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The Dukhobortsy in Transcaucasia, 1854-1856
by Heinrich Johann von Paucker
During the Oriental (Crimean) War (1853-1856), Imperial Russian Army regiments stationed on the Caucasian Front were billeted in Dukhobor settlements. One such soldier was Heinrich Johann von Paucker, a young Baltic German military cadet quartered in the village of Rodionovka. Paucker kept a journal and recorded his observations of his Dukhobor hosts, with whom he came in regular contact. Having a keen ethnographic eye, he documented the geography and climate, historical background, religious beliefs, customs and practices and religious services of this unique people – virtually unknown to western members of the Russian Empire. His account was published anonymously in German as “Die Duchoborzen in Transkaukasien” in the Baltic journal “Baltische Monatsschrift” (Volume 11, Riga: Jonck & Boliewsky, 1865, pp. 240-250); republished under his name in the German journal "Deutsche Rundschau für Geographie und Statistik" (Volume, 4, Lepzig: October; November 1881, pp. 18-21; 66-69). Available in English for the first time ever, this exclusive translation provides the reader with an extraordinarily rare, in-depth glimpse into this little-known period of Doukhobor history, for which few other published sources exist. Translated by Gunter Schaarschmidt for the Doukhobor Genealogy Website. Afterword and editorial comments by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.
When roaming through the Great Russian Empire
in its more distant parts, one comes upon ethnic groups and religions that
are not known at all, or only known by name, to we Western members of the
Empire. These groups and religions still offer the investigator a large
scope for study. Included in these groups is the sect of the Dukhobortsy in Transcaucasia with whom I came in frequent contact during the last
Oriental
War [Russian name for the Crimean War, 1853-1856] because the regiment in which I had the honour of serving had been
assigned to their villages for a base-camp during the winters of 1854-1855 and
1855-1856. This small ethnic group which dwells so far from the Motherland
at the border of European civilization (one could almost say outside this
civilization) was of such great interest to me in its isolation that I felt
obliged to record my observations in writing. Perhaps they deserve a more
general interest, too, especially since everything concerning the Schism in
Russia [the Raskol
or splitting of the Orthodox Church into an official church and the
Old Believers movement in the 17th century] is covered by a veil of secrecy that has been lifted only in very
recent times. Geography and Climate
The land of the Dukhobortsy, the so-called Dukhoborye is located in the Western part of the Akhalkalakian circle
and occupies the entire plain adjoining the Turkish border. This plain,
almost 3,000 feet above sea level and traversed by low mountains that are
covered by early snowfalls, is open only towards the Turkish side and gives
the impression of a lifeless desert. The snow usually begins to fall in
September and disappears in March but sometimes lingers into April.
Nonetheless the cold is moderate and seldom exceeds 10-12˚ Réaumur [-12.5˚
to -15˚ Celsius]. But the amount of snow is quite significant and it is so
loose that drifts are caused by the slightest of winds and this drifting
snow can at times last for several days in a row. In the winter 1854-55 an
entire village was literally buried by such a violent storm and there was
not enough manpower to shovel away the snow mass, so that it became necessary
to tear away the straw roofs of the stables in order to drop food and water
through the openings for the animals.
The inhabitants don’t have much of a summer – in the short season they have
to hurry to bring in the hay crop and prepare for the winter months. The hay
is usually stored in the backyard in large bundles. The Dukhobortsy employ a
strange unit of measure when they sell hay: they sell it by the cord – the
price is approximately 9-12 rubles depending upon the amount and the quality
of the hay. Hay is extremely important as a merchandise among the
Dukhobortsy
since their only source of [outside] income are loads of hay delivered for Crown and
private enterprises. The Dukhobortsy keep relatively few cattle although the
latter would be very necessary for them because the Kisyak or manure must
be used in these bare, woodless steppes not only as a heating fuel but also
for construction – you don’t find any wooden buildings at all. The walls of
the houses are produced simply from Kisyak cut into blocks and are carefully
whitewashed. There is no ceiling; instead there is a plain roof consisting
of rafters and covered with a thick layer of straw. Nonetheless the huts are
roomy and bright. The local Kisyak does not give off heavy fumes when
heating, like among the Armenians, probably because the Dukhobortsy dry it
very carefully and store it wrapped in straw in a shelter – a process that
the Armenians should copy from their neighbours.
There is no way to grow grain [wheat] in these areas although the inhabitants have
never tried to grow it and most probably spared themselves unnecessary labour. The land here seems really not capable of producing anything but
grass. The impression of this lifeless steppe is very sad – there are
miserable individual villages but no forest, no field, no garden or lawn, in
some places there are meagre vegetable gardens in the yards. The inhabitants
must buy the necessary grain for their consumption from the bazaars of
Akhalkalaki or Alexandropol which are approximately 60-70 versts [an
Imperial Russian unit of measure equal to 1.0668 kilometers] away. The climate is on the whole very unhealthy: people suffer often
from fevers and many die from typhoid every year. However, many doctors are
of the opinion that the diseases are rather the result of the close living
quarters and the damp dwellings than of the unhealthy climate. Historical Background
The Dukhobortsy attract our attention because of their religion that
differentiates them both from the Greek Orthodox Church and from the other
sects of Russia as well as because of the mysterious nature of their
religion. One could call them the Quakers of the Greek church since like the
latter they believe in the direct effect of the holy spirit; their main
teachings, however, consist in their peculiar conceptualization of the soul,
the mind, and the heart. They do not possess any written records that would
elucidate their religious beliefs. These are laid down only in their oral
tradition. But since the individuality of each person who hands down the
tradition plays an important role, their dogmas are not as clear as seems to
be the case with other sects. If the authorities had found a written record
among them in the years of persecution, such a record would of course have
been incontrovertible evidence of heresy.
The 16th and 17th centuries in Europe were a time of general turmoil and
politico-religious revolutions; Russia, too, was not exempt from this. In
Russia, the revision of the parish registers by
Patriarch Nikon caused
different interpretations (tolki). The so-called Old Believers adhered to
the [old] ritual to the letter and sought to maintain the sanctity and
inviolability of the Orthodox Church. However, others became opposed to the
dogma itself – this trend eventually led to the formation of the Dukhobortsy
sect. The many foreigners that the Tsar had called into Russia no doubt
contributed to feeding the spirit of the religious disputes by importing
many ideas from their old country into their new home country.
In the first years of their existence the
Dukhobortsy, i.e.,
Spirit-Wrestlers, formed a single sect with the Ikonobortsy, i.e.,
icon-wrestlers, because like the latter the Dukhobortsy rejected icons as
attempts at idolatry; later, however, when they intensely developed the
teaching of the effect of the holy spirit, they separated [from the Ikonobortsy] and adopted their present name. The
Dukhobortsy derive the origin
of their belief from the three boys in the fiery stove mentioned by the
prophet Daniel [the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: Daniel 3:1-30] but designate a certain Siluan Kolesnikov, who lived in the
village of Nikolskoye in the Province of Ekaterinoslav at the end of the last
century, as the founder of their belief system. However, while they
recognize Kolesnikov as a famous religious hero, others maintain that their
sect had been founded already at the beginning of the 18th century and that
its origin was in the Province of Tambov. It seems that the latter view is
more correct because even though their traditions begin with Kolesnikov,
these traditions existed already earlier and were widely spread in the
southern provinces of Chernigov, Kursk, Kharkov, Ekaterinoslav, Voronezh,
Tambov and Saratov. The Dukhobortsy, like all dissenters, had to endure
severe persecution and oppression until a new star rose for them with the
government of Alexander I. In the year 1801 the government considered it necessary to resettle the adherents of this sect to a more distant area. For this purpose the Dukhobortsy were allotted a huge segment of untilled land called Molochnye Vody [Milky Waters] in the Province of Tavria in the district of Melitopol as a new residence. At first only 30 families were sent there. They started tilling the land with great zeal. Soon rumours about the free and happy life of the new settlers reached those left behind and caused them to ask for permission to move there as an entire group. This permission was granted. As a result the Dukhobortsy formed a colony consisting of 9 (nine) villages in the Crimea. The names of these villages can still be found today in the Caucasus, e.g., in the Akhalkalakian district: Bogdanovka, Troitskoye, Spasskoye, Rodionovka, Tambovka, and Goreloye, or, near Bashkichet or Elizavetpol: Akimovka, Terpeniye, and Gavrilovka. The Dukhobortsy reproduced so vigorously that by the year 1832 their number had grown to 800 families with 4,000 members of both sexes.
They could have lived happily and
contentedly in Tavria especially since they excelled in considerable work
ethic and good management but soon the old spirit of rebelliousness and of
religious fanaticism was stirring among them. They began to interpret their
resettlement to the Crimea as an apocalyptic event, openly preached their
faith, and were disobedient to the authorities. Thus, for example, they
refused to supply recruits to the Governor General of Kherson by arguing
that those recruits would have to swear an oath of allegiance which oath
would be prohibited by their religion. Punishing them achieved nothing so
that the authorities arrived at an agreement that under such circumstances
they would accept the Dukhobortsy' word of honour. The numerous complaints
and remonstrations by local authorities finally led to a decision in 1841 to
resettle the sectarians to Transcaucasia, which decision was carried out in
the same year. Religious Beliefs
Let us now examine more precisely the religious notions of this sect. What is peculiar is their development of the doctrine of the Trinity and of Christ’s person. While they believe in a triune God [God in three persons], He reveals himself as such only in the human soul: God the Father in the power of memory, God the Son in the wisdom of reasoning, and the Holy Ghost in volition and conation. Their [the Dukhobortsy’] conception of the entire earthly life of our Saviour is symbolical and they interpret this life as a mystical habitation of Him in man’s heart. In accord with their doctrine He is conceived and born from the words of Archangel Gabriel in the soul of every person. Here He preaches the word of truth, suffers, dies, and rises again from the dead. Therefore even those who have never read the Gospel or heard about Christ must recognize His inner workings because Jesus is the human conscience that teaches everyone to distinguish between good and evil.
Furthermore, the Dukhobortsy are convinced that not only Christians but also Jews, Muslims, and non-believers enter the kingdom of heaven and that on Judgment Day all people will rise from the dead in spirit. Concerning the Day of Judgment, the torments of hell will consist in the eternal pangs of conscience. The soul is God’s image but after the fall of man the image disappeared, memory was weakened and man forgot what he had been before, reasoning became deadened, and the will was no longer governed by the Holy Ghost and thus turned towards evil.
The biblical story of Adam and Eve is regarded by the Dukhobortsy as a symbolic image of our earthly existence. The soul had already fallen earlier, before the creation of the world, together with the other evil angels. The world was created only as a prison to which they were transferred for their sin. Thus sin came into the world not with the fall of man but Adam and Eve were themselves already created as sinners. This teaching underlies the commandment not to mourn the deceased because they have been pardoned and death has redeemed them from wandering on this earth. They see in Abel’s fate the persecution of the just by the unjust or the Cains; [they see] in the march of the Israelites through the Red Sea and in the decline of the Egyptians the perdition of the sinners and the salvation of the believers.
They completely reject the sacraments; likewise
they have no clergy and do not even attribute any importance to the decrees
of the general councils which otherwise are recognized by most sects of the
schism. They reverence the saints and apostles of the Greek Church as mere
humans who, although born in sin, led a life pleasing to God. They consider
crossing oneself a useless ceremony and therefore refrain from doing it;
neither do they pray for their fellow-men and enemies; and they do not even
mention those “who have power over us” in their prayers because everyone
already has enough to pray for himself.
An important doctrine in practice is that of the equality of all people.
Thus there are no masters and servants among the Dukhobortsy but only
completely equal “brothers”. For this reason the children call their father
simply “elder” and they call their mother “keeper”; the men use the term
“sisters” when addressing their wives while the latter call their husbands
“brothers”; none of them use the term “Dad” which is otherwise so popular in
Russian because, as they say, all people are brothers, only God alone is our
father. As an expression of thanks they use the phrase “may God help you”.
They do not bear arms and further consider war a sinful and unjust activity,
citing in support the doctrines of love and compassion in the Gospel as well
as the Seventh Commandment. This view of religion demands that its adherents
live in larger communities so that in case of someone's mishaps everyone can
help the individual. They must also avoid quarrelling and any kind of brawl
as well as using indecent or abusive language. And while they must not drink
wine or spirits, curiously they are allowed to smoke tobacco which is so
taboo among the Old Believers. They do not practice fasting.
Once an elderly Dukhobor recounted to me a very charming symbolic story
which I will try to render here in its entirety: Customs and Practices
Let us say a few words about the outward appearance of our Transcaucasian
Dukhobortsy, about their practices and customs, and their domestic life! Most
of them are tall and robust; all men, except the old ones, shave their
beards leaving just a moustache. They cut their hair and, together with
their clothing consisting of wide trousers and a cloth jacket, thus resemble
the looks of the Germans who had settled in Transcaucasia. When you see one
of these Russian sectarians drive by on a covered wagon with iron axles and
harnessed with two horses, you could easily mistake him for a German
colonist. The female sex deserves the epithet "fair sex"; however, it is not
the usual type of a Russian village beauty, i.e., of robust health; rather
in the pale, oval faces of these girls and women there is a somewhat nobler
expression that harmonizes splendidly with their cleanliness, grace, and
carefully selected clothing. The latter consists of a white, often very
elegant chemise with wide, stitched sleeves and a coloured skirt; their head
is covered by a low round small cap very artfully made of various coloured
triangular flaps. Their hair is clipped a little in front – the married
women hide their hair at the back under the cap, while the girls wear
braids. The women are very industrious, get up early and, before sunrise,
have already taken care of everything connected with domestic chores after
which they usually busy themselves with some or other needlework. In the
evenings they very much love socializing and gather under whatever pretext
in someone's house where before long the young lads show up and they spend
the evening with work, fun, and laughter.
The character of the female sex is marked by a considerable vivacity and
frivolity so that even marital fidelity is not held in high esteem among
them. The passion for dressing up has contributed a lot to the decay of
morals. The men view their wives' conduct with lenience and do not on their
own accord seek to punish them for being unfaithful. Incidentally, if one of
the women goes too far and does not know how to hide her amorous adventures
properly, she is subjected to a harsh punishment: she is led naked through
the village streets and is pelted with excrement and dirt. Such a case
occurred during our stay in Rodionovka and the procedure was stopped only
through the intervention of the troop commander.
On the whole, the Dukhobortsy do not attribute any importance to matrimony.
To get married requires only the good will of two adult persons of different
sex, mutual love, and the parents' consent. The transaction on such an
occasion is roughly the following: the relatives and acquaintances of bride
and bridegroom gather in the house of the bridegroom's or the bride's
parents where the oldest family member pronounces the two man and wife,
without any further promises or even written contracts. As a result divorce
is very easy because just the simple desire of the married couple to get
divorced is sufficient. After the completion of the divorce both parties are
completely free. In spite of being so easy, however, divorce is a rare
occasion.
In the old days the Dukhobortsy were known for their diligence and their good
management but nowadays little has remained of that except a certain
cleanliness and orderliness. In the Crimea they practiced extensive
agriculture as well as cattle- and horse-breeding. Likewise they possessed
large flocks of sheep and practiced the art of weaving. When they resettled
to Transcaucasia they had to give up all of this because in many respects
the character of the new region was not conducive to continuing these former
activities. In this deserted steppe where trade was dominated by a few
enterprising Armenians, there was no choice but to devote oneself to [wagon] cargo
transporting since it was the most lucrative form of income.
This on the whole lazy life, we believe, has produced the now dominating
addiction to alcoholic beverages which, after all, are forbidden by the
doctrine of this sect. In Dukhoborye everyone, men, women, boys, and girls,
drinks very heavily. No meeting proceeds without some hard drinking. When
they visit one another, they sit down at a large table and discuss their
everyday concern with a glass of brandy. The more they drink the more solemn
and concentrated they become until their mood gives vent to the singing of
an Old Testament psalm. Rocking back and forth, supporting their heavy heads
with their hands, they keep sitting until one of them begins: "Oh brothers!"
After that nothing makes sense any more since all words get absorbed by a
lengthy monotonous screaming of the chorus.
Notwithstanding their drunkenness the
Dukhobortsy are very frank and honest –
they do not steal nor do they break their word of honour. Since they never
swear oaths they instead value a simple promise that much more.
Like all Russian sectarians the Dukhobortsy, too, believe in religious customs:
every morning, before and after a meal as well as at night before going to
bed, the entire family forms a circle and the head recites aloud the Lord's
Prayer or a psalm. Religious Services
Finally we shall say a few words about their divine service. Every person, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and non-believers, can visit the Dukhobortsy' house of prayer because of their tenet that man cannot desecrate God's temple by his presence but only by bad deeds. On a bright winter day on a holiday we set out to attend a divine service. The crowd of the devout, all in festive clothing, presented a very friendly picture. We joined the procession that was moving to the end of the village where the house of prayer was located. We entered with all the others. At the entrance the crowd divided – the men lined up to the left, the women to the right, apparently according to age. The room where we found ourselves was furnished in a very simple manner; at the far end there was a wooden table with salt in a wooden salt barrel and bread; otherwise there were no further ornaments.
After everyone had been seated as assigned, the choir leader began the psalm: "Thus speaks the Lord, the God of Israel" etc. whereupon the choir joined in. It is very noteworthy that their sacred songs consist of different biblical texts that are often taken out of context and occasionally arranged in a meaningless way. After the end of the singing the second-eldest stepped in front of the table, took the hand of the eldest, and both of them twice bowed very low to each other, then they kissed and bowed for the third time. After that the third stepped forward and began the same procedure with the former two, and then that procedure made the round, first for all the men and then the women. In spite of the long duration of this ceremony we had waited for it to end and, leaving the house, we addressed an elder with the request to explain to us the significance of those bows and kisses. He replied: "One must worship God's image in one's fellow man because man represents God on earth."
Because of this doctrine
the Dukhobortsy lapse into a peculiar form of idolatry in spite of the fact
that they reject icons. That is because they select from their midst a
handsome boy whom they call the "mother of God", and whom they worship in
superstitious awe like a deity. This custom may partially explain the
demoralization of the female sex because this boy gathers around him a kind
of court consisting of the young girls of all villages, and no girl can be
wed without having spent some time there. It goes without saying that this
mother of God generis masculini [Latin for "of the male sex"] is severely
persecuted by the authorities but they seldom succeed in locating the boy in
question and stemming this abuse.
In the above I have only attempted to put down my personal observations of a
peculiar form of the Russian Schism and I implore the disposed reader not to
try to measure this short sketch in terms of the standards of a thorough
scientific treatise.
Afterword
Heinrich Johann von Paucker (1839-1898) was a
Baltic German from the province of Estonia in the Russian Empire. As a
youth, he received an excellent classical education at Revel (now Tallinn)
and Mitau (now Jelgava). In 1855, at age sixteen, he joined the Life-Guards
Lithuanian Regiment of the Imperial Russian Army as a cadet and was
immediately transferred to the Caucasian Front of the Oriental (Crimean)
War.
Paucker's writings are among the remarkably few sources of detailed, published information about the decade immediately following the Dukhobor exile to Transcaucasia; a little-known and little-explored period of Dukhobor history. His work is thus an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the era.
As for Paucker himself, following the Oriental War, he was promoted to the rank of officer and transferred to the Light-Infantry Battalion in Riga in 1858. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. In 1860, he transferred to the Telegraph Corps and served as Chief of Telegraph Stations in Voronezh and later Yaroslavl. After receiving his discharge from the Imperial Russian Army in 1864, he settled in Wesenberg (now Ravkere), Estonia where he took up teaching and translation work. He also served as a civil servant for the Estonian Provincial Government. From 1865 until his death he published a large volume of translations and original works on various subjects.
Significantly, Paucker’s first published work was on the Dukhobors, which appeared anonymously (under the initial "K") as Die Duchoborzen in Transkaukasien in the Baltic journal Baltische Monatsschriften in 1865. Anonymous publication was common in Russia at this time, as the state censorship regime was particularly severe and maintained a strict vigilance over the publication of written materials, removing or banning anything it considered even remotely ‘subversive’. Hence, many writers, fearing reprisals from Imperial censors, published their works under initials or pseudonyms. Sixteen years later, in 1881, Paucker republished the article under his own name in the German journal Deutsche Rundschau für Geographie und Statistik.
Special thanks to Jack McIntosh, former UBC Slavic languages bibliographer, for identifying the anonymous author of the 1865 publication of Die Duchoborzen in Transkaukasien as being Heinrich Johann von Paucker.
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