NEWS
Spiritual Christians Around the World
By Andrei Conovaloff   — NEWS added before 2003
 Updated September 2021, thanks to Archive.org

Also see: Molokan People (Russian), Molokan Home Page, Molokan History, Molokan Genealogy   5 Dukh-i-zhiznik discussion groups: (Russian, Yahoo!, MolokanTown, MolokanCentral, MolokaniNarod, MolokanUnderGround); Doukhobors

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more NEWS: 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004
Spiritual Christians Around the World

2002

Spiritual Christian Women Wanted for New Book 
Girls and women who are descended from spiritual Christians from Russia are invited to submit essays, letters, and poems for a new book: Letters To My Sisters. This project is by Connie L. Jones, an Anabaptist (Mennonite) who wants to show  "... how similar and unbreakable the bond of womanhood is in every culture of the world....",  "...the many similarities we share despite sometimes vast differences in culture...", and "... the importance of female relationships — of true sisterhood..."   Letters To My Sisters, will be  published in spring 2004. Deadline for submissions is March 31, 2003. Contributors will get copies of the book. Read more about this project. If this project goes well, Connie will follow it with the men's version: Letters To My Brothers.

Bryan J. Zolnikov — 12 Papers in Neuropsychology  
Click to ENLARGEStories like this are hard to do without your help. I got a note from Jon Zolnikov who was proud of his brother: "...who received a full scholarship (everything paid) to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln to study Neuropsychology. He was the first undergrad to have published work in a nationally publicized journal on aids research. His research has brought new advances in neuropsychology and is being actively recruited by top pharmaceutical firms. It is a great story. I am his brother" Sure. Here's his bio: "Bryan Zolnikov is currently enrolled in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. His general research interest is in the field of cognitive neuroscience, which examines the relationship between thinking and the structure and function of the brain. For this purpose, Click to ENLARGE Bryan employs functional magnetic resonance imaging technology (click brain images to enlarge) to assess activity in the brain while a person performs a cognitive task (e.g., a memory task). Bryan also works in forensic mental health services conducting insanity and pre-sentence evaluations in mentally ill populations (e.g., schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder). His professional objective is to pursue a career that involves clinical neuroscientific instruction at a medical institution or an academic department, and the procurement of external funding for the continued development of research projects. He is open to any questions and/or comments you have and can be reached at the snail-mail or e-mail address below. 

All members of the Society of Educated Molokans are invited to submit your stuff too.

Australian Dukh-i-zhiznik Russian School Burned 
2002 November 3 — Adelaide, South Australia — The Advertiser: "Community reels after arson blow" by John Merriman — On November 1, Dukh-i-zhizniki Molokans in South Australia lost their entire Russian language school to fire. They rented 4 classrooms rooms from the Salisbury East High School on Monday and Wednesday evenings where all of their course materials—books, lessons, records, etc.—were stored. On Friday night, just after 10:30, it took 32 firefighters almost an hour to stop an arson-started fire which destroyed a section of the high school including the 4 rooms and computers used by the  Dukh-i-zhizniki Molokan-Jumpers of Australia to teach Russian. Thanks to L.H. for the tip. D.M.in Adelaide adds: "As far as the school continuing, it may very well be cancelled for the rest of 2002 as we are fast approaching summer break. I fully expect to see the school up and running by next year. ... The suspected arsonist is from a Christian school a few miles away!!" Could someone send in an address to send in donations?

Mark Grigorian Almost Killed 
2002 October 22 — Erevan, Armenia — Terrorist almost kills an Armenian journalist who has been trying to help Spiritual Christians from Russia. CPJ News Alert 2002 reports: "Grigorian suffered serious shrapnel wounds to the head and chest from a grenade thrown at him ... [in front of the]... Yerevan Choreography School... he underwent surgery to stop bleeding in his lungs.." Reporters Without Borders report: "Grigorian maintains that the grenade was clearly targeted at himself and that it exploded under his feet. He sustained injuries to his right lung, abdomen and legs,..."  Grigorian "is deputy director of the Caucasus Institute for Mass Media and a Reporters Without Borders' correspondent in Yerevan, believes the motive of the attack was to prevent publication of an article he is preparing about a commando assault on the Armenian parliament three years ago.." in which 8 top officials were killed.  See Grigorian's first story about Spiritual Christians in: "A Handful of Russia in the Armenian Highlands".—Thanks to J.M. for the link.

International Molokan Youth Congress   
Click to see PHOTOS 2002 August 3-10 — Stavropol' Russia — Inozemstvo hosted this year's nearly annual Molokan Youth Congress. About 50 youth participated in the 7 day event. All Molokan children and youth in the world were invited. The congress was lead by Timofei Vasilich Schetinkin, the head presbyter of the SCM Center in Kochubeevskoe, Stavropol', Russia, assisted by other elders. Featured were courses about the Holy Spirit, rituals, historic martyrs, and singing the Psalms. The photos show that the congress was held indoors and outdoors at the new Molokan Church in Inozemstvo. Last year the program it was held in Iutsa, Stavropol. Several Pryguny but few Dukh-i-zhizniki attended. See translated invitation. See photos.

Click for MoreOregon Cemetery Indexed   
2001 — The Gervais Masonic Cemetery was photographed and 301 grave markers indexed by a genealogy volunteer Katie Baptiste. Find captioned surnames of Spiritual Christians from Russia: Axionoff, Bagdanoff, Baghdanoff, Berokoff, Delmatoff, Grigorieff, Ivanoff, Karnoff, Kobzeff, Konovaloff, Konovalov, Kostrikin, Kreloff, Ledieff, Mohoff, Muraviov, Nazaroff, Patapoff, Pavloff, Samaduroff, Samarin, Shubin, Sisoev, Sissoyev, Slivkoff, Tickenoff, Valkoff, Vinogradoff, and Zolnikov.

Click for MoreJung-Stilling just translated  
2002 June — Those of you curious about how Pryguny (Jumpers) were created among Spiritual Christians in Russia should study this recent translation of Johann Heinrich Stilling's revolutionary thoughts which moved people to Zionism. Originally some called him Stilling Jung, also Jung-Stilling. In Molokans in America, Berokoff wrote that this book was "..interpreted by some Prygun Molokan elders as a prophetic book concerning God's chosen people, their wandering from place to place in Europe and finding eventual haven in the Near East. ... in Persia or Turkey." And that the one book brought from Russia "... was borrowed back and forth by so many people that it is now black with age and use." The German Harmonists (find: "Harmonien") also helped stimulate the Spiritual Christians in the Milky Waters area to seek Mount Zion. D. H. Shubin reviews this book: "..the valuable ideas and concepts of this unique and famous German mystic and Christian visionary." Now you can get a copy for about $20+ and judge for yourself the where and when of pahod, the second coming of Christ, and whether this book, or any book, is "poison" to the Knira solntse, dukh i zhizn and the Bible. — Update 2021: In the 1880s a band of German Anabaptists, led by prophet Claas Epp, trekked to central Asia, with his "bride community" to meet Christ. He is comparable to the Prygun M. G. Rudomyotkin, but did not get arrested.

4 Books by Daniel H. Shubin at Amazon.com 
Attributes of Heaven and Earth, paperback,  $22. Theology..
Conflict of Ages, paperback, 50 pages, December 1999, $3. Pacifism versus military.
(This also online, see NEWS, 2001 Nov 21.)
Kingdoms and Covenants, paperback, 244 pages August 2000, $22. Bible commentary
Monastery Prisons, paperback, 228 pages, April 2001, $22. Russian religious prisons.
Shubin is a speaker (besednik) at the Los Angeles Samarin-Percy St church. I found these by accident. When you search Amazon.com books for "Molokan", only 2 books appear. Under Moore's book is this advice: "1 person recommended Attributes of Heaven and Earth instead of Molokan oral tradition; legends and memorates of an ethnic sect" Click the title and learn that Daniel is promoting his book over Dr. Moore's. Also, read Dan's attack of the reviewer of his Attributes... who says: "we find his book to be less than satisfactory in regards to explaining attributes of heaven and earth. First, the book could have benefited immensely from a good editor." That's Dan. :-) Submit your reviews of these books to Amazon.com.

MolokanUnderGround is 5th cyber-sobranie 
The fifth and most recent group of  Dukh-i-zhizniki to meet in cyber space is the mislabeled "MolokanUnderGround" hosted at MSN-Groups. This makes 3 at MSN, one still at Yahoo, and one thread on a Russian server, and several threads on genealogy sites. When I applied for membership, I got a response from the monitor: "Another 'Freedom Fighter' will notify if your status is approved or disapproved. If your interested in "publishing" anything contained "inside"  the forum/web-site, you must have explicit written permission to do so, should you be approved. All articles and publications in the Molokan Underground are considered intellectual property, this includes the discussions. Nothing may be referenced without approval as well. In  addition, participation is required. We've noticed you like to publish material, this may impose a conflict of  interest."  Later, FF announced: "We are aware of your honest appreciation for all [Spiritual Christian] sects and for your diligence in research and in broadcasting. With these efforts in mind, we are flattered by your email request; however, after much debate, the members of this site have decided to decline your request for membership at this time. Please visit us again in the future, as the members may reconsider based upon your future endeavors and their impending results. Thank you and God bless! Sincerely, The Molokan Underground". At least they debated and left the door open. But for our Dukh-i-zhizniki youth to express such distrust and fear in a free country indicates that they do not feel free from attack by their own Brothers and Sisters. One elder summed this up to me: "We .... have become our own worst enemy! We no longer fear the government, the draft...we fear the guy standing next to us in [a meeting]!"

Boyle Heights Project Opened
2002 Sept 8 — Photos of 65 named Dukh-i-zhizniki are on display in Los Angeles at the Japanese American National Museum. I identified another 10 without names. See 45 Dukh-i-zhizniki display items — photos, texts, videos, and singing on CD. I first reported on this Project in 2000, during planning, and a year late, it is now open for 6 months, until the end of February. Do you recognize these COs and their sailor buddies in front of the UMCA in 1943? There are over 1000 photos in the exhibit, so I cross indexed every name alphabetically with location to help you find friends and relatives.

200-Year Celebration Planned 
2001 January 3 — "In the year 1805, His Majesty, the King of All Russias, Aleksandr Pavlovich, decreed freedom of religion to all Molokans." Molokans around the world are alerted to the upcoming 200-year anniversary of our freedom of conscience. The presbyters of the communities of Spiritual Christian Molokans in Russia will celebrate the 200-years of freedom of religion for our doctrine in village of Kochubeevskoe on July 21-22, 2005. You are invited. In the US make arrangements with Alexander Shabalin, 650-878-8526; Fax: 650-754-1316. — A report and video is online.

Arizona Church Files Complaint
2002 Sept 17 —  The Arizona Republic — "Church tradition debate sparks suit" —By Carol Sowers — After months of trying, The Church of the Spiritual Molokans of Arizona, Inc. has been unable to negotiate with 12 people (the Cowboys and ni-nash relatives). Now the 12 must respond to a court order: stop threatening violence, give back the money, open the locks, correct false filings at the Corporation Commission, and go away. The state Attorney General (district attorney) is alerted and may take action. See report last August: "Arizona Church Under Sieze".

Avalanche near Vladikavkaz
2002 Sept 24 — The Associated Press — Russia Rescuers Try to Reach Village — The avalanche slid 20 miles downhill, 6 miles north of Vladikavkaz, locations of one of the largest Molokan congregations in Russia. They even have a "Molokan Bazarchik", market ... 150 dead ... the road to Gizel and village of Kaban destroyed ... 3,000 people relying on helicopter drops of food and there is no drinking water.

Floods Affect Molokans in Russia
2002 June 19-22 — The worst flood in over 100 years has devastated the Northern Caucasuses where most of the Russian Molokans live. Fresh food prices 5 to 6 times higher.

To donate to the Molokan Flood Fund — Contact: Alexander Shabalin, 650-878-8526; Fax: 650-754-1316. San Francisco Molokans gave $2,500.  Arizona Dukh-i-zhizniki gave $700, directly.

Russian Molokans & Doukhobors legal
2002 April 30 — Prism — Volume 8, Issue 4 — "Revising Russian Religious Legislation" — By Mikhail Zherebyatev — New bill to classify religions

  1. All-Russian traditional organization —  the Russian Orthodox Church. 
  2. Religious organizations of individual peoples — Muslim, Buddhist and perhaps Jewish organizations, which are mainly located in the Russian regions.
  3. Traditional historic religious organizations — Jewish organizations, and also religious groups of the smaller peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East who apply to shamans for spiritual guidance, and also ethnically based faiths among the larger ethnic groups of Russia, such as Russian Old Believers, the Molokan and Dukhobor sects, Orthodox Tatars (known as "Kryasheny") and Lutheran Germans. Among Protestants, the only people who may rely on qualifying for this group—and only then hypothetically—are Russia's Baptists and Adventists. [Dukh-i-zhizniki did not apply.]
  4. Representations of traditional foreign religious organizations — The Roman Catholic Church. 

CO Camp Protest During WWII
2001 Spring — Roots and Fruit, No. 7 — Civilian Public Service Work Strike by Samuel R. Tyson — "CPS #2 San Dimas (Tanbark Flat) opened in June, 1941 and was the sole camp in California until Camino opened in April 1942. As a result CPS #2 had Brethren, Mennonite Friend and [Dukh-i-zhiznik] plus the larger assortment of church affiliations." ... Being jailed in 1946 was not like being put away in the 1960’s. A high light must have been to hear coming down the aisles the singing of the [Dukh-i-zhizniki]. How eerie and also heartening sound behind the bars. Spirit reigns, [Dukh-i-zhizniki], had been transferring into CPS 76 because they were there from the start and it was closer to home, Fresno area, Phoenix, Los Angeles. .... In the Spring of 1946 a number of Glendora inmates went on a work strike. The war was over, they were still held.... For all these strikers there is no release date in the CPS directory. They have functionally been on probation ever since. Those who were never released from CPS night include partial alphabet as a sample ... Peter Berokoff, William Berkoff, .... Morris Dolmatoff, John Eropkein, ... CPS 2/76 was the longest operating Conscientious Objector camp. ... The federal government was in an improbable situation. The dilemma was how could people be sentenced for not working when paid nothing for years-shades of the Soviet Union."
Lives That Made A Difference by Samuel R. Tyson — "... [Dukh-i-zhizniki], left Russia to relocate in the southern San Joaquin Valley (Fresno), Los Angeles and Arizona. The [Dukh-i-zhizniki], an obscure sect, as non-war people were a part of Civilian Public Service (Conscientious Objectors) during World War II. Of the approximate 12,000 inducted into CPS there were 76 [Dukh-i-zhizniki], who over time transferred into CPS 2/76(San Dimas/Glendora) and so closer to home. Some of these were an important part of the work strike in the Spring, 1946 at the Glendora facility. In fact a John Tolstoy was one of the persons who died in CPS."

Azerbaijan & Georgia News
2002 June 30 — E-mail from Tiblisi, Georgia — "The Baku Jumpers emigrated to Siberia when the USSR broke up." [about 1992] ..."...there are only 3 sobraniya in Tbilisi..." [5 existed in 1993] one is called "the Saburtelo sobarnie". Thanks to Nina Belyayeva, a Constant Molokan originally from Baku, Azerbaidjan, who will soon move to Houston, Texas, with her daughter who married an engineer.

The Spirit of Literacy, by Janice Chernekoff
2001 — Department of English, University of Illinois — Nicole's Writing Studies page — Book Review — Part. IV: “Teaching” — "The final five pieces of Writing Permitted in Designated Areas Only are auto-ethnographic essays written by some of Brodkey’s former graduate students. These students engaged in the same kind of ethnographic studies of themselves as Brodkey did for “Writing on the Bias.” One of these auto-ethnographies, written by Janice Chernekoff and entitled “The Spirit of Literacy,” ...Chernekoff writes a compelling narrative in which she describes the general beliefs her childhood religion ([Dukh-i-zhizniki]) in relation to literacy. According to this religion, nothing learned in school is as important as what is taught by parents and the church. She was taught that those outside of the religion were mistaken in their beliefs, and that particular ethnic groups were damned. When she recognized such beliefs as an explicit form of bigotry, she embraced wholeheartedly the image of literacy “more publicly respected” (260). Next to the understanding of literacy she was taught as a child, the image of literacy that promised equality seemed so benevolent and enlightened. Now, however, she wonders “if academic literacy is any less oppressive or more rational and beneficial to society” (260). This is the question that drives her narrative as she compares the notions of literacy that pervaded her home and church to those that reinforce and reproduce the ideology of academics, and finds complex similarities."

Russian Molokans and Baptists
2002 February 18 — The Russian Baptists: A Fundamentalism File Research Report by Mark Sidwell — "Molokans - Also contributing to the rise of the Baptists were native Russian groups, among whom were the Molokans, or ["dairy eaters"] "milk-drinkers," a name derived (according to one theory) from the fact that they [ate dairy products] (moloko) during Lent. This quasi-Protestant group, who called themselves "spiritual Christians," originated in the eighteenth century. They were a quietist group, like the Quakers. They rejected baptism, had no ordained ministry, and relied on an inward spiritual leading. Many early Russian Baptists, such as N. I. Voronin (whose baptism in 1867 traditionally marks the beginning of the Baptists in Russia), were of Molokani background." ... (McBeth cites A. I. Klibanov, who maintains that over half of the Molokans joined the Baptists. McBeth, Baptist Heritage, p. 491. The poignant account of a Molokani convert to the Baptists and the persecution he suffered is the firsthand testimony of Vasili Pavlov in Michael Bourdeaux, Faith on Trial in Russia (New York: Harper and Row, 1971), pp. 33-36.) "The traditional date for the origin of the Russian Baptists is 1867. In that year, a former Molokan, N. I. Vorinin, was baptized as a Baptist. Although some converts had been previously baptized by immersion as believers (the Baptist pattern), they had been ethnic Germans and [Anabaptists] Mennonites. Vorinin represented the spread of the evangelical revival to ethnic Russians. Realizing the potential legal liabilities from the czar's government, the Mennonites encouraged the Russians to organize their own groups [separate from the Germans]. Baptist congregations began to form among "awakened" converts."

American Molokan Demographics
1995 March 1 — Canadian Historical Review - Volume 76, Number 1 — Russian Refuge: Religion, Migration, and Settlement on the North American Pacific Rim by Susan Wiley Hardwick — Reviewed by Royden Loewen — "The very sequence of Russian religious history - the Old Believers, Doukhobors, Molokans, [Dukh-i-zhizniki], Baptists, and Pentecostals - is transplanted to North America. Lineage here seems to legitimize the Russian presence on the west coast. Russian cultural traits in Alaska 'linger today': the Orthodox missionaries who stayed on in Alaska after 1867 eventually migrated southward to provide the first 'nodes' of Russian settlement, making the west coast familiar to the later Molokan and Baptist migrants. These Russians contributed indelibly to the development of the west coast." [Some people who read Hardwick, now a professor at the University of Oregon, mistakenly think that Molokans came to California via Alaska. See:  ]

Molokan character in Russian story
2002 July 6 — The Guardian — Defenders of the faith by Linda Grant — In "After the Battle" [by Isaac Babel], the narrator is discovered to have gone into battle with no ammunition in his gun; he is accused of being a member of the Molokan Sect — a pacifist and God-worshipper. But this is not it at all. Trudging through the rain, the narrator pleads for a favour, "imploring fate to grant me the simplest of proficiencies — the ability to kill my fellow-man". Babel wrote stories about Russian Jews. "After the Battle" is one of the Red Cavalry stories, which gain their force from the tension between Babel’s alienation from the Cossack soldiers around him, his disgust with their brutality, and his longing to be as strong and cruel as they. In “After the Battle,” the narrator (named Lyutov, the alias adopted by Babel to hide his Jewishness from the Cossacks) is cursed for his cowardice by the one Cossack he has managed to befriend. Also see The Complete Works of Isaac Babel. [Add Babel to Chekov and Pasternak — Russian writers using Molokans in their fiction.]

Dukh-i-zhizniki pushed out of the "Flats"
2000 February 23 — Contested Territories: a collection of essays on the material manoeuvres of artists in space — "Pico Aliso Village Housing Projects" — by Sue F. Schechter, Chairperson, Office of Historic Preservation, Sacramento, California — "This desperate effort to create a slums/dystopia versus renovation/utopia opposition is not at all anew tactic. During the late 1930s when the projects were first built, Housing characterized the Boyle Flats area as among the worst slums in Los Angeles. Lloyd Wright himself described the Boyle Flats community as "one of the worst obsolescent areas in the city at its figurative front door." According to official reports, slum housing in the area known as "Russian Town" had corroded the family structure of the seventeen ethnic groups living in the Flats, leading to juvenile delinquency, crime, tuberculosis and venereal disease. The reports singled out the large population of Russian immigrants’ most of whom were part of the [Spiritual Christians from Russia] Molokan Christian sect as the primary factor in the decline of Boyle Flats. The elder Russians were described as an "inassimilable element" while the youth were portrayed as a "delinquent and criminal class." The building of the new Aliso Village housing, completed in 1946, became an occasion for Housing to reveal how a slum neighborhood could be transformed into a vision of American democracy. In contrast to the miserable conditions of "Russian Town", the new public housing of Aliso Village offered the displaced residents sanitary and modern housing. Combined with a variety of community support services such as daycare and youth clubs, Aliso Village was a modern miracle, a community of almost 900 households living in newfound harmony. .... Unfortunately, the completion of the Aliso Village housing projects coincided with the United States’ entrance into World War II. What was originally intended as replacement housing for the displaced residents of the Flats, eventually became housing for workers in the war-time industries. As a result, not only was the majority of the "Russian Town" slum eliminated but so too were the vast majority of its residents."

Obituary of Mike Tolmachoff
2002 June 27 — Arizona Republic — Glendale farmer, 90, never lost the simple touch — By Connie Cone Sexton — "Before Alzheimer's took its toll, before old age slowed him down, longtime Glendale farmer Mike Pete Tolmachoff delighted in welcoming friends and family into his modest home....he liked to sing little songs in Russian and they loved that he even spoke to the cows in his native tongue....

USC Trojan Swim Team - Erik Tolmachoff
2002 Profile: Junior at University of Southern California, Los Angeles. "Pac-10 point-scoring or beyond... Tolmachoff prepped at Clovis West High in Fresno, Calif. … All-American first team honors ... Scholar-Athlete Award ... His Clovis Swim club team won the 1999 Junior Nationals West....a chemical engineering major.

Cibicides colombianusTolmachoff, 1934
Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa — A sub-species of Benthic Foraminifera: Microscopic ocean-bottom-dwelling single-celled organisms similar to amoeboid organisms, having a shell perforated by pores (foramina) through which slender filaments project, and occupy a wide range of marine environments. The Tolmachoff variety appears to live in waters off the shore of Columbia. Probably found by Invertebrate Paleontologist Dr. Innokenty P. Tolmachoff, 1925-35, Ph.D., University of St. Petersburg.

ASU Bioengineer — Aaron Conovaloff 
1999 — Signal Archives —  "Question: What do prosthetics, artificial organs, tissue division, and genetic engineering have in common with AWANA? Answer: Aaron Conovaloff. Combine Aaron’s fascination with subjects like biology and life science with his father’s career in mechanical engineering and you have a Citation Award achiever who is majoring in bioengineering at Arizona State University. ... straight-A student who finished sixth in his graduating class at Northwest Community Christian. ... full-tuition scholarship to ASU."

LA-UMCA Picnic Cancelled!
2002 June 19 — "The LA picnic has been canceled for this year. A letter had been mailed to about 1000 households inviting all to a meeting that was to be held on 18th. About fifty showed up for the meeting. The concern was not enough help and no one wanted to take charge to coordinate this years event. The canceled picnic is just the beginning, if the people don't wake up and start pitching in, then there is a strong possibility that the UMCA will be shut down. I'm not sure what's going to happen to the scheduled fund raising events planned for the rest of the year."  Thanks to John Rooski, manager of the Molokani Narod forum who invites you all to join his Internet discussion group. Offline about 2007

Colonia Ruso Museum in Mexico
2002 May 4 — Ensenada-Guadalupe Trip — digital photo album by Ghrishka Bolderoff, Mariposa (north of Fresno) California — Thanks to Ghrishka for posting 51 pictures of his trip. Most are current images showing the Molokan Colony 15 miles inland from Ensenada Baja California North. See the Mexico Molokan Church and Cemetery, Russian Restaurant, and one of the two Molokan history museums showing most all the exhibits. Gavril Kashirski, who still lives there, is a tour-guide. Offline, Ghrishka died in 2013.

Doukhobor Cow
Not only were the "Molokan horse" and "Molokan dairy cow" recognized breeds in the Caucasus, but so was the "Dukhobor cow" (at end of 2nd to last paragraph). I suspect that the Molokan and Dukhobor cows may be the same. (See: The Molokan Heritage Collection: Volume II: Molokans in Turkey) [Thanks again to Jon Kalmakoff for another interesting link.]

ARMENIE
"Armenia, the last Molokan villages, near Yerevan, the Armenian capital." More photos of Spiritual Christians from Russia in Armenia. Some you've seen before.

Country Joe and Me
2002 — by By Ron Cabral and Joe McDonald — "My grandmother, Thelma Gorbonoff, and her family also fled Czarist Russia in 1906-07. At that time men were conscripted for 25-year hitches for the Czar's Army. They were poor peasants living in Siberia near the town of Chita, when they decided to flee and head east towards Harbin, Manchuria. They loaded up all the horse-drawn wagons they could find and drove across the Siberian plain .... lived for years on Potrero Hill, a working class neighborhood with stunning views of the San Francisco Bay ...Neither Russian Orthodox nor Jewish, she was connected someway to the Molokan Sect ...There was a large contingent of Molokans who settled on Potrero Hill. Illiterate in both English and Russian she lived to age 94 and is buried in Seaside, California."  Read more: books for sale, reviews...

2 Azerbaijan Molokan churches registered
Here's 3 recent articles about Molokans in Azerbaidjain from the Keston Institute, London, which "monitors freedom of religion and researches religious affairs in communist and post communist countries". Of the 13 Molokan congregations, only two have registered. They are in Baku (200+ members) and Sumgait, a northern suburb. Timofei Baryshev appears to be the representative for the largest congregation.

Molokans in the 1918 Azerbaijan Army
"The Spring of 1918: The Armenian Terrorism in Azerbaijan" — by Azerbaijani scientist, professor, Jamil Hassanly — This site has links to of photos of mutilated bodies in Kars and surrounding areas.

Now-adult Doukhobor children sue B.C.
2001 April 4 — Toronto Star (Canada) —  Vancouver — From 1953 to 1959, 150+ children of members of the Sons of Freedom Doukhobor sect were incarcerated 300 miles east of Vancouver and forced to abandon their Russian language and culture.. Last year 49 of them filed a lawsuit against the B.C. government seeking an apology, counseling and compensation. Their lawyer filed the suit in B.C. Supreme Court after the government failed to respond to recommendations of the provincial ombudsman in a report two years ago. Mike Verigin painfully recalls police in riot gear swooping on Doukhobor communities ... clubbing adults and yanking children from parents.... his aunt being struck in the face, his mother fainting. He fled and hid in nearby mountains but was found and taken.  [Off line]

Molokan Women Working in Yerevan, Armenia
2002 May 10 — ArmeniaWeek, an online news-and-analyses weekly service — Dirty Business: Ethnic Russians have clean reputation among Yerevan home owners — By Suren Deherian, reporter — Most women of Spiritual Chrstians from Russia in Armenia work as house cleaners because they can be trusted not to steal. This news article with photos is about 2 young Molokan house cleaners Valia Berukov and Tania Koroliov who take a 2-hour bus trip from their village of Lermontova to Yerevan to make 4 times the average salary.  Correction: About 5,000 Spiritual Christians from Russia Molokans "remain" [not "settled"] in Armenia today. See Ivan Sem'onov's book (next) for more details.  — Thanks to journalist Mark Grigorian for the link. 

New book about Russian Molokans — $8
2001 — Author Ivan Sem'onov is offering his book to you for $8 plus postage. The book "A History of Transcucasian Molokans, Dukh-i-zhizniki, and Doukhobors" [Spiritual Christians from Russia] (120 pages with 16 photos) was published in Russian language in 2001 in Armenia. Send your name, address, and how many copies you want directly to the author: Ivan's telephones (3741) 44-33-41; (3741) 22-89-93; fax: (3741) 44-24-39; < E-mail: ivansemyonov@rambler.ru  Russian only> "I'm be very glad to meet you. Ivan Semyonov, Yerevan."

"The Spirit Wrestlers" Theatre & TV Schedule
Click for MORE2002  May - July — "A feature length (94 minutes) documentary by Jim Hamm which looks at the story of the Doukhobors in the 20th century. After fleeing persecution in Russia in 1899, the pacifist, communal Doukhobors struggled to keep their way of life alive in Canada. Eventually, conflicts with state agencies led the RCMP to take away Doukhobor children and place them in former Japanese internment camps, where they would be raised as "patriotic" Canadians. In response, certain Doukhobor extremist groups carried out some of the worst acts of domestic terrorism in Canadian history. The Spirit Wrestlers draws on archival footage, as well as interviews with Doukhobors and former RCMP officers, to present a balanced view of this dramatic chapter of Canadian history." See more..and negative Comments    Buy a copy for $60.

Doukhobor Retreat/Fundraiser 
2002 July 12-14 — Whatshan Lake Retreat and Music Festival is a Family event. Many of the talented musicians will be of Doukhobor background.A maximum of 700 tickets will be sold due to only 135 campsites. Early Birds: $25 for the weekend , and $30 for the weekend after June 15  All daily passes are $15. All proceeds are to be used to sponsor Children’s Camps for the underprivileged. The website will outline the project that the Society undertook to create a fitting gift to Society in general to commenerate 100 years since Doukhobors came to Canada in 1899. The project was dedicated in July of 1999.The Doukhobor Heritage Retreat Society #1999 is a non-profit, charitable Society and operates the Whatshan Lake Retreat. Tickets from: Elmer Verigin, president 

Doukhobor Peace Day
2002 July 12 — by Koozma J. Tarasoff — A centuries-old festival honouring the Apostles Peter and Paul, Peter's Day (June 29th Old Calendar, July 12th New Calendar) coincides with the birth of Doukhobor leader Peter "Lordly" Verigin in 1859 and the "Burning of Arms" in 1895. Author Koozma J. Tarasoff explores the enormous significance of this "Peace Day" to the Doukhobor movement.
[Johnathan Kalmakoff started his Doukhobor website at cableregina.com/users/doukhobor.genealogy, and by 2003 got the domain name Doukhbor.org, archived here.]

Russian Researcher Explains 605 Church Hysteria
2002 March — In the Summer of 1985, two horrible articles appeared in the Los Angeles Times inferring that Molokans killed and ate children. (See: Soup Bones or Satanism? Churchyard Dug Up in Molestation Case; and Expert's Opinion in Molestation Case: Bones in Churchyard Called Table Scraps). Why did Vicki Meyers insist that the police were wrong, and Molokans were indeed sacrificing children in strange religious rites? Well, new research about Russian sectarians by A.A. Panchenko (St. Petersburg, Russia) reveals that similar accusations have been made about "alien faiths" for a thousand years. I recently interviewed Panchenko and told him about the 605 Church story. He said that the same hysteria occurred in Russian many times. Not mentioned in his article are cases where Russian medical doctors and scientists were given bones from Khlysty and Skoptsy rites to study, and they turned out to be chicken or lamb bones, not bones of children. Study his new article: "Strange Faith" and the Blood Libel — in progress. Also study his article about pakhod: "Eschatological expectations in a changing world: narratives about the end of the world in present day russian folk culture".

"Kosher" Efseaff at UCLA
2001 April 25 —  Los Angeles Times Sports, page 1 — Good-Faith Gesture — by Sam Farmer — "Bruin Offensive Lineman Efseaff Has Shown an Appetite for School While Strictly Adhering to Religious Tenets as Russian Molokan".  See all articles about Efseaff.  (Thanks to Peter Gorbenko for getting this original article.)

Woodburn Oregon Old Believers
January 5, 2002 — Woodburn, Oregon— Russian Old Believers struggle to preserve way of life — by Andrew Kramer — Associated Press — "10,000 Old Believers in Oregon are the largest concentration of members of their faith living in the United States. ... observe 40 annual religious holidays, .. half are farmers"  They struggle with strict religious rules that prohibit American life styles. Many newspapers picked up this story:  The Morning News (PDF, 2 color photos), Los Angeles Times, Salt Lake Tribune (1 color photo) Peninsula Clarion [color photo, Arkansas], The Daily Ardmoreite (color photo, Oklahoma).

Buy Antique Arizona Stock
Scriptophily.com sells collectible stock certificates. They also take their research directly from this Molokan web site. Compare this Scriptophily site story with what I edited from Kathleen Noon's article about the Molokan involvement in the Glendale Beet Sugar Factory: "Industry Came to Glendale"

Molokan Plant
หภาำส (ฬฮหฮสภอ) - Lactúca L. (๋เ๒. ํเ็โ. ๐เ๑๒. ๎๒ lac, lactis - ์๎๋๎๊๎, ๏๎ ์๋ๅ๗ํ๎์๓ ๑๎๊๓). ะ๎ไ ๐เ๑๒ๅํ่้ ๑ๅ์ๅ้๑๒โเ ๑๋๎ๆํ๎๖โๅ๒ํ๛๕ - Asteraceae (Compositae).  Many plants in Russia are called "molokan" either because they have milky juice, like this one, or they are milky white in color, like a mushroom near Moscow, a light skinned person, etc.

1918 Census of Independent Doukhobors
New book by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff — "... an indispensable guide to Independent Doukhobors living in Western Canada.  ... from the original census ... Saskatchewan Archives Board.  ...over 6,600 names .. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia ...name, family group, age, marital status, number of children and locality of each individual. ... bibliographic references ... index. ..."  Price: $25 $18 (+ applicable postage) 187 pages softcover  ... 
Jonathan J. Kalmakoff,  135 Popular Bluff Crescent  P.O. Box 33015, Regina, SK. S4T 7X2  S4Y OB5

Doukhobor Logo Contest
2002 Sep 10 — Looking for Artistic Logo submissions for the newly formed Council of Doukhobors in Canada, which is promoting communication and cooperation among Doukhobors. All submissions are to be accompanied by a letter describing your Doukhobor heritage and/or relationship to the culture. Youth participation is encouraged. The chosen submission will be recognized in Doukhobor publications and posted on the web-sites. Please send submissions by September 10, 2002 to:
George Marken, R.R.#1, S 27, C 4,
South Slocan, B.C., VOG 2G0

Doukhobor Village Museum
New website by museum director Larry Ewashen — "The Doukhobor Village Museum will introduce you to Doukhobor culture and a lifestyle as it evolved in the Kootenay region of British Columbia from 1908 to 1938. Over 1,000 artifacts represent the timeless and fascinating arts and crafts, customs and religion of the people. You will see the petch (bread baking oven), the wood fired banya (sauna),naturally dyed fabrics and clothing made from linen, as well as tools and implements that were used in the last century, all set amidst an authentic reconstructed communal village."
Later the city named it the Doukhbor Discovery Centre.

Molokan Bone-Setter in Kars 
Childhood Recollections by Tanya Postnikoff — "Nikolai, my father-in-law to be, had .. an accident, he fell under a heavily laden freight wagon and both his legs were crushed between the heavy steel-rimmed wheels and the cobble-stoned military highway. The doctors refused to attempt to set the multiple fractures and decided to amputate. It was a common bone-setter (a Molokan with no schooling) who saved the situation. He did such a good job of bone-setting, that Nikolai retained full use of his legs for his entire lifetime. While convalescing, he would walk about supporting himself on two canes, and because of this was nicknamed Starchik ("oldster") which stuck to him for life. His family, in turn, was alternately referred to as either Lavrovs or Starchikovs."  Reposted on the new Doukhobor Heritage site.

Baja California's Russian Community 
2002 May 4 — "Experience a fun-filled and fascinating trip to Baja California's dwindling Russian community. Enjoy an orientation and slide presentation with Therese Muranaka, an expert on Baja California's Russian presence. Then travel by bus on a field trip to Ensenada, stopping to visit two local museums that highlight the area's native peoples, past and present. In addition, visit a museum in Guadalupe Valley to learn about the Russians' flight from religious persecution and the early days of their settlement. Then enjoy a traditional Russian meal in the home of one of the founding families. The return trip home is by way of Tecate. Price includes transportation, museum admission fees, and lunch.  Orientation: Wednesday, May 1, 2002; 7-8 p.m.  Trip: Saturday, May 4, 2002; 8 a.m.-6 p.m.  Member $69; Nonmember $79  Class Code: P2-370-13."  Leaders: Mike Wilken and Therese Muranaka, PhD (photo), whose thesis was: Spirit Jumpers: The Russian Sectarians of Baja California." Read more about Mexico Molokans.

WWW.MOLOKAN.NET   Up Again  
2002 Mar 25 — www.Molokan.net is back in operation after a long recess. The webmaster has subdivided this moderated forum into many boards: 4 main "conferences" — Welcome, Community News, Discussion Groups, Services and Merchandise— which are sub-divided. Community News has "Births", "Weddings", and "Funerals".  Services and Merchandise has "Help Wanted" and "For Sale" boards You'll have to register though. A cute privacy feature is that members can create "buddy lists" with other selected members, to isolate a conversation among buddies. On the one hand it's a significant improvement over the previous forums; on the other hand we have 4 forums in use already. Will this one be a "fifth wheel"?

Molokan Women Workers in the 1930s
1978 July 10 — Honorable in All Things — Tape Number: II, Side One — Oral History Program, UCLA  — Joel Gardner interviews Carey McWilliams, born 1905, a lawyer and author: "... one night I was asked to come out to speak to a meeting .. on the east side of Los Angeles by the women that worked in the walnut operation... hand labor .. they cracked walnuts with hammers [demonstrates] and shelled them. It was a big meeting. ... late August; .. humid and hot. This hall was packed, absolutely packed, with these women (I was the only male there), I would say twelve, fifteen hundred. And they had the front row reserved for these Russian Molokan ladies with their quaint costumes and so forth. ... I was supposed to tell them what their rights were under the new labor legislation, .. But that wasn't what they really wanted to hear, ... they didn't have enough hammers. It was a piece-rate thing, and they were cracking walnuts with their fists! .. the only English word they all really understood was organize. They were really ready and ripe for organization. ..."

Efseaff Won't Play Football on Sundays
2001 September 26 — dailynews.com — "UCLA: Religion won't get in the way" —  by By Billy Witz — "UCLA coach Bob Toledo said no player ever has asked for a practice or game off because of religious beliefs, though guard Eyoseph Efseaff, a Spiritual Christian Dukh-i-zhiznik Russian Molokan, is prohibited by his faith from playing on Sunday.  If somebody felt that strongly, I'd be willing to listen," Toledo said. See much more about Efseaff on the web last year.

Molokan-Mormoni Updated
James Scott's Russian Mormonism site has been substantially updated with links, maps, and photos — including this one: "Molokan grave markers in the Molokan cemetery at Yablonovy Ovrag, [Samara]. Molokan graves use simple pillars and avoid the symbol of the cross for religious reasons." There's lots of info about Molokans, polygamy, and other sectarians here.

"The Malakani", 1879 
1879 — November — Appletons' Journal — by G.M. Asher — "The Malakani; or, Spiritual Christians in Eastern Russia" is one of the early descriptions published in English. (Also see: Wallace) Molokans are compared to Presbyterians, Quakers, and Mormons — with two young wives. Asher, who lived 5 weeks with A.G. Orloff, a Molokan and miller, describes parts of the faith, why the fascination with Jung Stilling, his personal insights.

Recent Poem about Molokans
2001 — Poems — By Bulat Okudzhava — In 1989, one of the most respected Russian poets composed: "The Molokans gathered... White scarves on the women. And man after man in white homespun shirts, [and] in black fabric worker caps ... And they started to sing a long chorus about Christ miraculously appearing soon..." 

Molokans in Lermontova, Armenai
2001, Dec. 7-13 — Lifestyle: The Russia Journal Weekly Supplement —  By Tara Warner — "LERMONTOVO, Armenia — With quotes from: Natalya Tsetkova: "...but there are no other Molokans around and that makes it hard to keep our laws." Ffrom Esfir Dolgova: "They say there's an oak [in Tambov] around which the Molokans gathered when they left, and it's still there today. We've kept the memory of our past alive all this time." And  Susana Chechina, 16 from Dilizhan, who reports: "In the evenings we read or sew. It's true though that when we young Molokans get together we do sometimes listen to music, because it's hard at times to know how to entertain yourself."

"Molokani" in Happiness by Chekhov
In this 1887 short story, Anton Chekov mentions Molokani as he describes the landscape surrounding this chat among sheep herders: "If one clambered up on that tomb one could see the plain from it, level and boundless as the sky, one could see villages, manor-houses, the settlements of the Germans and of the Molokani, and a long-sighted Kalmuck could even see the town and the railway-station." The location is somewhere in the south — New Russia — from the present Zaparozhie, Ukraine, to Stavropol', Russia. In The Horse-Stealers Chekov created dramatic characters of Molokan vigilantes: "There were ... thirty altogether, and all of them Molokans...'We'll show you fine horses,' they said.  ...  the Molokans stood round and hit me with sticks on my knees and my elbows. It hurt fearfully. They beat me and they went away ... " 

Another Molokan Web Forum
2002 Mar 7 — Molokani Narod (MSN)— "John, a.k.a. Rooski, just started a new forum on MSN. Seems like Yahoo started to have some annoying advertisements. ... thought maybe we can get away from that. Hope to see you there." http://communities.msn.com/MolokaniNarod. There are 3 active Forums. The membership of the Molokan Forum-Yahoo! decreased to 47 but posted messages exceed a 1000!. Mean while, at the Molokan Forum-MSN members increased to 18. The MSN Molokan Forum manager requires: "I will need you to email me (for privacy and Molokan validation) your first and last names, parents first and last names, and the church you attend."; and Luke has created an extensive event calendar. "This is an unmoderated forum in which you can post messages to your fellow Molokans, post and learn of upcoming Molokan events or church doings, Molokan funeral notices, birthdays, weddings, post pictures of Molokans or Russia or whatever pertains to our heritage. It is a place where you can really feel a part of the Molokan community." Competition for Molokans — Amerika, What a Country!  

Molokan Church-Building in Russia
2002 February 23 — University of Illinois — Russia and East European Center — Sacred Stories: Religion and Spirituality in Modern Russian Culture — At this national conference, Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle (History, Ohio State) presented another research paper: "Prayer and the Politics of Place: Molokan Church-Building, Tsarist Law, and the Quest for a Public Sphere in Late Imperial Russia."  Download the report in PDF file format (you'll need Acrobat reader) and plot plan of an old Russian Molokan sobraniia. It tells about the legal struggles Molokans had when they first tried to build bigger houses in which they could legally meet for prayer meetings.

4th Molokan Forum Started
2002 February 27 — The first list at "Litttle Russia" is defunct. Then RA started one at Yahoo! (55 members now), and Efimov did the same in Russian (see Feb 13 below.) Today a Molokan lady reports: "I have started a new Molokan Forum at MSN. It will be unmoderated, but you will need to join like here (Yahoo! Molokan Forum), and if we get any people like BT or others like him, they won't be allowed to join unless everyone approves. I don't remember if I made it private from public viewing, but if everyone wants it to be, then just say so. With Love, A_Gentle_Kitten." Thanks. This is one way to kick out the riff-raff, because this site has a "Code of Conduct" and more control via the community manager's approval of all membership requests. Go to: http://communities.msn.com/MolokanForum (No longer working)  A Calendar is being maintained with current events! A first for the web. The Pictures include Suzdal. As of Mar 2 there were 19 members.  UPDATE: This Forum has been replaced by http://communities.msn.com/MolokanCentral   Offline

Molokans in Italy for 200 years
2001 Oct 12 — Moscow — Journal: Vmeste, by Aleksandr Chymakov — "N.N. Fefelova, professor of Russian language in Rome, said that her ancestors — Molokans, migrated to Italy about 200 years ago. Molokans since then have lived in Italy together, keeping their Russian language, faith, and traditions." She was one of 700 representatives from 47 countries who attended the Moscow congress of co-patriots (Russian diaspora) — a total of 1000 participants. President Putin addressed the delegates stating that outside of Russia, scattered around the world, there are about 20 million Russians who still speak Russian, and have an interest in Russianess. Many are enriched by its science, culture, technology and commerce. Some countries have shut down the Russian schools, radio and television shows, and haven't maintained relationships with their minorities according to generally acceptable laws. The entire Russian Federation should help these generations, separated from Russia, which have kept the language, culture, folk customs, and Orthodox faith.

Why was M.G. Rudometkin Imprisoned??
1992 Spring — The Christian Molokan Besednyik — Vol. 5, No.1. Pages 10-14 — by Michael P. Lediaev — "..the authorities decided to arrest Rudometkin for the following reasons: ..leading his followers into deception (error of faith), ...no respect for authorities, ...polygamy, ... apathy in his followers towards their livelihood, ... and ... authorities feared that neighboring ethnic groups would also follow into this polygamy practice. ... " Please post comments on the Molokan Forum-Yahoo!, or Molokan Forum-MSN. Offline

Ah! I found a Molokan 
"Mr. Daly has put the punishment of Death, is separated by winnowing. —Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, ii.— mantle had fallen over the city. To return to Asia and found the Church strong, possessing all the terror-inspiring characteristics of his nature. And it is acknowledged by the Parliament under the influence of mind over matter. Such cures of disease as seem to follow prayer and faith are cited; such incidents as the great Duke of Lancaster is dead."  Read more  "psychoflubber"

3,000 Spiritual Christians Left in Armenia 
2001 July 19 — Nezavisimaya Gazeta — translation from RIA Novosti — "The True Face of the Demographic Castastrophe" — by Mikhail Tulsky — "Over the past decade the number of Russians in former Soviet republics declined by at least 10 million. ... in Armenia .... by 1999 8,000 Russians remained in the country (3,000 of them are Spiritual Christians Molokan village inhabitants)."

Prygun "Persians" Lead Old Believers to Oregon 
The History of Oregon's Old Believer Community — Compiled by Paul J. Wigowsky —"Our narrative narrows at this point to those Old Believers who went to Brazil. The number which arrived there seems to have been near 200 or even more. There were apparently two boatloads of them, one of which went to Brazil by way of Los Angeles and the other which headed in the opposite direction by plane, eventually passing through Rome and then taking a boat from Italy. The group which stopped in Lost Angeles found their arrival heralded by the American newspaper Novoye Slovo (The New Word), and they were met by some [Spiritual Christians Pryguny from Iran (Persians)] Molokans who resided at that time in the city. These [Spiritual Christians Pryguny] Molokans were members of another conservative sect from the days of the Schism of 1653, and this particular group had immigrated to the United States in the early Twenties. Some of their relatives had moved to central Oregon and were farming in the Willamette Valley near Salem and Woodburn. In the course of conversations between the members of these two groups, the [Spiritual Christians Pryguny] Molokan hosts told their Old Believer guests about the productive farmland and peaceful countryside their relatives had written them about in "Voodburn." It was this name that the Old Believers were later to give their American sponsors when asked in what part of the country they would like to settle."

55 Photos of Armenian Molokans 
2002 — On Location, Photographer's Agency — By Ruben Mangasaryan — Of the 5,000 (? 3,000)  Spiritual Christiasn from Russia left in Armenia, the most concentrated population is in the village of Fioletovo. Life seems unchanged for the 170 years they have been here. Photos of daily life — cooking, spinning, farming, making their famous sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) — with many first names and some surnames — Birjukov (right), Chechev, Mechikov, Tikunov. Also see Mark Grigorian's story, and Ivan Sem'onov's book.  And many of the same photos at Armenie. See how Olga Johnson copied my photo stories into her own page.

NEW Molokan Genealogy Board
2002 Feb 14 — Ancestry.com now has a "Molokan" board for all Spiritual Christians from Russia. You can post your genealogy information and questions there. Enjoy and learn from one another. The Society of Educated Molokans continues to help the non-Molokan Spiritual chrstians from Russia.

Molokan Forum in Russian 3
2001 March 15 — Moscow — Yuri Efimov started a Russian Molokan Forum. Check it out. The American Molokan Forum is at: http://clubs.yahoo.com/group/molokanforum Offline

2 Russian-Molokan Websites Mirrored
Our Molokan brothers in Russia have much more of their literature online than we do. They have 3 publications mirrored on 2 sites—in the US and in Russia: www.GeoCities.com/spchmol and www.molokan.narod.ru. The GeoCities server is faster if you are in the US, but you'll have to click off the ads. Thanks to Sergei Petrov in Tambov and Viktor Tikhonov of Tula. Over time, the guy transferred their effort to molokan.narod.ru (old) and new molokanin.ru/main/

Ivan Guryevich Samarin (1857-1948)
The Great Molokan Communicator. Ivan Guryevich Samarin (1857-1948) helped the Spiritual Christiasn leave Russia beginning about 1898. For this he was imprisoned. Samarin obtained a 99-year military exemption for the Molokans in Canada, but the followed P.A. Demens advice and went instead to Los Angeles. He is most reknown in America for supervising, compiling the publication of the Dukh-i-zhiznik religious texts Reproduced from the pages of the Molokan Review, 1949. See the current page at Doukhobor Heritage. Not mentioned is that he stayed behind in Kars to construct maybe 3 water-driven mills for each of his children who chose to stay.

Unknown Faces — Bolderoffs 
Here is a photo of my grandparents, Masha Styaponevna (Kozieva), and Vasillii Pyatrovich Bolderoff  standing with unknown friends & their child. Taken: ? Location: ?   Can anyone help George Boldroff (died) identify these faces? Click on picture to ENLARGE. My grandparents lost their youngest daughter 'Gania' (8 months) somewhere between Tecate, MX. and Los Angeles, via Glendale, AZ. after Feb.1918. I believe she is buried in AZ. but am not sure. Any Ideas.? Is anybody there making a list of deceased Molokans in AZ.?  [We tried but the cowboys put their lock on their cemetery.]

Conscientious Objectors on PBS.org
THE GOOD WAR And Those Who Refused To Fight It — "The story of 40,000 American conscientious objectors who refused to fight "the good war." — World War II.  ... personal courage, idealism and nonconformity based on both ethical and religious beliefs — about men whose love of country could not extend to killing their fellow man." Playing this week on PBS. Check your local TV guide, or the broadcast schedule, enter your state. About 100 Molokans were COs in WWII, but more enlisted to fight the war. A few finished CO camp and then enlisted.

Chat on the Molokan Forum
Ever since I started the Molokan Home Page, I and others have tried to get meaningful dialogs going on the web. Some played and chatted on Little Russia's bulletin board until the University of Texas, San Antonio, shut it down. Now I notice chatter on the free Molokan Forum, sponsored by Yahoo, is picking up. I hope it continues without flaming. Enjoy the Internet. 

Solution to a Problem
2002 January — by Michael P. Lediaev — "I just read your comments on your Arizona church incident and have decided to say a few things about one problem in particular, from my own perspective. ...We have four different groups that comprise our Molokan community here in America today. All four groups share the name "Molokan". Variance among the groups at times creates friction and disharmony. ... Wake up Molokans! The least you can do is to stop singing and reading from the "Spirit and Life" book."

Doukhobor Silver Lost in Washington
1988 — Gold Creeks and Ghost Towns of Northeastern Washington — By N.L. Barlee — In 1929, two Doukhobor firefighters lost in the Gold creek basin of Washington discovered a ledge of silver so rich it averaged over 1,000 ounces of ore per ton. For over seven decades, prospectors have failed to locate the rich deposit of silver known as the [new link] "The Lost Doukhobor Ledge".

Origin & Meaning of [Spiritual Christian] Molokan Surnames 
By Jonathan J. Kalmakoff with Andrew J. Conovaloff — "...  surnames often hold clues to family origins. In some cases they can indicate the name of an early ancestor, their trade or occupation, ethnic or geographic origin, or a descriptive nickname. The following glossary contains roots and meanings of over 330 surnames of Spiritual Chrstians from Russia." This site will expand with "Noteworthy Molokans" and a surname location index.

Fingernails Molokans?
2002 — An old friend writes: "... an interesting conversation I had with a visiting Russian colleague. I asked him if he knew of Molokans in his homeland? What he had to say intrigued me. He described the ones he knew as 'the bearded ones that wore Cossack shirts and grew very...very long fingernails'. He explained that these Molokans believed that their uncut fingernails would help them climb into heaven when they die. This probably has something to do with their belief that their spiritual body will have whatever their physical body had. Interesting! I'm hoping to have more information about the "Fingernail Molokans" soon." Can anyone else add to this? Perhaps long finger nails helps one craw out of his grave?

UPDATED 2021: Here's the rest of this story with a 1995 post on a bulletin board of the City University of New York (CUNY)
Odd Russian Religious Sect : "the members of this sect save all their hair and nail clippings and and bury them with the member when he dies.  The reason for saving all of these parts of the person is so that the member may be completely reassembled when the Resurrection of the dead takes place. (Bodily excrement doesn't seem to count since it's not a "permanent" part of the body.)"

I suspect someone mixed paces of Jewish and Dukh-i-zhiznik religious history to fabricate the idea of "Fingernail Molokans".

A Google search in 2021 finds a reasonable explanation probably stems from confusing a variety of Jewish traditions and folklore regarding cutting and disposing of nails and hair, and funerals, and the fact that Jews lived in Russia.  following about

In 1979 while collecting names for my directory at the Kerman-UMCA picnic, I met Betty Nazaroff-Petrushkin, a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Her grandfather was the original presbyter at Nazaroff sobranie on Lake Ave. She told me that during her life she witnessed funerals in which families would add quart jars to a casket just before burial containing what they thought was all the blood removed during embalming. These families believed that all the body parts must be together the Resurrection. Betty knew that several gallons were washed through a body during embalming, and tried to explain to zealots that they were fooled. Embalming fluid is used to keep the skin of a dead person from turning spotty brown, like a ripe banana, and a lot is often used. She soon devised a procedure to just wash out the visible hands and face, but Dukh-i-zhizniki would not heed her expert advice. She also wanted to install and embalming room, and cold room at the Slauson Ave. cemetery, which never happened. Nor, did anyone want to build their own caskets. All of her cost-saving knowledge could have reduced the price of a funeral to about $2000.

In the 1967, the Arizona elder John Alex "Cheese" Tolmachoff was hospitalized, developed gangrene and a leg was amputated. The family preserved the leg in their home freezer, and placed it in his casket just before burial.

Richard A. Morris, PhD — Stud Molokan Helper 
[Spiritual Christians] Molokans in Oregon know this Woodburn resident well. His thesis on cultural anthropology was the first to examine (compare and contrast) the 3 Russian groups residing in Woodburn — Dukh-i-zhizniki Molokans, Old Believers, and Pentecosts. Dr. Morris served as a Director of the Highgate Road Social Science Research Station, then worked in Russia for 5+ years, where he got international aid for several Molokan refugees from the Caucasus. He filled in where American Molokan aid failed. One Molokan resettlement in Tula got a tractor, others got new business support. Today he is on the faculty at the University of Oregon and REESC (Russian and East European Studies Center). The REESC website lists some of his presentations from 1996 to 2000. 

Molokans — Center of the Center of the World?
CLICK to ENLARGE2001 Oct 11 — Boomtown Baku — Baku, Azerbaijan, "center of the world ... oil ... in the middle of the Caspian Sea... And if the center of the world has a center, it has to be Molokan Garden at the heart of Azerbaijan’s capital city. That’s where Baku’s nouveau riche parade an amazing array of different dog breeds: pugs, fluffy Pekinese, boxers with docked tails, terriers, bloodhounds - the kind of dogs that the Caucasus has never seen and, to be honest, doesn’t really need." Everyone I've met from Baku knows about their famous Molokans. See the Molokan Garden song, and Molokan Garden/Square

New Shinen [meeting hall] Church in Madera, California
2001 November 12 — The Walter Shinen family and associates split from Mendrins' (McKinley Ave.) Church to form the latest Dukh-i-zhiznik congregation. In the 1960s, Mendrin split from Buchnoffs' (Siskiyou Ave) in Kerman. Here's Shinen's bilingual letter (corrected) soliciting donations to buy a building. If anyone wants to add to this story, please do. And you can request to be anonymous, you closet Internet Molokane. Was there enough "spiritual" room at Mendrins'?
UPDATE: Shinens divided from the original Klubnikin (podval) tribe in Bolye heights Los Angeles, to form the Old Romanovka congregation (Blue Top, Clelia st) in East Los Angeles, then led an exodus (pakhod) with Paul Efseaff to Mato Grasso, Brazil in the 1970s, then returned and joined the Mendrin family congregation on McKinley Ave, Kerman.

Molokani Carousing
CLICK to ENLARGEMolokans singing, a Painting on Oilcloth. 112 cm. x 180 cm. — It was hung at "Black Vano Dukhani" (Didube). Mr. M. Ledntium found the painting. It belonged to brothers Ilia and Cyrile Zdanevich. At present it belongs to Niko Pirosmanashvili State Museum, Georgia. [Thanks to Jon Kalmakoff for this beautiful find.] Click on picture to enlarge.


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