Tag: organization

Yorkton and Area Doukhobor Historical Tour

For Immediate Release – June 30, 2010

On Sunday, June 27, 2008, the National Heritage Doukhobor Village hosted its fifth annual guided motor coach tour of Doukhobor historical sites and points of interest – this year in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and surrounding areas. Approximately sixty people took part in the excursion, which travelled through the Canora, Hamton, Ebenezer, Yorkton, Insinger and Sheho areas, visiting a number of heritage buildings and structures built by the Doukhobor Community as part of its trading, industrial and commercial activities in the areas in the early twentieth century.

Group photo of tour participants at Insinger, SK.  Photo courtesy Keith & Sonya Tarasoff.

“While the Doukhobor Community is largely remembered as an agricultural organization, few people today are aware of its achievements as a commercial enterprise, and the impact it had on the development of the surrounding area”, said Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, Doukhobor historian and tour co-organizer.

In the Teens and Twenties, the Doukhobor communal organization known as the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood (CCUB) was at the height of material achievement as a trading, industrial, agricultural and forestry enterprise in Saskatchewan. It had landholdings totaling over 30,000 acres in the province on which were built numerous communal villages, sawmills, flour mills, grain elevators, brickworks, trading stores, warehouses, roads, ferries and bridges, as well as cultivated crops and market gardens. The Community also hired itself out to perform large construction contracts. Underpinning the success of the organization was a membership of over fifteen hundred Doukhobor men who provided a large, readily-mobilized labour force guided by the slogan “Toil and Peaceful Life”.

The Fort Pelly Trail circa 1907.  The ox-cart trail ran in a south-westerly direction from Fort Pelly, through the Doukhobor village settlements and the Ebenezer district, to Yorkton.

The Yorkton & Area Doukhobor Historical Tour commenced at the Doukhobor Prayer Home in Canora at 9:00 a.m. with greetings and introductory remarks by Keith Tarasoff, chairman of the National Heritage Doukhobor Village and tour co-organizer.

The tour visited the site of the Doukhobor Block, a complex of buildings on 2nd Avenue East in Canora built, owned and operated by the Doukhobor Community. These included a large trading store (1910); annex (1912); storage warehouse (1916); workers residence (1913); and livery barn (1913). The trading store (known today as the Lunn Hotel) still stands and is the oldest and largest Doukhobor-built building still in use in Canada. The tour then stopped on Railway Avenue at the site of a 60,000-bushel grain elevator built for hire by the Doukhobor Community in 1912.

The Doukhobor Trading Store (now the Lunn Hotel) on 2nd Avenue East in Canora, SK.  Built by the CCUB in 1910, it is the oldest and largest Doukhobor building in Canada still in use. Photo courtesy Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.

The tour proceeded to Hamton and visited the site of the communal farm settlement known as Burtsevo, which from 1907 to 1918 served as a stopping point for Doukhobor wagon teams travelling between Veregin and Yorkton on the Fort Pelly Trail. Because it was a day trip each way by horse and wagon, the Doukhobor Community purchased this section farm along the trail so that they would have a place to stop and rest their horses. The original house, trading store and Doukhobor-made brick-lined wells on the property are still there to see.

The Burtsevo farmhouse, Hamton, SK.  Built by the CCUB in 1907, it was a stopping place for Doukhobor wagon teams travelling between Veregin and Yorkton on the Fort Pelly Trail. Photo courtesy Al and Bernice Makowsky.

Continuing south, the tour followed the route of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway line, built for hire by the Doukhobor Community in 1910. The 30-mile branch line – still in use today – connected the towns of Canora and Yorkton and resulted in the creation of several new centres along the way, including the hamlets of Burgis, Gorlitz, Hamton and Ebenezer.

The tour stopped at Ebenezer, where the Doukhobor Community was hired to construct a 25,000-bushel grain elevator (1910); a two-story brick general store, adjoining brick business building and residence known as the ‘Border Block’ (1911); a two-story brick home and cinderblock barn (1911); and a two-story brick hotel, adjoining brick business building and residence known as the ‘Janzen Block’ (1920). The latter three buildings are still standing. The Doukhobor Community itself owned 20 lots in the hamlet (1910) and built a large barn on the outskirts of Ebenezer (1914) for use as a stopping point for Doukhobor wagon teams travelling on the Fort Pelly Trail.

The Janzen Block in Ebenezer, SK, built by the CCUB in 1920. Photo courtesy Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.

The tour proceeded to Yorkton and visited the site of the large brick factory on Dracup Avenue owned and operated by the Doukhobor Community from 1905-1925. The factory, which produced up to 50,000 bricks a day, supplied millions of bricks for building projects across Western Canada. The factory was dismantled in 1940; however, three original structures – dwelling houses for the factory workers – are still standing. The tour then passed a number of Yorkton buildings constructed of Doukhobor brick including: three two-story homes on Fifth Avenue North; the Blackstone Hotel (today known as the City Limits Inn), a large two-story brick structure on Betts Avenue built and owned by the Doukhobor Community (1935); and six dwelling houses on Myrtle Avenue – three of which are still standing – built and owned by the Doukhobor Community (1932). In 1990, one of these homes was purchased by the City of Yorkton for preservation as a heritage site to commemorate the history of the Doukhobors in Yorkton.

The Blackstone Hotel (now the City Limits Inn) on Betts Avenue in Yorkton, SK, built by the CCUB in 1935. 

Photo courtesy Jonthan J. Kalmakoff.

The tour stopped at Jaycee Beach Park where, following the Lord’s Prayer recited in Russian, the tour participants enjoyed a picnic lunch and rest stop.

One of six dwelling houses built by the CCUB on Myrtle Avenue in Yorkton, SK in 1932. Three remain today. Photo courtesy Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.

The tour then resumed and continued to Sheho, where it visited the site of the communal farm settlement known as Blagodatnoye. From 1907 to 1926, the farm supplied the Doukhobor Community with wood to fire the kilns at the Yorkton brick factory. As the heavily treed farm was cleared by Doukhobor work crews, the trees were cut into cordwood and shipped by rail to Yorkton and the cleared land was farmed. At Blagodatnoye, the Doukhobor Community built a large two-story brick dwelling house along with a large wooden barn and numerous outbuildings, none of which remain today. A small Doukhobor cemetery still exists at the site.

The large two-story brick communal home built by the CCUB in Sheho in 1907.  It was demolished in 1982. Photo courtesy Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.

The tour then proceeded to Insinger, where it visited the site of another communal farm settlement. From 1907 to 1928, this heavily treed farm also supplied the Doukhobor Community with firewood for its Yorkton brickworks. As the land was cleared, the trees were cut into cordwood and transported to Yorkton by rail, and the cleared land was farmed. Here also, the Doukhobor Community built a large two-story brick dwelling house which is still standing and is in the process of being renovated. It is the last structure of its kind left in Saskatchewan.

The large two-story brick communal home built by the CCUB in Insinger in 1907.  Currently under renovation, it is the last remaining structure of its kind in Saskatchewan.  Photo courtesy Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.

On the return leg, the tour stopped in Theodore at the residence of Pauline Lapitsky. There, tour participants enjoyed Doukhobor song singing by the combined Saskatchewan choir members along with tour participants from Alberta and Manitoba, followed by lunch and refreshments. The tour concluded in Canora at 5:00 p.m.

Throughout the eight-hour excursion, Jonathan J. Kalmakoff served as tour guide, sharing his wealth of knowledge about the history of the places and people. Tour participants also shared a number of interesting stories and anecdotes.

“Many of the tour participants were amazed at what we were able to show them,” said Keith Tarasoff. “Few were aware of the scope of Doukhobor commercial activity in the area, and fewer yet knew about the legacy of buildings and structures they left”.

For additional information or inquiries about Doukhobor historic sites in Yorkton and the surrounding area, visit the Doukhobor Genealogy Website at www.doukhobor.org and the National Heritage Doukhobor Village website at www.ndhv.ca.

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Doukhobors Featured at Canadian Council of Archives National Conference

For Immediate Release – May 26, 2008

The Doukhobors were among the topics featured at the Canadian Council of Archives National Conference held in Regina, Saskatchewan May 24 to 25, 2008. The conference programme included a presentation by Doukhobor writer, historian and web-designer Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.

The two-day conference was an important meeting place for users of archives, including genealogists, researchers, teachers, librarians, historians, students, curators, volunteers, and anyone with interest in Canada’s documentary heritage. It was intended to enhance archival users’ know-how and expertise and strengthen their relationship with the archival community. Entitled “Archives and You!” it is Canada’s only national conference for users of archives.

The conference included first-rate plenary sessions, as well as “Ask the Experts” roundtable discussions to permit the exchange of ideas on topics such as the management of small private archives, the management of digital records, the preservation of photographs, and the management of personal archives. There were also nine concurrent workshops covering specialized topics such as privacy and access, basic records management, ethnic genealogy and the creation of ethnic archives, linking youth to archival work and local history, and the preservation of home records. Additional activities included exhibits and tours of local archives in the Regina area.

One of the concurrent workshops held on May 24th featured the presentation, “Researching Your Russian Doukhobor Roots” by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff. His workshop provided an overview of Doukhobor history and highlighted the special challenges and advantages faced by Doukhobor genealogists. Topics included migration and settlement in Russia and Canada; names and naming patterns; the importance of oral tradition; as well as select archival resources, including ship passenger lists, census records, membership lists, vital statistic records, homestead documents and cemetery information. His presentation also outlined recent archival discoveries in Canada, Russia and the Former Soviet Republics of importance to Doukhobor family historians. The Doukhobor workshop was well attended, with participants travelling from as far away as Nelson, British Columbia and Ottawa, Ontario to attend it.

Jonathan J. Kalmakoff presenting at Canadian Council of Archives National Conference, 2008.

Participation in this national event was an exceptional opportunity to share the Doukhobor story with members of the Canadian archival community.” said Kalmakoff. “It was exciting to promote a broader understanding of the Doukhobors’ place in Canada’s documentary heritage.”

The conference host, the Canadian Council of Archives, is a coordinating body whose mission is to nurture and sustain the nationwide efforts of over 800 archival organizations – member institutions all operating independently but sharing a common passion for Canada’s rich and wonderfully varied history. Millions of documents, heritage photographs, maps and audio-visual material are held in these institutions, nationally, regionally and locally. The Council’s goal is to work with its many stakeholders and partners to ensure preservation of and access to all these materials for teaching, learning, promotional and general interest purposes.

For additional information or inquiries about the Canadian Council of Archives or the Archives & You! national Conference, please visit the CCA web site at: http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/.

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Doukhobor Prayer Home at Veregin, Saskatchewan Featured in Edifice & Us Documentary Series

p>For Immediate Release – March 29, 2008

The Prayer Home at the National Doukhobor Heritage Village in Veregin, Saskatchewan will be featured in an upcoming episode of Edifice & Us, a television documentary that explores Saskatchewan through the architectural heritage of the province. The half-hour episode, entitled “Home of the Spirit Wrestlers”, premiers on the Saskatchewan Communication Network (SCN) on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 8:30 p.m. and again Thursday, April 3, 2008 at midnight.

Located in the small farming community of Veregin in eastern Saskatchewan, the spectacular Prayer Home reflects the community’s importance to the Doukhobors as a religious and cultural centre, as well as the authority and the vision of the leader of the Doukhobors, Peter V. Verigin. Constructed in 1917 as the spiritual meeting place of the community and Verigin’s personal residence, this finely-crafted wooden building with its two-storey wrap-around veranda and elaborate metal work was inspired by 19th-century Doukhobor architectural traditions in Russia. The vast open site surrounding the house accommodated large gatherings drawn from Doukhobor colonies throughout Saskatchewan, who assembled to hear the words of their leader as he addressed them from the second floor balcony. It was the administrative headquarters of the Doukhobor communal organization, the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood (CCUB) until 1931. Following the demise of the CCUB in 1937-1939, the building sat empty for decades until 1980, when it was restored as the National Doukhobor Heritage Village.  It was declared a Provincial Heritage Site in 1982.  In 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site. Serving for many years as the social, cultural and spiritual centre of Doukhobor life in Saskatchewan, the Prayer Home remains highly significant as a major architectural landmark and for its ongoing role as a prayer home and museum of Doukhobor history.

The Edifice & Us episode “Home of the Spirit Wrestlers” tells the unique story of the Doukhobor Prayer Home. The building acts as a lens to view the poignant human stories that are its life and times. The documentary uses this lens to bring the past alive and view the present life of the building in an entertaining and educational way. It gives viewers access to its unique construction and style, one of the few surviving examples of its builders’ art. It also offers viewers insight into the special role the building has played in the Doukhobor community.

Shot on location during the Heritage Day celebrations at the National Doukhobor Heritage Village in July 2007, “Home of the Spirit Wrestlers” explores the architecture, art and structure that define the Prayer Home’s physical space and its interaction with and impact on the natural environment. The episode tells the human stories of the building’s creators, those who use it and the people who experienced its past, are living its present and are influencing its future. In doing so, it features interview footage with a number of prominent local Doukhobors, including Laura Veregin of Benito, Alex and Mary Sherstabitoff of Veregin, Fred Strukoff of Kamsack, Keith and Sonia Tarasoff of Canora and Philip Perepelkin of Veregin, along with many others.

“By telling the compelling story of the Prayer Home and creating captivating portraits of the Doukhobor settlers who built it and the people who preserve it, “Home of the Spirit Wrestlers” will be of interest to a wide-ranging audience,” said Keith Tarasoff, chairman of the National Heritage Doukhobor Village. “The episode is an entertaining way to help viewers better understand our culture and preserve its history.”

“Home of the Spirit Wrestlers” also features extensive interview footage with Doukhobor writer and historian Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, who discusses the historic, spiritual and cultural significance of the ninety-one year old Doukhobor building. “The Prayer Home in many ways is a monument to the values of the Doukhobor people that built it,” said Kalmakoff. “It provides an enduring image that we use to visualize and remember the past. It shelters the stories of the builders and users of this heritage building.”

Edifice & Us is produced by Wolf Sun Productions and directed by Regina-based filmmaker, Steve Wolfson in partnership with Penny Ward and Richard Diener. The series explores Saskatchewan’s cultural heritage through its architecture, going beyond the bricks and mortar of the buildings to delve into the human stories too.

“Our buildings are shaped by who we are, how we live and creative vision,” said episode director Richard Diener.  “In turn, the structures we create contribute to enhancing our lives and evolving our communities. Our buildings are part art, part science and part the product of necessity. They express our lives and culture.”

For information or inquiries about the Edifice & Us television series or to obtain a DVD copy of the Doukhobor episode “Home of the Spirit Wrestlers”, visit the Edifice & Us website at: http://www.wolfsun.ca/index.html.

New (and past) episodes of Edifice & Us air regularly on the Saskatchewan Communication Network (SCN). For program schedule and information, visit the SCN website at: http://www.scn.ca/.

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New Russian Book Chronicles the Doukhobors

For Immediate Release – December 31, 2007

A new book has been published in Russian about the Doukhobors. Strana Dukhoboriya by Alla Bezhentseva was published in Tbilisi, Georgia by Russkii Klub in late 2007. The English translation of the title is “Land of the Doukhobors”.

Cover of Strana Dukhoboriya

Cover of Strana Dukhoboriya.

Strana Dukhoboriya documents the historical origins and development of the Doukhobors over the past two hundred and sixty years. It begins with the birth of the Christian Protestant doctrine in mid-eighteenth century South Russia. It then follows the lives of early teachers Siluan Kolesnikov, Ilarion Pobirokhin and Savely Kapustin who spread the Doukhobor faith among the Russian peasantry and formed the core of the sect’s worship and devotions. The history of the Doukhobor community is traced from its establishment at Molochnye Vody in 1801 through to its expulsion to the Caucasus in 1841-1845. The book explores the pivotal events of the late nineteenth century which helped define the modern face of Doukhoborism. It follows the immigration to Canada – the second homeland of the Doukhobors – and the problems they encountered with integration into the society and culture of North America. It also examines the little-known history of the Doukhobors during the Soviet period, through Perestroika and the fall of the Soviet Union, to the present period, including recent mass immigrations of Doukhobors from Georgia to the Central Russian provinces of Tula, Bryansk and elsewhere.

The appendix to Strana Dukhoboriya contains a rich and detailed exposition of Doukhobor culture in Georgia today. It studies traditions, past and present, including local dialect, food and dishes, ceremonies, as well as songs and psalms. It includes a selection of psalms from the Doukhobor Zhivotnaya Kniga or “Living Book”. As well, it contains a parting word from the Doukhobor elders of Dmanisi, Georgia, the hometown of the author. It concludes with a detailed bibliography and interview of the author by Georgian journalist Nino Tsitlanadze.

The author, Alla Nikolayevna Bezhentseva, was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and currently lives in the town of Dmanisi, a district administrative centre with a significant Doukhobor population. She has a PhD in civil engineering and taught engineering design at “Gruzgiprogorstoi” Institute in Sukhumi for fifteen years. She has designed numerous buildings throughout Georgia including theatres, houses of culture and recreation, government administrative buildings and hotels. She is actively involved in a number of women’s and humanitarian organizations, notably the Union of Russian Women in Georgia. She is also an accomplished writer, having written a number of Russian and Georgian language texts and materials.

Author Alla Nikolayevna Bezhentseva

Author Alla Bezhentseva speaks at the book release in Tbilisi, Georgia in December, 2007.

Bezhentseva’s Doukhobor research was sponsored and published by the Russkii Klub (“Russian Club”), a Georgian-based cultural and educational organization dedicated to the promotion of cooperation, friendship and mutual understanding between the states of Russia and Georgia. Fittingly, her book was released in December 2007, symbolically declared the “Year of Russian Language” in Georgia. The book release, which took place at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tbilisi, was attended by Russian and Georgian dignitaries as well as members of the Doukhobor community in Georgia.

Georgian Doukhobor Choir performs at Book Release

A Doukhobor choir from Dmanisi, Georgia performs at the book release in December, 2007.

At a time when Russian culture generally, and Doukhobor culture in particular, in Georgia is in serious decline, Bezhentseva’s book graphically illustrates the life, doctrines, history and traditions of the Doukhobor community in Georgia. It is a valuable and interesting source of information for present and future generations.

Book Release of Strana Dukhoboriya

Book release at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tbilisi, Georgia in December, 2007.

Strana Dukhoboriya (IBSN 978-9941-0-0088-1) is a 152-page Russian language book. To read, search, download, save and print a full PDF copy of the book, free of charge, visit the Russkii Klub website. By special arrangement with the author and publisher, an English translation of select chapters is underway and will appear on the Doukhobor Genealogy Website in early 2008.

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A Fading Minority: The Doukhobors’ Continued Struggle For Survival

by Hedvig Lohm & Ilya Chkhutishvili

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of Georgia’s Doukhobors resettled to Russia, driven by regional instability, ethnic tensions and economic hardship.  Those who remained became minorities in their own villages. Now, land reforms are forcing those who are left to apply for Russian citizenship.  Should the Doukhobors leave, it is feared that new ethnic disputes may erupt between their Armenian and Georgian neighbours.by Hedvig Lohm and Ilya Chkhutishvili originally appeared in the e-magazine “Georgia Today” (31.08.2007) www.georgiatoday.ge/.

The Dukhobors are an ethnic Russian religious community who today reside in Russia, the Caucasus and Canada. While the word ‘Dukhobor’ means ‘Spirit Wrestler’ in Russian, today the Dukhobors living in Georgia are facing a more earthly struggle. Since the Dukhobors’ legal documents for the lease of land have been disputed by the Ninotsminda rayon’s municipal administration, this community may lose all legal rights to its land – the Dukhobors’ only source of income. If the issue of land ownership is not resolved, most Dukhobors are likely to give up the struggle to continue living in Gorelovka, Georgia, and leave for Russia. Such a development would contribute not only to the loss of a colorful and unique population group, but is also a cause for concern among local Armenians who worry that if the Dukhobors leave, the Georgian government will settle ecological migrants from Adjara and Svaneti in Gorelovka, a move which could become a source of new disputes between the Georgian newcomers and the local Armenian community.

The Dukhobors represent one of the oldest ethnic minorities in Georgia. In late 18th century Tsarist Russia, sects of religious dissenters such as the Dukhobors, Molokans, Staroveri (“Old Believers”) and Subbotniks were treated as pariahs. The Russian rulers were concerned that they would spread their heresies and seduce ‘true’ Orthodox believers. Consequently, in 1839 an ultimatum was given to the sectarians: convert to Orthodoxy, or leave for the newly conquered Caucasus region. Most of them decided to go into exile. In 1839-1845 the Dukhobors settled in the two Georgian regions of Javakheti and Dmanisi, Kedabek in today’s Azerbaijan, and Kars in today’s Turkey. Of these early exiles, the Dukhobors in Ninotsminda rayon are the only ones that remain.

Group of Doukhobor women in Gorelovka village, Georgia.  GeorgiaToday.

The Dukhobors lived through very hard times during the 19th century, weathering both conflicts with Tsarist Russian authorities and disputes within the community. At the end of the 19th century there were a total of 10,000 Dukhobors in the Javakheti region spread through eight villages. During the Soviet collectivization process in the 1930s, the Dukhobor’s communal system of redistributing agricultural lands was destroyed. However, the Dukhobors were used to working on collective lands and most of them were able to easily adapt to the new Communist system. Consequently, their kolkhozes turned into some of the most efficient and profitable in the entire Soviet Union. Ethnically, their villages remained predominantly Dukhobor, though in some villages a few Armenian families resided as well.

The end of the Soviet era, however, saw many Dukhobors leaving Georgia and by the late 1980s a wave of resettlement to the Russian Federation was already in full swing. There were several reasons why the Dukhobors left for Russia. During the last part of the Perestroika years and the collapse of the Soviet Union Georgia was in turmoil. In addition, Georgian ethno-nationalist politics were on the rise while at the same time “Javakh” the Armenian, then paramilitary, organization took de facto control over the Javakheti region.

One of the main initiators of this resettlement process was Maria Uglova, who was a chairperson of the Spasovka kolkhoz. The Dukhobors who left with Uglova resettled in Russia’s Tulskiy oblast. The migrant Dukhobors moved primarily to Tulskiy and Rostovskiy oblasts, as well as to Stavropol krai. From 1979 to 1989 the number of Dukhobors in Ninotsminda decreased from 3,830 to 3,165. By the mid-1990s about 1,400 Dukhobors remained in Georgia, about 50 of them in Dmanisi.

Already by the early 1990s the Dukhobors had become minorities in seven of their eight original villages. In 1997 there was another wave of migration from Javakheti. Lyuba Goncharova, the new chairperson of the Gorelovka kolkhoz, arranged a resettlement of around 300 people to Bryanskiy oblast. By the end of the decade, the Russians were now a minority in seven of the eight Dukhobor villages. Gradually the ratio of Dukhobors in Gorelovka also changed from an absolute majority to a situation where the Armenian population is now larger. Today there are about 504 Dukhobors, 551 Armenians and 31 Georgians in Gorelovka.

The agricultural cooperative “Dukhoborets” which was established after the fall of communism in Gorelovka village on the remains of an old kolkhoz, provides the Gorelovka Dukhobors with a sense of collective security. The cooperative is weak and not very profitable, but still provides a small income to most of the remaining Dukhobor families in Gorelovka. It also functions as a social security institution for the entire community of Dukhobors. As one of the leading Dukhobors explains, the credo of the cooperative is “to help the Dukhobor community”.

In 1997 the cooperative was one of the biggest agricultural unions in the region. At present the cooperative has one major challenge: the “Dukhoborets” land lease contract is being disputed by the local authorities. In 2002, then gamgebeli Rafik Arzumanyan signed a lease contract with the Dukhoborets cooperative in Gorelovka. According to the contract the cooperative leases 4,290 ha of the original 7,700 ha that made up the Soviet kolkhoz. However, this contract is now disputed by the current gamgebeli, who claims that the Dukhoborets contract falls short of both the initial lease decision made by the gamgeoba (Georgian for “village council”) and a proper map delineating exactly which lands are being leased. The contract also lacks the proper signature of the Public Registrar and a registration number from the Public Registry. Dukhoborets representatives claim, however, that none of these mistakes can be blamed on the cooperative – rather, they fall under the concept of ‘administrative trust’, meaning that the responsibility for creating a legal lease document lies with the authorities and not with a private person or entity.

Sirotsky Dom building in Gorelovka village, Georgia.  GeorgiaToday.

If the cooperative closes or the land lease contract is not acknowledged by the local gamgeoba, most Dukhobors in Gorelovka are likely to give up the fight to continue living in Gorelovka and leave for Russia. Already many of them are applying for Russian citizenship. If the cooperative continues to function, however, it could be a better choice for the Dukhobors to stay, since they are provided with income and still have a collective point of security.

The European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI) is assisting the Dukhobor community in their relations with the local government and helping them to maintain their cultural heritage and present living place. As the total number of Dukhobors in Georgia has decreased to 700, another wave of emigration will lead to the loss of this minority from Georgia. To help resolve the legal problems of the Dukhobor community, ECMI in cooperation with other organizations is trying to convince local and state authorities of the importance of the Dukhobors issue. For now, with no specific actions taken either at the state or local level, the fate of the Dukhobors in Georgia remains an unknown.

Notes

For a thorough and comprehensive examination of the issue of land ownership and inter-ethnic relations among the Doukhobors, Armenians and Georgians of Ninotsminda rayon (district), in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia, see Hedvig Lohm’s study, Doukhobors in Georgia.

Since the writing of this article, the remaining Doukhobors in Georgia have chosen to resettle to Russia as part of President Putin’s highly-publicized repatriation scheme. Arrangements are being made for their resettlement to the village of Maly Snezhetok in Tambov province, Russia. For more about the resettlement, see the articles Georgian Doukhobors Relocate to Tambov, Russia and More Georgian Doukhobors Move to Tambov by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff and also The Doukhobors in Malyi Snezhetok by Evgeny Pisarev.

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