The Chronicles of Spirit Wrestlers' Immigration to Canada: God is not in Might, but in Truth PDF
Preview The Chronicles of Spirit Wrestlers' Immigration to Canada: God is not in Might, but in Truth
The Chronicles of Spirit Wrestlers’ Immigration to Canada God is not in Might, but in Truth Grigori Vasil’evich Verigin ǐ Edited by Veronika Makarova · Larry A. Ewashen Translated by Veronika Makarova The Chronicles of Spirit Wrestlers’ Immigration to Canada Grigoriı Vasil’evich Verigin ̌ The Chronicles of Spirit Wrestlers’ Immigration to Canada God is not in Might, but in Truth Edited by Veronika Makarova and Larry A. Ewashen Translated by Veronika Makarova Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich Verigin (Deceased) Editors Veronika Makarova Larry A. Ewashen Department of Linguistics Creston, BC, Canada University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, SK, Canada Translated by Veronika Makarova ISBN 978-3-030-18524-4 ISBN 978-3-030-18525-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18525-1 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland This book is dedicated to Pëtr Vasil’evich Verigin, a visionary of his time. The book is dedicated to his life, 16 years of his suffering in exile and his tragic still unresolved death in British Columbia. It is also dedicated to all the Doukhobors who underwent the burden of suffering for the Truth in Russia, and attempted to conquer evil with good. Many of them were sacrificed in their truly heroic and excruciating battle. P t e reface by the ranslator and the ditors This book is a translation into English of the Russian original that describes the history of an ethnic and religious group known as Doukhobors (Doukhobortsy) or Spirit Wrestlers. The author portrays their life in the late nineteenth-century Russia and their immigration to Canada. Doukhobortsy originated in Russia as a distinct Christian group in the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries. In Russian, “Doukhoborets” (Doukhobortsy in plural) means a Spirit Wrestler; subsequently the word got simplified to “Doukhobor.” Their dissent with the Orthodox Church as well as their refusal to be conscripted into the army as this would violate the “thou shalt not kill” commandment led to their persecution in Russia that intensified at the end of the nineteenth century, the time when the narration of the book begins. In 1899, close to 8000 Doukhobors immi- grated to Canada in search of a place where they could enjoy freedom of religion, exercise exemption from military conscription and work the land together in a commune. Today Doukhobors are still part of the multicul- tural pattern of Canada, and by the editors’ estimate (other scholars’ esti- mates may differ), about 3000 of them (in narrow terms of some affiliation with Doukhobor beliefs or activities) and up to about 30,000–40,000 (in terms of descent or heritage) currently reside mostly in British Columbia (BC) and Saskatchewan, as well as in other locations in Canada. The book begins with the important years in reformation and consoli- dation of Doukhobor beliefs in the late nineteenth century initiated by Pëtr Verigin, the most famous Doukhobor leader, and the author’s brother. It continues with the arrival of Doukhobors in Canada and closes vii viii PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR AND THE EDITORS in 1924 with Pëtr Verigin’s tragic death in a still unsolved train bombing and his subsequent funeral. This book was the first ever written by a Doukhobor, and one of the first immigrant narratives in Canada. It describes the survival of Doukhobor pioneers in the harsh climate of the prairies. It also reports a series of initial culture clashes and misunderstandings between Doukhobors and the Canadian government. This book is, therefore, of great interest to a wide range of scholars, including historians of Canada and Russia, political sci- entists, social scientists, ethnographers, anthropologists, specialists in Canadian and Russian studies, religious studies, social justice, as well as in communication and critical discourse. It is also of significance to the gen- eral public as it highlights the need for tolerance and diversity in Canadian society. The book is also an indispensable source of information for any- one interested in the history of early Western Canada’s settlement during the crucial period of 1900–1920s on the Canadian prairies and in BC. The last, but not the least, for Canadian Doukhobors with no command of Russian, this book describes the lives and beliefs of their ancestors. The author, Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich Verigin, was not only writing his per- sonal recollections but he also interviewed many older generation Doukhobors and recorded their life experiences and stories. His brother Pëtr (Peter) Vasil’evich Verigin (Lordly)1—the Doukhobor leader— assisted him with information about his own life and events surrounding it and also with the descriptions of experiences during his 16-year exile in the remote regions of northern Russia and Siberia. He also approved his younger brother’s literary work and encouraged him to share his historical information at community meetings. Many pages in his writings contained details of events before and after Doukhobors burned their weapons in 1895, an event that changed their lives forever and led to the sufferings that they endured at the hands of the Russian tsar’s military authorities. All these writings later became the major part of his book. The book also protocols the injustices and financial losses that Doukhobors were subjected to in Canada as they struggled for their religious rights against the assimilation policies of the Canadian government. Very importantly for our day and age, the book time and again restates the most essential part of Doukhobor beliefs, their pacifism. In the author’s own voice, in the testimonies of other Doukhobors and in their docu- ments cited in the book, the senseless, brutal and barbaric nature of war- fare is revealed; and people of the earth, no matter which religion, race, PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR AND THE EDITORS ix nation or creed, are called upon to lower their weapons and live together in peace, sharing resources that are otherwise wasted in bloodshed. The book highlights other aspects of Doukhobor beliefs such as their dream of a global community, brotherhood and equality of all the people on earth. The volume also describes their kind treatment of animals, vegetarianism, as well as abstinence from alcohol and tobacco. The narrative also calls for social justice, tolerance and diversity. Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich completed his manuscript in 1929–1930 and asked a friend to type it. It was subsequently sent for publication to Pavel Ivanovich Biriukov in Switzerland who arranged publication in France. The original story was significantly abridged, as the author’s niece, Fedos’ia Luk’ianovna Verigin(a) shared with Larry Ewashen in 1974. The original title of the book is “God is not in might but in truth,” an old Russian say- ing.2 In order to explain to an English speaking reader what the narrative is about, we decided to provide a new title for the book and keep the origi- nal one as a subtitle. The translator and the editors attempted to make the text as compre- hensible to a modern reader as possible, while at the same time preserving the authentic voice of the author. The translation has been carried out by Dr. Veronika Makarova, a Professor of Linguistics, at the University of Saskatchewan. Her areas of expertise are linguistics, applied linguistics, Russian linguistics, as well as Doukhobor Studies. She directed and produced four documentary films about the National Doukhobor Heritage Village in Saskatchewan. This book project was inspired by its literary editor, Larry A. Ewashen, Doukhobor historian, filmmaker and writer [http://www.larrysdesk. com/larry-a-ewashen%2D%2D-curriculum-vitae.html]. The American Library of Congress transliteration system is followed in the book (except for diacritic marks over “ia, iu and ts”).3 notes 1. “Lordly” is a somewhat controversial translation of his Russian nickname “Gospodniı”̌ (God’s) which indicates that his life was dedicated to God. 2. This proverb is attributed to the thirteenth-century Russian Prince and war- rior Saint Alexander Nevskiı ̌(Nevsky), who is famous for his multiple victo- ries in battles, his wisdom, as well as for the strength of his Christian faith. It is possible that the author did not know the origins of this proverb. x PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR AND THE EDITORS 3. American Library of Congress transliteration system for Russian is found at https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html. For consistency, all the Russian personal names and place names were transliterated directly from Russian following the American Library of Congress transliteration system (with the exception of a few diacritic symbols). The traditional anglicized versions of the place names or personal were provided in Translator’ chapter notes where important or relevant (e.g., Iakutsk (Yakutsk) for Якутск; Aleksandra Fёdorovna (Alexandra Feodorovna) for Александра Фёдоровна). P P b ,1 e reface by avel iriukov the ditor o P r of the riginal ublication in ussian Pavel Biriukov (Fourth person from the left, standing) with a group of Doukhobors The author of this book, Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich Verigin, the youngest brother of Pëtr Vasil’evich,2 asked me to write a preface. I agreed because the subject of this book is dear to me, and the main character, Pëtr Vasil’evich, is undoubtedly an outstanding man. xi
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