We began the journey east into Russia as Dutch
and German Mennonites settled in the Ukraine under the invitation of the
Russian government. Here they were
granted large parcels of land, and colonies developed. These were not communal colonies like the
Huttterites; rather, each family was given a parcel of land that was their
own. Most of the people lived in small
villages and traveled to their land, which they farmed. As the colonies grew, new villages were
started to keep the people close to their farms.
This pattern follows an age-old European tradition where
families often did not live directly on the lands they farmed. This was for safety and also allowed the
best land to be farmed rather than settled in villages. Since the Chortitza
colony was first settled in 1788-1789, it was often called the “old
Colony.” At its peak, the colony owned
405,000 acres and had a population of 14,000 people in 19 villages. Each family who initially settled here was
given 175 acres. The people could farm
or develop other economic structures, such as factories and shops. The government promised these people freedom
in religious matters, but they were not permitted to try and convert their non-Mennonite
neighbors. They were exempted from
military service and not forced to swear oaths.
It appeared as though the Mennonites had finally found their
place. Here they farmed, worshiped, and
raised their families. As the colonies
grew, they appealed to the government for more land, and other colonies were
developed. By the late 1800s, the
Mennonites owned several million acres of land and were a significant factor in
the agriculture industry in Russia. By
the early years of the 1900s, there were over 100,000 Mennonites in these
Russian colonies, with none of this growth coming as a result of outreach, but
rather family growth and resettlement by other Mennonites.
Mennonites developed not only farms and farm-related
businesses, but also numerous factories and businesses, and at their height, they accounted for over six percent of Russia’s industrial output. Some of the factories and farms employed
hundreds of people, including Russian peasants and other Mennonites. Their villages were well developed, and many
of the wealthier Mennonites lived in large brick homes, with magnificent
gardens and orchards. Old people’s
homes, orphanages, schools, and hospitals were started to take care of their
own people. These colonies were often
seen as model success stories and were noted as the “most prosperous and
well-developed rural communities in all of Russia.”
Since each colony was responsible for not only their
religious governance but also their civic world, they soon became enclaves of
culture much different from the Russian world that surrounded them. In order to
hold office in the colonies, one needed to be a Mennonite, which resulted in a
small group of men who had tremendous power and influence. This murky relationship between religious and
civil government is ultimately what led to the demise of the Russian
Mennonites.
The first fissure that developed within the group was in
1814, about 25-30 years after the group had moved to the colony. A small group felt that the spiritual life of
the church was beginning to diminish. Of
specific concern were the lack of personal and corporate morality, the power
that some of the leaders used in punishing civil crimes, and the support of the
Russian military through taxes, etc. This group became known as the Kleine Gemeinde (small church), a name
they continued as they later emigrated to Canada and the Americas.
Like
the Hutterites, the Russian Mennonites grew rapidly and had a tremendous
financial, cultural and social influence on the society around them. And like all groups that focus on
self-governance and isolation, the colonies grew rapidly but faced unique issues
that would eventually lead to their demise. It was these issues that would eventually lead their neighbors to
retaliate and strike against them. That
is story that will come a bit later in history. For now, we leave them in their colonies and move back to America to see
what has become of their spiritual cousins, the Amish and Mennonites who had
Swiss and South German roots.