A group of Doukhobors in the Caucasus
When the Doukhobors were expelled from the Taurida guberniia by the government in 1840, they were resettled to the Tiflis guberniia, Akhalkalak District1 to the so-called Wet Mountains, 10 miles2 from the Turkish border. The government expelled them from the Taurida guberniia because of their religious convictions. They were settled on the Turkish border with the aim of weakening their religious spirit. The climate there was very severe, winters were long and cold. Because of the spring and autumn frost, wheat did not ripen at all, but barley did. For the most part, people ate barley. After two or three years, a small part of the Doukhobors resettled to the Elizavetpol’3 guberniia, three hundred miles to the east. Our parents were among those who resettled there; they lived in the village of Slavianka. The climate here was tolerable: winters were not as severe and grains would ripen in a satisfactory way.
Most of the Doukhobors stayed in the Wet Mountains. They formed up to ten villages there, and in spite of the severe climate, began to make themselves at home and to cultivate the land in earnest. The land was free and virgin. They began to breed cattle and horses, and soon life improved.
In the village of Goreloe, a so-called public Orphans’ Home was built. Orphans’ Homes had existed from ancestral times, and the Doukhobors considered this a necessity. An Orphans’ Home had been built through communal effort, the material wealth was donated. The Doukhobor leader lived in this house; besides him the old people and orphans who had no other housing lived there as well. That is why the house was called the Orphans’ Home. As I recall, in my lifetime, Luker’ia Vasil’evna Kalmykova, the ruler and leader of the Doukhobors, lived there. The house was co-owned with the resettled Doukhobors of Elizavetpol’ guberniia where there were four Doukhobor villages. Donations were given by them as well. Donations consisted mostly of money, but wheat was also brought in moderate amounts, because in the Wet Mountains it was not available.
After 40 years of living there the Doukhobors completely felt at home and became well-to-do people. The Orphans’ Home was also increasing its resources, and during this time, a capital of 100,000 roubles had accumulated there. There were 150 head of cattle, about 100 horses and about 2000 select sheep. Such an enterprise must be ruled by a reliable person who was elected from the society and was like an ataman,4 one who kept all in order. He made all the decisions he was able to, but whenever he could not cope, he asked for advice from Luker’ia Vasil’evna and she advised him. For the most part, the Doukhobors who lived there looked after the household, but other Doukhobors often worked there as volunteers. They were paid 25 roubles a year. In addition to this, all of their regular needs including clothing were taken care of. At that time, the government did not bother the Doukhobors very much. Not only the Doukhobors but all of the population of the Caucasus were not required to perform military service because, aside from the Doukhobors and Molokans,5 all of the population was Asian. Since the population consisted of Moslems, Armenians and Georgians, they were granted the privilege of not performing military service until a specific time. Now I will stop and begin writing about Pëtr Vasil’evich Verigin.
Footnotes
1
Akhalkalak (modern Akhalkalaki) is an administrative district in the country of Georgia. Now an independent state, in Imperial Russia, Georgia constituted Tiflis guberniia.
2
Here and elsewhere, the Russian word “versta” is translated as a “mile.” Verst (versta) is an old Russian measure of distance, one verst equals 1066.8 m.
3
Elizavetpol’ (later Kirovabad, since 1989, Ganja) was the capital of Elizavetpol’ guberniia in the Russian Empire. Since the separation of Azerbaijan from the Soviet Union, it is one of the largest cities in Azerbaijan.
4
Ataman (particularly among the Cossacks) is a leader of a closely connected group of people such as a village or a family clan.
5
Molokans are a sectarian religious group that split off from the Russian Orthodox Church. At present, Doukhobors of Canada and Molokans of the United States retain amicable relationships and send representatives to each other’s major events.
