The population of Armenia is distinguished by a high level of ethnic and confessional homogeneity, minorities here make up only 2% of total number residents. This 2% includes such ethno-confessional groups as Kurds, Yezidis, Assyrians, Russians, and each of them has its own story of the path that led them to the territory modern Republic Armenia.
Russian Molokans are no exception.
Molokans - a spiritual movement that arose and spread widely in the territory Russian Empire in the 18th century. Despite the fact that, in general, the Molokan doctrine remained in line with Christian religion, row serious differences from Orthodoxy led to a long persecution of the Molokans by Russian authorities. It continued until 1805, until Alexander I issued a decree on "Freedom of Religion" for a number of confessional groups. After another 25 years, the attitude changed again and another emperor, Nicholas I, decided to resettle the Molokans in the recently annexed territories of the South Caucasus. It is worth noting that the future settlers themselves accepted the new decree with optimism, there was even a “prophecy” about the emergence in the near future of the “thousand-year kingdom of Christ in the Ararat valley”.
Dreams of a kingdom were not destined to come true, but otherwise the fate of the Molokans in Armenia was going well. They got suitable for Agriculture land, and coupled with religious attitudes that encourage hard work, material success and condemn antisocial behaviors (such as drunkenness, debauchery, physical violence), this led to the further prosperity of the Molokan villages. It is not for nothing that many modern religious scholars draw parallels between the Molokan worldview and Protestant ethics, which contributed to the formation of capitalism in Western Europe.
This continued until the beginning of the 20th century, until bloodshed returned to the region. First World War and other conflicts historical period forced many Molokans to leave their homes and look for a new haven, especially those whose villages remained in the territories that, by concession of the new, Bolshevik government, became part of Turkey, were especially unlucky.
The Molokans were not bypassed by Soviet repressions, a separate lifestyle and high level the religiosity of the "sectarians" did not suit the leadership of the USSR. After calls for collectivization, instead of enthusiasm, aroused resistance from the population, a harsh but typical communist response followed: many community leaders, presbyters and heads of families were shot or exiled, and the remaining villagers were forcibly united into collective farms. Then the mass outflow of residents to the cities began, the villages of the Molokans began to empty, the actions of the Soviet government coincided with the process of urbanization gaining momentum. Some settlements, on the contrary, began to grow, while acquiring a completely different quality, for example, the Molokan village of Yelenovka, after they began to develop industrial production, felt a significant influx of population and turned into the city of Sevan, the current center of the Sevan region of the Republic of Armenia.
Only a few Molokan villages have survived to this day in the South Caucasus, the most famous of them are Lermontovo and Fioletovo in the Lori region. The population of these villages tries to preserve the way of life of their ancestors, which was formed over several hundred years, as much as possible. They still do not eat pork there, have a negative attitude towards drinking alcohol and do not trust modern technologies(so TVs, internet and even Cell phones in these villages - a rare occurrence). Fashion trends in clothing and style, they also bypass them - men wear belted shirts loose and do not shave their beards, while women are characterized by scarves and long skirts. Much in these villages really froze in the state of the 19th century - a real paradise for an ethnographer. In religious terms, the Molokans also retained all their differences: they still do not recognize icons and the cross, do not recognize the veneration of saints, deny the need for a priestly hierarchy, clergy, do not commit sign of the cross.
Vladimir Maslennikov,
On the photo selection you can see fragments Everyday life modern Molokans Armenia.
2010, the events at the arena, history drew another parallel .. Time before the arena and after. In the light recent events, anti-Caucasian-Asian sentiments, as an Armenian from Uzbekistan, I wanted to remember one very old event that allowed me to look at the world with slightly different eyes ... 1986 Aspen Grove near Leningrad, a training regiment of the USSR Ministry of Defense ... We are 180 people from Central Asia, delivered there from Tashkent warmed by the Autumn Sun, there under the low Baltic Sky with constantly drizzling slanting rain and slush ... They took the oath, took up guard duty ... and our hot guys were mowed down by a cold and the only place where it was possible to lie down for at least a couple of days - this is a San. Part, but it’s not rubber either .. Somehow I’m standing in line for an appointment and I think, “it still won’t work, there are too many people ..”, as a Slavic sergeant approaches me, Yes, not Slavic, but typically Russian appearance, and purely Armenian asks me - "Friend, are you Armenian?" ..I answer “No, I didn’t have to ..” and he “How so?” I say, “I’m from Uzbekistan, brother ..” he says, “What’s the difference, you’re still Armenian ..!” .. And Andryukha helped me take a break from the hardships, which I was unspeakably happy with ... But that’s not the point .. 24 years have passed, and I remember you Andrei, a Russian guy from Karabakh, I regret that I didn’t ask your last name and didn’t take your address .. But after that I know one thing Armenians and Russian Molokans are milk brothers, I’ll even say cabbage ... The best sauerkraut in Armenia is made Molokans, they sit in all Armenian markets and communicate in pure Armenian, trade .. very hardworking people over 200 years of development in the Caucasus, these people have perfectly comprehended the local languages and have not lost their native Russian, their faith, their customs ... Here I want to bring to your attention a small sketch of the Molokan
The Molokan sect arose in the second half of the 18th century in the Tambov province. The nickname "Molokans" stuck to the sectarians, most likely because they consume milk during fasting. They call themselves "truly spiritual Christians." In the 19th century, Molokans, fleeing oppression, began to move to the outskirts of the empire, in particular to the Transcaucasus. There they live to this day, preserving the customs and faith of their ancestors.
Article: Molokans
Website: Around the World
The Molokan sect arose in the second half of the 18th century in the Tambov province. The nickname "Molokans" stuck to the sectarians, most likely because they consume milk during fasting. They call themselves "truly spiritual Christians." In the 19th century, Molokans, fleeing oppression, began to move to the outskirts of the empire, in particular to the Transcaucasus. There they live to this day, preserving the customs and faith of their ancestors.
We met Molokans, or rather Molokans, at the Yerevan market. They sell sauerkraut here. The fame of it goes all over the republic, so there is no end to buyers. We drove to the Molokan village of Fioletovo with an uneasy feeling. We heard a lot about the lack of sociability of local residents, that they do not allow themselves to be filmed. For them, photo and video cameras, TV, newspapers - everything is from the evil one. In part, it turned out to be so, and yet those who told us about them clearly exaggerated. The first Russian settlements in Transcaucasia arose at the beginning of the 19th century. Basically, sectarians of various persuasions moved here. Today, their main representatives are spiritual Christians, better known as Molokans. Orthodox called them so because they are in fast days they consume milk.
In 1842 the Molokans founded the village of Nikitino. Previously, there were about two dozen Russian settlements in Armenia. Today there are two left, one of them is Fioletovo, the former Nikitino. Here is what an English traveler who visited Armenia in the 19th century wrote about the locals: “Their limbs are somehow badly connected at the joints. The Russians are in stark contrast to the Armenians, thanks to high growth and twisted gait. Facial features are irregular, eyes are small and facial expressions are not animated enough. The suit gives the men the look of retired soldiers. The women wear headscarves and clean dresses.” Molokans are indeed very clean. This can be seen in the state of houses and streets. There are two of them in the village - Central and Pogrebnaya.
The Molokans built the first huts together. Cattle, land - everything was public. Diligence, a sober lifestyle, conscientiousness helped the Molokans, wherever they went, to quickly get on their feet - in America, and in Mexico, and in Armenia. They have retained these qualities to this day. In pre-revolutionary times, the community was headed by 12 so-called apostles. A noticeable mark in the history of Fioletovo was left by one of these apostles, Maxim Gavrilovich Rudometkin. Molokans revere Rudometkin as a saint. Within the community, he founded a current of jumpers. During prayer they in a special way jumped up and down, bringing themselves into a state of ecstasy. Among his adherents, Rudometkin began to introduce a certain Zion language invented by him - the language of communication for future Christians. For example, hello, in Zion it will be: “parginal-assurinal-yuzgoris”. Maxim Gavrilovich ended his days in the Suzdal monastery, where he was imprisoned for life by the authorities. Today, the church is led by a pastor. He is elected general meeting. The presbyter has no privileges. Everyone in the community is equal. Its members call each other brothers and sisters. Humility, love, unity - this is the basis of a righteous life. The main precepts of the Molokans: do not envy, do not steal, do not offend your neighbor, help the weak, respect the elders. Smoking and drinking are condemned. Those Molokans who do not shave their beards live according to the laws of their ancestors. They don't go to the movies, they don't go to dances, they don't swear, they don't touch tobacco and alcohol, free time divided between God and the family. Those without a beard go to Russia to work and lead a free lifestyle.
The village has its own prophet, Ivan Vasilyevich Zadorkin. He is 72 years old. The prophet has 9 children and 25 grandchildren. Despite hard life, no one left, everyone lives in Armenia. Ivan Vasilyevich, as they say here, "walks in the spirit." From time to time he has visions, the "Holy Spirit" descends. This spirit, through Zadorkin, informed the Molokans that the two mountains between which the village lies will shelter it from the Apocalypse. The mystical abilities of the father were transferred to the daughter Galina Ivanovna, by her husband Yurtaeva. She lives in Yerevan. Vasily Ivanovich has a son, Timothy, who, unlike his father, does not adhere to the old order. Does not wear a beard, drinks, smokes. He spent six months in prison, got caught stealing copper wires. In Fioletovo, no one condemns Timofey. You can't force or force someone. Timofey is a bulldozer driver and often goes to work in Tyumen. For many Molokans, work in Russia is the main source of income. There is not enough land for a family, and the families of the Molokans are large, there are about three hectares - unless you feed yourself.
We visited Alexei Nikolaevich Novikov. His wife, Nadezhda Vasilievna, busied herself at the table. Alexey Nikolaevich complains about life. The harvested crop - cabbage, potatoes, beets - is difficult to sell: sometimes you have to feed cattle with vegetables. To recoup the cost of irrigation, you need to sell a ton of potatoes, another four tons - to pay for fertilizer. One hope for the children who live in Stavropol. Old people often visit them, but they are not going to move to Russia. Simple peasant food is on the table. Before eating - the obligatory prayer "Our Father". The Molokan prayer sounds almost the same as the Orthodox one.
Spiritual Christians celebrate almost everything Orthodox holidays. Molokan fasts last a week - any food is excluded. Everyone is starving: adults, children, even cattle are not fed. Molokans are not supposed to have a TV. Considered as idolatry. However, many families have television receivers. As long as they are hidden. The presbyter will never enter the house and will not begin to pray for the one who keeps Satan, that is, the TV set. It remains a mystery why the Molokans let us into their homes. Probably, the desire to communicate with new people took over. The house of Alexei Nikolaevich Novikov stands on Pogrebnaya Street. She leads to the cemetery. This last way any violet who died at home. Drunkards and swearers are buried according to donkey custom, that is, without a funeral service. locals they bury the dead themselves and do not put crosses on the graves. The Molokans consider the cross to be a weapon of the enemies of Jesus. Instead of a cross on the graves, there are iron tablets with the names of the deceased.
The life of a Molokan village is hard. And this despite the fact that the Molokans are very hardworking. Potatoes and cabbages are staple foods, and they will not be born well. The old people here are refusing pensions, because you cannot take what is not earned by today's labor. I must say that the life of urban Molokans is not much easier. Many, especially young people, tend to leave the village. Part of the Molokans moved to Russia. Galina Ivanovna, the daughter of the prophet Ivan Vasilyevich, ended up in Yerevan after her marriage. Galina has five children, a cat with a cat Eddie and Lady. Having many children is a blessing for the family, no matter if it lives in abundance or not. There are practically no divorces among Molokans. The eldest daughters Anya and Vera do not go to school. Their business is household. We came to Galina Ivanovna's house for breakfast. Nobody puts their hands on the table. A table for a Molokan is a special subject. During prayer, it turns into an altar, on which sacred books are laid out: the Gospel, prayer books and the so-called ritualists. These books are passed down from generation to generation. Galina Ivanovna does not imagine that her daughters can marry anyone other than the Molokans. Marriages with Armenians are rare. Boys Ivan and Misha go to a Russian school, go in for sports: Misha - barbell and basketball, Vanya chose karate. Although Armenian and Russian children live peacefully. All children of Galina Ivanovna speak Armenian fluently. After breakfast, the kids go to school. Anya and Vera stay at home. There is not much to do here for them - it will not take much time to cook dinner and clean the only room. It is unlikely that the city authorities of Yerevan will find an opportunity to improve living conditions large family. The very same Galya-Molokan can not earn an apartment. She is a nanny in an Armenian family. The child's parents want him to speak Russian fluently. Such is market internationalism. Many Molokans tend to leave Armenia also because every year it becomes more and more difficult to get an education in Russian in the republic. Ripped from their environment, they quickly lose their identity, forget the customs of their fathers. It will be very sad if the Molokans dissolve in the mass of the Armenian or Russian population. Be that as it may, in 2005 spiritual Christians are going to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the very royal manifesto, according to which they received the right to freely profess their faith.
Here are the things…….
How are the Molokans (special ethnographic group Russians) appeared in Armenia, and who are they in general? Journalist Mark Grigoryan helped find the answer to this question.
They cannot be called Old Believers or Old Believers, they belong to spiritual Christianity, close to Protestantism, since they rejected the Orthodox cult. From point of view Orthodox Church, Molokans are sectarians, says journalist Mark Grigoryan, long years who studied the history of the Molokans in Armenia.
The Molokans appeared in the 17th century, but this movement flourished in the 18th century.
“The institution of the church, especially in the 18th century, was powerful and dominating over ordinary people. This trend sought to free itself from this pressure. There are some elements of Protestantism in this,” said Grigoryan.
The Molokans and the Doukhobors (another religious denomination) were at first in the same movement, but soon separated. Popularity among ordinary people even under Catherine led to the decision of the authorities to resettle them. That is how they ended up on the banks of the Molochnoye River in the Taurida province, and in the first half of the 19th century they were already resettled in the Caucasus, on the one hand, in order to send them away, on the other, to increase the Christian population in the rebellious region.
"Now there are about 15 thousand of them in Armenia," says Grigoryan.
According to him, in general, Molokans reject the church as an institution. That is, for them, communication with God is direct, direct. However, at the same time, it is a religious movement that is based on the Bible.
“Especially, the New Testament is confessed very seriously, worship is based on this,” notes Grigoryan.
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Photo: Ruben Mangasaryan
Molokans live compactly in Armenia in two villages - Fioletovo (the village consists entirely of Molokans) and Lermontovo (about 80% of Molokans). The journalist and TV presenter said that his first visit to the Molokan village of Fioletovo in Armenia did not go too smoothly. It was not allowed to take pictures and record voices on a voice recorder.
"It felt like we were walking on main road, but on both sides of the wall, through which we can not penetrate," recalls Grigoryan.
He admits that this only fueled professional interest. Grigoryan and Mangasaryan began to work actively, meet with various Molokans in Yerevan, study their religion and customs. During the second visit, everything was also not easy, but we managed to take several dozen photos.
"The next time we handed out photos, it helped to break the ice. In particular, there was a case: one photo of Rubik showed an old man with bushy beard. It turned out that between the time the photograph was taken and when we returned with it, the old man had died. His son told us, “this is the only memory of our father,” Grigoryan said.
Photo: Ruben Mangasaryan
They made friends with several Molokans, Grigoryan even found their relatives in the United States, who practically do not speak Russian, helped them establish a virtual connection - via e-mail, which is new in Fioletovo.
TV is considered no less outlandish. Its absence (at least in prominent places) is also one of the striking features in the houses of the Molokans. Grigoryan explained this by the moral prescription of the Molokans.
“In the eyes of many, TV is a tool that brings immorality, examples of violence, nudity and all this “bad” into the house. Some elders forbid having TVs at home,” Grigoryan said.
However, not everyone strictly follows this prescription. Grigoryan himself was a witness to this.
"On one of our trips to Fioletovo, we noticed that there were large wardrobes in the kitchens. wardrobes. It turned out that TV sets were kept in these cabinets," Grigoryan said.
Thus, they are hidden from "prying eyes". As for the rest of the equipment, the Molokans own it. Grigoryan even knows a doctor of sciences who is engaged in space research.
The attention of guests in a Molokan house can also be attracted by the number of children, there are often many of them. According to Grigoryan, believing Molokans believe that their number depends on "how much God will give", they do not limit themselves in this. And marriages take place mainly between members of the community or with those who have adopted their religion.
The issue of military service and the use of weapons is not as acute for the Molokans as it is for one of the branches of the Dukhobors. Grigoryan said that once the Dukhobors in late XIX centuries, they burned all the weapons in the vicinity of the village of Gorelovka (in Javakhk) as a sign of their peacefulness. For this, the royal authorities severely punished them. Leo Tolstoy came out in their support, writing an article in the New York Times about how heroically they acted.
As for the modern life of the Molokans in Armenia, they have a very developed concept of community life, they have managed to integrate into society.
According to the journalist, the Molokans occupied several economic niches in the country. They are respected in these areas. Molokans are famous not only for sauerkraut, but also for high-quality repairs and cleaning. This is a kind of brand of Armenian Molokans.
The famous Russian writer Narine ABGARYAN commented on her Facebook page
and gave a link to an article from the GEO magazine about Molokans living in Armenia
“Molokans. I live for a century, I wonder for a century how it can be that in Russia they don’t know about them. But they don't know.
The most wonderful, most worthy people. Royal Russia lost a lot, having evicted them at one time to the outskirts of the empire. Part of my past, part of my soul, part of my Armenia. Molokans,” wrote N. Abgaryan. And we “followed” the link...
The author of the article, Peter Vail, did not come to Armenia by chance - his mother was from the Armenian Molokans. Bribed the inscription under one of the pictures taken talented photographer Sergey Maksimishin: “The fair-haired and blue-eyed children from the community of Russian Molokans seem like aliens in the Armenian mountains. So it is: the Molokans came here in the 1840s. They never mixed with the local population.”
... In what year Vail visited the Molokan villages of Armenia is unknown, so perhaps some of the people he mentions in the article, including representatives of the “hierarchy”, left their homes or even this mortal world, in the history of which Molokans will always remain a kind of “white spot”, unknown and completely unsolved.
“Where else are there compactly living communities
Russian people who have not been drinking for three hundred years?”
Now it seems to me that this was not the case. There cannot be such places, such people. In the 21st century, it is unthinkable full immersion somewhere at the beginning 19th century. Here the camera is not only forbidden (and it is often forbidden), but it is not even appropriate. “It’s awkward somehow,” Sergei Maksimishin told me, “I’m not a paparazzi.” Still - always with permission - he filmed. Probably there are places even further into the depths of life - somewhere in Australia, in South America, but these are three hours away from Yerevan, in the mountains between Dilijan and Vanadzor, in the villages of Fioletovo and Lermontovo. And most importantly - in this Australia, after all, strangers. And these are theirs. My.
Mine are nowhere else. Russian Molokans in Armenia are the past of my family. I took with me a photograph of my great-grandfather Alexei Petrovich Semenov and his wife Maria Ivanovna, who lived in Armenia. He showed the Molokans, and they warmed up, even the gloomy violet presbyter Nikolai Ivanovich Sukovitsyn. Not warm enough, though, to take pictures. But he admitted to the meeting, saying: "Brothers and sisters, we have a guest, Peter, his mother from ours."
My mother really grew up in a Molokan family. Our ancestor, the Tambov landowner Ivinsky, was carried away by the ideas of the Molokans, dismissed the serfs, renounced property and joined the sect of Semyon Uklein, changing his surname to Semyonov in his honor. In the years 1830-1840, the Tambov Molokans moved to Armenia, just then occupied by Russia. There my great-grandfather lived in Yelenovka - now it is the city of Sevan near the lake of the same name. From there, his son, my grandfather Mikhail, went to Turkmenistan, where my mother was born and raised - but that's another story.
On reverse side Great-grandfather's photograph has the inscription: “In memory of relatives in Askhabad, August 8, 1894, Yelenovka. Taken October 3, 1889.” A magnificently bearded great-grandfather with a valiant mustache - in a long Siberian frock coat, great-grandmother in a scarf and a white apron. Orderly.
The Molokans, who arose in Russia in the second half of the 18th century, were something like Orthodox Protestantism. Their self-designation is Spiritual Christians. The word "Molokans", which outsiders elevate to the fact that this sect consumes milk in fasting, is from the First Epistle of the Apostle Peter: "Like newborn babies, love pure verbal milk." They themselves - without intermediaries-churchmen - read and interpret the Scriptures. The community is headed by an elected presbyter. There are no priests, no church, no icons, no cross - as not divine, but human creations. The cross, moreover, is an instrument of the enemies of Christ. That is why the Molokans do not baptize themselves, and christenings are called “kstins”. Baptism with water is denied - a reference to the words of John the Baptist: "I baptize you in water for repentance, but the One who comes after me ... will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
The Molokans have several interpretations, subspecies, and now the movement is dominated by radical jumpers, who have greatly pressed the so-called permanent, more moderate ones. Jumpers - because "entering the spirit" (into prayerful ecstasy), they jump up, raising their hands, and pronounce something in an unknown language. I saw this at meetings in Fioletovo - more on that later.
Prosperity among the Molokans has always been considered a virtue, they are incredibly hardworking and conscientious, law-abiding and peaceful (in Fioletovo they remember only one murder, and even then in a fight - it was never intentional). Finally, they don't drink. Where else are there compactly living communities of Russian people who have not been drinking for three hundred years? My mother, who went through the front as a surgeon, managed to maintain an aversion to alcohol, which is why I suffered a lot in my youth.
Nikolai Ivanovich, presbyter of jumpers - a smooth straight parting, deep-set attentive eyes - believes, however, that the current ones have become loose. “How are the youth? - But not very. They indulge. - Are they drinking? - Yes, sometimes. - Do they walk? - No, even a drunk goes to his wife. - How do they get married? Parents agree? - No, parents only give consent, and so out of love. Out of love, maybe out of love, but without the community, without the will of the presbyter, nothing serious is done here.
Without hierarchy, no organization is possible. The Molokans rejected the priests, the temple, the ecclesiastical structure - however, another structure was created instead, but also one. Even more rigid, since in ordinary Orthodoxy power is distributed between different levels, here the very vertical that the Russian leadership dreams of is being built. Everything - family, work, community affairs - is done only with the approval of the presbyter. The village head of Fioletovo, that is, the official head of the administration, Alexei Ilyich Novikov, in whose house we lived, calmly says: “I have about ten percent of the power, the rest is with Nikolai Ivanovich.”
An instrument of pressure, a method of punishment - a refusal to perform a ceremony: marriage or kstin. In fact, exclusion from the meeting. Alexey Ilyich once dared to divorce his wife. Divorces are not recognized here. As Novikov told us: "They make me a prostitute." He moved to the permanent, goes to meetings in Dilijan. His 33-year-old son Pasha is not married, we asked why, and in response we heard a story as if from some old books. Pasha had a five-year affair with local girl, but she was not given to the son of the “prostitute”, she married another. And no one in the village will give out for Pasha.
In general, Molokan morals became recent decades harsher. It's clear: modern life with its accessible temptations, it threatens to blur, destroy the old way of life, and in order to survive, you need to isolate yourself even more. Here is a cultural conflict: the higher the level of civilization, the greater the likelihood of extinction; preservation of the unique human species associated with the tightening of one's own and the rejection of everything alien.
Once there was a club in Fioletovo, now the concrete cube with broken glass is empty. In the old days, young people went there to the movies and even to dances. Here he got married - that's all, it's over with nonsense. Now there is nowhere to go, and the rules are stricter. TVs are not kept. Only at the “prostitute” Novikov provocatively sticks out above the roof satellite dish. You will almost never meet worldly reading. But on the table in every house of jumpers - certainly three open books. This does not mean that they are read daily, but they are in full readiness: the Old Testament, the New Testament and “Spirit and Life” - “Inspired Sayings of Maxim Gavrilovich Rudometkin, King of Spirits and Leader of the Zion People of Spiritual Christians Molokan Jumpers. Written by him in the grievous suffering of the monastic confinement in Solovetsky and Suzdal in the period 1858-1877.
Three books are interpreted symbolically: the Old Testament is the foundation of faith, the New Testament is the walls, Rudometkin is the roof. At the prayer meeting it is directly stated that Maxim Gavrilovich - component Trinity: "Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the face of our anointed and suffering."
Rudometkin's manuscripts, which he secretly handed over from imprisonment in the Suzdal Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, were taken by the Tolmachev family to Los Angeles at the beginning of the 20th century, baked into bread. In the port of Poti, during the inspection, they said that they were taking native bread to the States, customs officers were moved. These are the books they read. True, when we were visiting 71-year-old Pavel Ionovich Dyakonov, he suddenly opened the bottom drawers of the chest of drawers and showed us books left over from children, now adults, living in other parts of the world. Normal motley set: Dumas, Turgenev, Irasek, "Ivanhoe", "Tales of the Titans" by Golosovker, "The Catcher in the Rye", "The Daughter of Montezuma".
Today's children read only in class at school, never at home, said Alla Vasilievna Rudometkina, a teacher of Russian language and literature. She lives in Vanadzor, like most teachers - they are brought and taken away by minibus. In Fioletovo, with its population of 1,500 people, a ten-year period. In the 9th and 10th grades - six people each, in the 8th - 28, but they will continue to study, the teachers explain, no more than ten.
Teachers say that children come to school to relax: at home they do a lot of housework. When sowing or harvesting, they do not appear at all. Accordingly, the attitude to learning.
They came, did not mix, did not disappear
The expression of children's faces is really carefree. Fair-haired and bright-eyed - here, in the Armenian mountains, they seem to be aliens. So it historically is - they came, did not mix, did not disappear. Years will pass - these girls and boys will darken from the wind, sun and worries, like their mothers and fathers, but now Maksimishin pushes me every minute, exclaiming: “Look at those faces!”
While he is arranging a photo session in the corridor, the director Valery Bogdanovich Mirzabekyan shows me the school. I ask for a little. He takes me out into the yard, we go to a solid concrete house. The director opens the door with a key and admires the effect produced: this has not been seen outside of Yerevan - not a soldier’s point that is familiar everywhere in the province, but toilet bowls, snow-white tiles, nickel-plated taps. The toilet was built by the Americans, and since there is no sewage system in Fioletovo, they also built an autonomous vacuum device. And since the people are unusual, especially the children, who immediately began to disassemble the brilliant details, the turnkey house is opened for VIPs.
The restroom was arranged by American charity organisations. Gas - that is, heat - they also brought to the school, before the students went to classes with logs under their arms. The Armenians donated a computer and allocated $100 prizes to several students. The Americans also created a medical center in the administration building. They are planting forest where it was cut down in the 1990s. And what about Russia?
Whoever you ask - and you don’t need to ask, they themselves say vying with each other - this is the main insult: nothing from Russia. Many years ago Russian ambassador(name not indicated. - Ed.) said, visiting the Molokan villages: “Russia is not Milch cow". Everyone in Violetovo remembers and quotes these words. And when asked to help with the organization of preparatory classes, the consul replied: "Your children - you pay."
It is not entirely clear against the background of the declared concern for compatriots abroad. And what compatriots! Fioletovo is entirely Russian (one and a half thousand - only eleven Armenians: they keep the only store that sells alcohol), and partly neighboring Lermontovo with a mixed population are genuine ethnographic reserves. Only not artificial, not museum, but alive. Any civilized country would send scientists here after scientists. The phenomenon of three hundred years of non-drinking alone is worth a close study.
And the language! Tanya, the daughter of Alexei Ilyich, is chatting with a friend who has looked in: “You have clearly not seen - You have seen. Pyachalny such. - For what? - I don't know. Noisy pit, it's nothing. - Well, you call me, you will know the FAQ. (“You need to call” on a mobile phone - there is no ordinary telephone connection here.) “Help”, “knit”, “flow”, “puff up”, “in your thoughts”, “went to the meeting”. But suddenly - "my son-in-law is luxurious." Record and record.
It seems that only Irina Vladimirovna Dolzhenko from Academic Institute archeology and ethnography in Yerevan, the best connoisseur Molokans. She graciously agreed to go with us, which helped invaluably: the Molokans have known and respected her for a long time. Perhaps there is not so much time to be interested in the local way of life: how long the Molokans will hold out in their uniqueness is unknown. They are slowly leaving for Yerevan, where their diligence and honesty are valued. I saw an ad on the wall there: “Malakan brigade: repairs, cleaning of apartments, etc.”. At school, for sure, it didn’t matter. Young people go to work: most of all to Krasnodar and Stavropol Territory- there are so many Molokans that it is possible to live compactly among their own. They go to Tyumen, to Surgut, and to Eastern Siberia. All this, as a rule, is temporary: those who leave for good will “tread down the traces of their ancestors”. But you can't go against the times - there are those who trample on.
And most importantly, the once prosperous Fiolet Molokans are getting poorer before their eyes.
Ending in the next issue.
Molokans are representatives of a special branch of Christianity that arose in the Russian state in the 18th century. In Armenia, Molokan settlements appeared around the 1840s, when Molokans from the Tambov province moved there.
Molokans in Russia for a long time persecuted as dissenters and apostates from Orthodox faith. They do not venerate saints, do not worship the cross and icons, do not make the sign of the cross, and reject hierarchical church institutions. They also treat Christian holidays in a peculiar way, for example, Easter is celebrated, but Christmas is not. In their own way, they also interpret the fast in which they freely drink milk (according to one of the versions, this is why they were called Molokans). But pork and alcohol are banned at any time.
Photo: Sergey Maksimishin for GEO magazine
Several Molokan villages exist in Armenia to this day: Lermontovo, Fioletovo and others. The Molokan community lives extremely isolated: they have little contact with the outside world, and marry only with “their own”. Thanks to this, for a century and a half Armenian Molokans did not mix with the local population and completely preserved the ethnic Slavic type (light-eyed and fair-haired) and the Russian language, however, very peculiar.
Molokans are known to be very hardworking people. They are strictly forbidden to drink alcohol, from drinks preference is given to compote and tea, which they drink according to the old Russian tradition: from a samovar, wiping sweat with special towels.
Divorce is highly condemned among Molokans. A divorced person is considered an "adulterer" and no family will want to intermarry with him. Molokan settlements are known not only for prosperity, but also for order: misdemeanors, which we call criminal offenses, are extremely rare here.
The manner of dressing has changed little since the 19th century: men wear loose shirts under their belts and long beards, women - headscarves and long skirts.
main man in the Molokan community - a presbyter, without whose approval it is impossible to solve at least some significant business. Instead of churches, there are prayer houses where they gather on Saturdays and Sundays, read prayers and sing hymns. Individual believers are capable of falling into ecstasy, in this state they begin to jump and speak in unknown languages. These are called "jumpers".
Entertainment is not honored here, it is believed that they lead to promiscuity, most Molokans do not even keep a TV. Reading "secular" books is also not encouraged, they prefer spiritual ones, mainly the Old and New Testaments, as well as the works of Maxim Rudometkin, spiritual leader Molokans, written by him in the 19th century, during the years of imprisonment in monasteries.
Birthdays or name days are also not celebrated. But christenings of children and weddings are magnificently celebrated. Molokan wedding ceremony long and includes several stages.
Get an education from above high school also not accepted. Yes, and at school, according to teachers, children do not try too hard, but rather take a break from hard rural work.
Armenian Molokans do not maintain ties with Russia, and Russian state shows no interest in them. However, there is a group of Molokans who refuse even state pensions, not to mention humanitarian aid: they believe that money not earned by honest labor cannot be taken.
Molokans live for the most part by subsistence farming, although some goods are also made for sale. For example, cabbage, which they grow and pickle in a special way. This product can be found in Armenian markets, it is known as “molokani kahamb”.
Sometimes members of the community leave their native villages and go to work, including in the southern regions of Russia. It is considered good luck to get a team of Molokan workers: hardworking, diligent, non-drinkers. Some, tempted modern world without strict religious restrictions, leave forever. Nevertheless, the community persists and remains an invaluable source of knowledge about Russian culture and language of the century before last.
