxon eoth) is either a promise or a statement of fact calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually a god, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. ...

Pastors were untrained and chosen from within the congregation. Unpaid pastors were selected from among the wealthier members—large landowners, sometimes teachers—allowing them to make a living while serving the congregation. The combined effect of respect for their position and material wealth gave them substantial influence over the community. The religious and secular leadership within a village often colluded against the poorer members.

Church discipline was exercised in the form of excommunication against those committing gross sins. The most conservative congregations practiced avoidance which entailed cutting all business and social ties with an unrepentant member.^[12] Because being part of a Mennonite congregation was required to enjoy the special benefits the Russian government provided to colonists, excommunication had broader implications. This was softened by the various internal factions, which allowed a person banned from one congregation to join another. Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ...

Kleine Gemeinde

Klaas Reimer and a group of eighteen followers broke from the main group and formed the Kleine Gemeinde. Reimer's main complaint was that Mennonite leaders were straying from their traditional nonresistant stance when they turned lawbreakers over to the government for punishment while at the same time church leaders were lax in enforcing spiritual discipline. In 1860 a portion of this group moved to Crimea, adopted baptism by immersion and became known as the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren. Klaas Reimer (1770-1837) was the founder of the Kleine Gemeinde, a Mennonite denomination now called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. ... The Evangelical Mennonite Conference is a Canadian Mennonite body of evangelical Christians. ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ... The US Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (USMB) is an association of Mennonite Christians with origins in southern Russia. ...

Mennonite Brethren

Pietistic influences, introduced earlier among the West Prussian Mennonites, were transplanted to the Molotschna colony. The pastor of a neighboring congregation, Eduard Wüst, reinforced this pietism. Wüst was a revivalist who stressed repentance and Christ as a personal savior, influencing Catholics, Lutherans and Mennonites in the area. He associated with many Mennonite leaders, including Leonhard Sudermann. Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. ... It has been suggested that Great Awakening be merged into this article or section. ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: being saved from something, such as suffering or the punishment of sin - also called deliverance; being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God - also called redemption; being saved through a process of healing or transformation...

In 1859, Joseph Höttmann, a former associate of Wüst met with a group of Mennonites to discuss problems within the main Mennonite body. Their discussion centered on participating in communion with church members who were unholy or not converted and baptism of adults by immersion. Closed communion is the practice of restricting the serving of the elements of communion (also called Eucharist, The Lords Supper) to those who are members of a particular church, denomination, sect, or congregation. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The Mennonite Brethren Church formally broke with the main church on 1860-01-06 when this growing group of dissenters presented a document to the elders of the Molotschna Mennonite Churches which indicated "that the total Mennonite brotherhood has decayed to the extent that we can no more be part of it" and fear the "approach of an unavoidable judgment of God."^[13] The Mennonite Brethren movement spread throughout the Mennonite colonies and produced many distinguished leaders, particularly in Molotschna. By breaking religious and cultural patterns that had become a hindrance to Mennonite society, the contribution of the Mennonite Brethren allowed all Mennonites groups to pursue a more wholesome Christian life.^[14] The Mennonite Brethren Church was established among Russian Mennonite in 1860 and has congregations in more than 20 countries representing well over 300,000 believers as of 2003. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 359 days (360 in leap years) remaining. ...

General Conference

The main body of Mennonites continued to be congregational in organization until 1882 when the General Conference of Mennonite Congregations in Russia was formed. Cooperation among Mennonite congregations throughout the empire became necessary for dealing with common interests such as publishing a hymnal, adopting a confession of faith, preserving the German language, education and running the forestry service, an alternative to military service. The conference adopted the motto Unity in essentials, tolerance in non-essentials, moderation in all things.^[15] A Confession of Faith is a statement of doctrine very similar to a creed, but usually longer and polemical, as well as didactic. ...

The Russianization program of Stolypin required the conference to publish its proceedings in Russian, certify all delegates with the imperial government and allow a government representative to attend all sessions. The conference found itself devoting more time to dealing with changing government policies and protecting the special privileges of Mennonites. An important task was to convince the government that Mennonitism was an established religion and not a sect, a label applied to small religious groups who were regulary mistreated within the Russian empire. Petr Stolypin Petr Arkadyevich Stolypin (Russian: Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин) (April 14 (April 2 Old Style) 1862 - September 18 (September 5 Old Style) 1911) served as Nicholas IIs Chairman...

First wave of emigration

As nationalism grew in central Europe, the Russian government could no longer justify the special status of its German colonists. In 1870 they announced a russification plan that would end all special privileges by 1880. Mennonites were particularly alarmed at the possibility of losing their exemption from military service and their right for schools to use the German language, which they believed was necessary for maintaining their cultural and religious life.

Delegates were sent to Petersburg in 1871 to meet with the czar and appeal for relief on religious grounds. They met with high officials, but failed to present the czar with their petition. A similar attempt the next year was also unsuccessful, but were assured by Crown Prince Konstantin that the new law would provide a way to address the concerns of the Mennonites in the form of noncombantant military service.^[16] Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia. ...

The most conscientious Mennonites could not accept any form of service that supported warmaking, prompting their community leaders to seek immigration options. In 1873 a delegation of twelve explored North America, seeking large tracts of fertile farmland. This group consisted of Leonhard Sudermann and Jacob Buller of the Alexanderwohl congregation representing the Molotschna settlement; Tobias Unruh from Volhynia settlements; Andreas Schrag of the Swiss Volhynia congregations; Heinrich Wiebe, Jacob Peters and Cornelius Buhr from the Bergthal Colony; William Ewert from West Prussia; Cornelius Toews and David Classen of the Kleine Gemeinde and brothers Paul and Lawrence Tschetter representing the Hutterites.^[17] This group returned with positive reports of good land available in Manitoba, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church of Goessel, Kansas is a congregation affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The church has a long and illustrious history going back to the 16th century in Europe. ... Hutterite women at work Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. ...

The more conservative groups—those from Kleine Gemeinde, Bergthal and Chortitza—chose Canada, which promised privileges equal to those previously held in Russia and a large tract of land to reestablish colonies in Manitoba. The more liberal groups—-those from Molotschna and the Hutterites—-chose the United States. Entire communities such as Alexanderwohl and Bergtal prepared to move as a unit as well as many individual families from among the other Mennonite villages. They sold their property, often at reduced prices and worked through the red tape and high fees of procuring passports.

Realizing that 40,000 of Russia's most industrious farmers were preparing to leave for North America, the Russian government sent Eduard Totleben to the colonies in May 1874. Meeting with community leaders, he exaggerated the difficulties that would be encountered in North America and offered an alternative national service that would not be connected in any way to the military. His intervention convinced the more liberal Mennonites to stay.^[18] Eduard Ivanovich Totleben (or Todleben) (May 20, 1818 - July 1, 1884), Count, general, was a famous Russian military engineer. ... National service is a common name for compulsory or voluntary military service programs. ...

Between 1874 and 1880, of the approximately 45,000 Mennonites in South Russia, ten thousand departed for the United States and eight thousand for Manitoba. Others looked east, and in one of the strangest chapters of Mennonite history, fanatical minister Claas Epp, Jr. led a hundred families to central Asia in 1880 where he predicted Christ's imminent return. For those who remained in Russia, the military service question was resolved by 1880 with a substitute four-year forestry service program for men of military age. Claas Epp Jr. ... The forestry service[1] was a form of national service offered to Russian Mennonites in lieu of military service in Russia from 1881 to 1918. ...

World War I

During World War I, 5000 Mennonite men served in both forestry and hospital units and transported wounded from the battlefield to Moscow and Ekaterinoslav hospitals.^[19] The Mennonite congregations were responsible for funding these forms of alternative service as well as supporting the men's families during their absence, a burden of 3.5 million rubles annually. Position of Moscow in Europe Coordinates: , Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Government  - Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Area  - City 1,081 km²  (417. ... Dnipropetrovsk (Ukrainian: Дніпропетровськ, Dnipropetrovs’k; Russian: Днепропетро́вск, Dnepropetrovsk, formerly Екатериносла́в, Yekaterinoslav) is Ukraines third largest city with 1. ...

The chaos following the collapse of the Russian Provisional Government was devastating to much of the Ukraine, including the Mennonite colonies. The Red and White armies moved through the region, confiscating food and livestock. Lawless bands roamed the area at will. Nestor Makhno and his group were particularly notorious for their savagery. They murdered hundreds of Mennonites, destroying whole villages around Chortitza, Zagradovka and Nikolaipol. Many more lives were lost to typhus, cholera and sexually transmitted diseases, spread by the armies and bandits throughout the colonies.^[20] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... White Army redirects here. ... Nestor Makhno. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Epidemic typhus. ... Cholera (frequently called Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... Sexually transmissible diseases (STDs) — also referred to as venereal diseases (VD) or, infrequently, social disease — are diseases or infections that have a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of sexual contact, vaginal intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex. ...

Famine

Mennonites of Molotschna sent a commission to North America in the summer of 1920 to alert American Mennonites of the dire conditions of war-torn Ukraine. Their plight succeeded in uniting various branches of Mennonites to form Mennonite Central Committee in an effort to coordinate aid. Mennonite Central Committee logo. ...

The new organization planned to provide aid to the Ukraine via existing Mennonite relief work in Istanbul. The Istanbul group, mainly Goshen College graduates, produced three volunteers, who at great risk entered Ukraine during the ongoing Russian Civil War. They arrived in the Mennonite village of Halbstadt just as General Wrangel of the White Army was retreating. Two of the volunteers withdrew with the Wrangel army, while Clayton Kratz, who remained in Halbstadt as it was overrun by the Red Army, was never heard from again. Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... Goshen College, (also known as Goshen or GC) is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana with an enrollment of around 1,000 students. ... Combatants Red Army Latvian Riflemen White Army (Monarchists) Ukrainian Peoples Republic Green Army (Cossacks) Black Army (Anarchists) Blue Army (Peasants) Czechoslovak Legion Allied intervention Other anti-Bolshevik forces Commanders Leon Trotsky, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Sergei Kamenev, Semyon Budyonny, Mikhail Frunze Alexander Antonov, Anton Denikin, Alexander Kolchak, Lavr Kornilov, Pyotr Wrangel... Baron Wrangel At a prayer vigil upon accepting command. ...

A year passed before official permission was received from the Soviet government to do relief work among the villages of the Ukraine. Kitchens provided 25,000 people a day with rations over a period of three years beginning in 1922, with a peak of 40,000 servings during August of that year. Fifty Fordson tractor and plow combinations were sent to Mennonite villages to replace horses that had been stolen and confiscated during the war. The cost of this relief effort was $1.2 million.^[21] Fordson by Ford Motors is the first model of an agricultural tractor in mass production. ...

Second wave of emigration

As conditions improved, Mennonites turned their attention from survival to emigration. Though the New Economic Policy appeared to be less radical than previous Soviet reforms, thousands of Mennonites saw no future under the communism. After years of negotiation with foreign governments and Moscow, arrangements were made for emigration to Canada, Paraguay and Argentina. Because Canada had not recogized the Soviet government, Moscow would not deal with them directly. Emigrants bound for Canada were processed through Riga. Those who could not pass the medical exam—usually because of trachoma—were allowed to stay in Germany and Southampton, England until they were healthy. By 1930, twenty-one thousand Mennonites had arrived in Canada, most on credit provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway.^[22] Silver Ruble 1924 Gold Chervonetz (1979) The New Economic Policy (NEP) (Russian: Новая экономическая политика - Novaya Ekonomicheskaya Politika or НЭП) was officially decided in the course of the 10th Congress of the All-Russian Communist Party. ... Coordinates: Founded 1201 Government  - Mayor Jānis Birks Area  - City 307. ... This page discusses the English city of Southampton. ... An eastbound CPR freight at Stoney Creek Bridge in Rogers Pass. ...

A group of Mennonites from western Siberia who subsequently settled along the Amur in unrealized hopes of better living conditions, escaped over the frozen river to Harbin, China. A few hundred were allowed entry into California and Washington. The majority remained as refugees until the Nansen International Office for Refugees of the League of Nations intervened and arranged resettlement in Paraguay and Brazil in 1932.^[23] The Amur River (Russian: Амур; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: , or Black Dragon River; Mayan; Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or Black River; Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black River) is Earths eighth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Manchuria in China. ... Harbin on a map of China For other meanings of Harbin, see Harbin (disambiguation). ... Nansen passports are internationally recognized identity cards first issued by the League of Nations to stateless refugees. ... The League of Nations was an international organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919-1920. ...

Those that remained in their home villages were subject to exile to Siberia and other remote regions east of the Urals. From 1929 to 1940, one in eight men were removed, usually under the pretext of political accusations, to labor camps from which few ever returned or were heard from again.^[24] Involuntary settlements in the Soviet Union took several forms. ... The Ural Mountains, (Russian: Ура́льские го́ры = Ура́л) also known simply as the Urals, are a mountain range that run roughly north and south through western Russia. ...

Collectivization

With the onset of economic and agricultural reforms, large estates and the communal land of the Mennonite colonies were confiscated. The next step was to reduce the model farms by 60% and then another 50% percent—an insufficient size to support a family. The confiscated land was given to peasants from outside the Mennonite communities, often communist party members. These new villagers soon controlled the local government, further confiscating land and rights from the Mennonite majority by labeling landowners and leaders kulaks and sending them in exile. The government taxed the remaining landowners so heavily that they could not possibly produce enough to meet the obligation and their land was confiscated as payment. As collectivization proceeded, there was some hope that Mennonites could run their own collective farms, but with the introduction of Stalin's First Five-Year Plan there was no hope that such a scheme would be allowed. The collectivisation campaign in the USSR, 1930s. ... 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. ... A kolkhoz (Russian: IPA: ), plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms (sovkhoz). ... The First Five-Year Plan was a list of economic goals that was designed to strengthen the USSRs economy between 1928 and 1932, making the nation both militarily and industrially self-sufficient. ...

Starting in 1918 religious freedoms were restricted. Churches and congregations had to be registered with the government. Ministers were disenfranchized and lost all their rights as a citizen. Ministers could not be teachers, which was the livelyhood of many Mennonite pastors. They or their family members could not join cooperatives or craft guilds. Because of these restrictions, ministers had a strong incentive to emigrate and few were willing to replace them. Congregations could no longer do charitable work of any kind, which ended destroyed the well developed social institutions with the Mennonite colonies. Villages lost all control of their schools and all religious content prohibited. Sunday was abolished as a holiday.

North America

The state of Kansas owes its reputation as a wheat-producing state in large measure to its early Mennonite settlers. Winter wheat was introduced to Kansas in 1873. The following year the Mennonites, who had experience with dry land farming in Russia, quickly took advantage of its characteristics resulting in rapid expansion of the milling industry in the State.^[25] It was planted in the fall and harvested in the following summer, and was therefore ideally suited to hot, dry Kansas summers. Today Kansas is a top producer of wheat in America. Swiss Volhynian Mennonites settled in the Moundridge, Kansas and Pretty Prairie, Kansas areas. The Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association tells their story. Mennonites of Dutch-Prussian descent (who speak a language known as Plautdietsch, which can be loosely translated as "Low German") settled much of South Central Kansas. This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Moundridge is a city located in McPherson County, Kansas. ... Pretty Prairie is a city located in Reno County, Kansas. ... Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, is a language spoken by the Mennonites, who are ethnically Dutch, but who adopted an East Low German dialect while they were refugees in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), beginning in the early-to-mid 1500s. ...

After 1870 many Russian Mennonites, fearing state influence on their education systems, emigrated to the Plains States of the US and the Western Provinces of Canada. They brought with them many of their institutions and practices, including separate denominations heretofore unseen in North America, like the Mennonite Brethren. The largest group of Russian Mennonites came out of Russia after the bloody strife following the various Russian revolutions and the aftermath of World War I. These people, having lost everything they had known, found their way to settlements in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario and in many regions of the United States. Some joined with previous Mennonite groups, while others formed their own. From there, many groups, fearing state persecution and searching for a way to "live quietly on the land," have left to form groups in Belize, Mexico and Menno Colony of Paraguay beginning in the 1920s. Fernheim Colony was formed in the 1930s by Mennonites from the Soviet Union seeking a better life in Paraguay. Old Colony Mennonites went from Mexico and Belize in the early 1970s and to Argentina in 1986. A smaller number of Russian Mennonites emigrated as refugees along with the retreating German army after the failed German campaign of World War II. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after and influenced by the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Motto: Fortis et liber(Latin) Strong and free Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Official languages English (see below) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong - Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 28 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [Province]) Area Ranked... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: The Strength of Many Peoples) Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart - Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province)) Area Ranked... Motto: Gloriosus et Liber (Latin: Glorious and free) Capital Winnipeg Largest city Winnipeg Official languages English and French, per mandate of the Constitution Act 1982 Government - Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard - Premier Gary Doer (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 15, 1870 (5th... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked... Menno Colony is settlement founded by Russian Mennonites in 1926 in the central Chaco of northwest Paraguay occupying an area of 7500 km² (2900 mi²). Neighbouring Mennonite settlements are Fernheim Colony and Neuland Colony. ... Main road of Filadelfia Fernheim Colony is a Russian Mennonite settlement of about 5000 in the Chaco of Paraguay. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

See also

• Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church
• General Conference Mennonite Church
• German minority in Russia and Soviet Union
• Plautdietsch (the language of the Russian Mennonites)
• Schmeckfest

The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church of Goessel, Kansas is a congregation affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The church has a long and illustrious history going back to the 16th century in Europe. ... The General Conference Mennonite Church was an association of Mennonite congregations based in North America from 1860 to 2002. ... The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans living near the Volga River and the Black Sea, maintaining German culture, German language, German traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutherans or Roman Catholic. ... Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, is a language spoken by the Mennonites, who are ethnically Dutch, but who adopted an East Low German dialect while they were refugees in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), beginning in the early-to-mid 1500s. ... Schmeckfest (festival of tasting) is a four-day festival in Freeman, South Dakota that celebrates the heritage and culture of Germans from Russia, specifically Russian Mennonites, who migrated to North America starting in the 1870s. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Germans. ... The Baltic Germans (German: , Deutschbalten; literally German Balts) were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today forms the countries of Estonia and Latvia. ... Church of the Saviour – a German Kirche in Baku, Azerbaijan. ... The most intractable nationality problem in the interwar period - one that played a major role in the destruction of democratic Czechoslovakia - was that of the Sudeten Germans living mostly in Sudetenland. ... The Transylvanian Saxons (German: ; Hungarian: ; Romanian: ) are a people of German origin who settled in Transylvania (German: ) from the 12th century onwards. ... The Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben, Hungarian: Dunai-Svábok or Dunamenti németek, Romanian: Şvabi or Şvabi Dunăreni, Serbian: Dunavske Švabe or Дунавске Швабе, Croatian: Podunavski Švabe) is a collective term for Germans who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially in the Danube (Donau) River valley. ... The Banat Swabians are a German-speaking population in Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians, who immigrated over 200 years ago from different parts of Southern Germany into Banat, after it had been almost entirely depopulated during wars with Turkey. ... The Dobrujan Germans (Germ. ... Detail of a church window in Hermannstadt dedicated to the memory of the Austrian Protestants. ... The Zipser Germans (Romanian: Ţipţeri, Hungarian: Cipszer) are a German-speaking ethnic group in northern Romania in the region of Maramureş. The name Zipser is applied to immigrants who originally came from Zips (then in the Kingdom of Hungary, now Spiš in Slovakia). ... Regat Germans or Old Kingdom Germans (Germ. ... Volga German pioneer family commemorative statue in Victoria, Kansas, USA. The Volga Germans (German: or Russlanddeutsche) were ethnic Germans living near the Volga River in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south, maintaining German culture, language, traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutheranism, Reformed and Roman Catholicism... The Black Sea Germans (German: Schwarzmeerdeutsche) are ethnic Germans who left their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries, and settled in territories of the northern bank of the Black Sea, mostly in southern Russia. ... The Crimea Germans (De. ... The Pennsylvania Dutch (perhaps more strictly Pennsylvania Deitsch or Pennsylvanian German) are the descendants of German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania prior to 1800. ... German Texans are an ethnic category belonging to residents of the state of Texas who acknowledge German ancestry and self-identify with the term. ... Hutterite women at work Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. ...

Notes

1. ^ Catherine's Manifesto and Paul's Mennonite Agreement
2. ^ Goertz, Adalbert, Deutsch-Michalin Mennonites
3. ^ Smith, p. 260.
4. ^ Smith, p. 261.
5. ^ Smith, p. 263.
6. ^ Smith, p. 265-7.
7. ^ Smith, p. 305.
8. ^ Smith, p. 268.
9. ^ Smith, p. 302.
10. ^ Smith, p. 270.
11. ^ Smith, p. 273.
12. ^ Smith, p. 274.
13. ^ Smith, p. 280.
14. ^ Smith, p. 281-282.
15. ^ Smith, p. 301.
16. ^ Smith, p. 285.
17. ^ Kaufman p. 78.
18. ^ Smith, p. 291.
19. ^ Smith, p. 311.
20. ^ Smith, p. 314-315.
21. ^ Smith, p. 320.
22. ^ Smith, p. 324.
23. ^ Smith, p. 335-336.
24. ^ Smith, p. 336.
25. ^ Origins of winter wheat in Kansas (Kansas State Historical Society)

References

• Kaufman, Edmund G. (1973), General Conference Mennonite Pioneers, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas.
• Smith, C. Henry (1981). Smith's Story of the Mennonites. Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, 249-356. ISBN 0-87303-069-9. 

Bibliography

• Barlett, Roger Human Capital
• Dyck, Cornelius J. An Introduction to Mennonite History, Herald Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8361-3620-9
• Giesinger, Adam From Catherine to Kruschev
• Hildebrand, Peter "From Danzig to Russia", CMBC Publications, Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, 2000. ISBN 0-920718-67-1
• Huebert, Helmut T. Molotschna Historical Atlas, Springfield Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-920643-08-6
• Kroeker, Wally An Introduction to the Russian Mennonites, Good Books, 2005. ISBN 1-56148-391-5
• Peters, Victor, Thiessen, Jack Mennonitische Namen / Mennoniite Names, N. G. Elwert Verlag, 1987. ISBN 3-7708-0852-5
• Schroeder, William, Huebert, Helmut T. Mennonite Historical Atlas, Springfield Publishers, 1996. ISBN 0-920643-04-3
• Toews, Aron A. Mennonite Martyrs: People Who Suffered for Their Faith 1920-1940, Kindred Press,1990. ISBN 0-919797-98-9
• Toews, John B. Journeys: Mennonite Stories of Faith and Survival in Stalin's Russia, Kindred Press, 1998. ISBN 0-921788-48-7
• Voth, Norma Jost, Mennonite Foods & Folkways from South Russia, Volumes I & II, Good Books, 1990 & 1991. ISBN 0-934672-89-X & ISBN 1-56148-012-6

External links

• Russian Mennonite Genealogical Resources
• Early Russian Mennonite History
• Plautdietsch-Freunde e.V. (Russian Mennonites in Germany)
• California Mennonite Historical Society GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry)
• Mennonites in Bolivia Photographic witness of life in Mennonite Colonies in Bolivia