4 ms·
They fled religious persecution. They and the people they associated with were treated like crap by the Tsars and then the Bolsheviks showed up and cranked it
by dsfyu404ed 7y ago
They fled religious persecution. They and the people they associated with were treated like crap by the Tsars and then the Bolsheviks showed up and cranked it to 11. I think that fear of persecution was the real motivator that kept them from going back. I think it's easy to see where the expectation that "If we show back up after years they will instantly take our kids and throw us in jail" comes from.
- lb1lf 7y ago-Taking the opportunity to suggest that anyone remotely interested in the old believers - or Dukhabors - go find a copy of Philip Marsden’s eminent exploration of the south Caucasus Dukhabor heartlands in his book ‘The Spirit-Wrestlers’. Part travelogue, part history, part religious - it is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.