It is quite difficult to figure out who the Volga German is. Some experts consider this ethnic group to be part of the German nation, while others consider it to be a distinctive nationality that has formed on the territory of Russia. So who are the Volga Germans? The history of this nation will help us understand its ethnogenesis.
The reasons for the settlement of the Volga region by the Germans
Let's look at the reasons that led to the fact that the Germans settled the Lower Volga.
Of course, two factors played the most important role here. Firstly, the population of the Russian Empire did not allow optimal settlement and use of the entire territory of the state as efficiently as possible. To make up for the shortage of labor, migrants from abroad were involved. Especially often, this practice began to be used since the time of Catherine 2. The vast expanses of the vast Russian Empire were inhabited by Bulgarians, Greeks, Moldavians, Serbs and, of course, Germans, which will be discussed later. Lower Volga just belonged to such sparsely populated territories. More recently, the Nogai Horde's nomads were here , but it was beneficial for Russia to develop agriculture on these lands.
The second important factor that caused the formation of such an ethnic group as the Volga Germans was the overpopulation of Germany, which at that time represented a group of many independent states formally united in the so-called Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. The main problem of the German population was the lack of land for everyone who wanted to work on it. In addition, the Germans experienced significant economic oppression by local authorities, and the Russian government offered them unprecedented benefits.
Thus, the Russian Empire needed labor to cultivate its vast expanses, and the Germans needed land that they could cultivate to feed their families. It was the coincidence of these interests that led to the mass migration of the German population to the Volga region.
Manifesto
The direct signal for the resettlement of Germans and other peoples to Russia was the manifesto of Catherine 2, published at the end of 1762. He allowed foreigners to settle freely on the territory of the empire.
In the summer of next year, this document was supplemented by another manifesto stating that foreigners themselves can choose their place of residence within the borders of Russia.
It is noteworthy that Catherine 2 herself was German by nationality and a native of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, therefore, she understood that the inhabitants of Germany, feeling the need for land, would be the first to respond to the call of the Russian monarchy. In addition, she knew firsthand about the thriftiness and industriousness of the Germans.
Benefits to the Colonists
To attract the colonists, the government of Catherine 2 granted them a number of benefits. In the event of a shortage of money for the relocation, Russian residents abroad had to provide them with sufficient material means for the trip.
In addition, all colonists were exempted from paying taxes to the treasury for various periods if they settled in certain territories, in particular, in the Lower Volga region. Most often, the period of exemption from taxes was thirty years.
Another important factor that contributed to the rapid colonization by foreigners of certain lands of the Russian Empire was the issuance of interest-free loans to immigrants for ten years. It was intended for the construction of houses in new places of settlement, farm buildings, for the development of the economy.
The Russian authorities guaranteed the non-interference of officials in the internal affairs of the colonists. To establish life in the colonies and their relations with state bodies, it was envisaged to create a separate organization with the powers of a collegium.
Recruitment of immigrants
State authorities were not limited to simply providing resettlement opportunities and issuing a number of attractive benefits to the colonists. They began to pursue a policy of active agitation. To this end, newspapers and leaflets with campaign materials began to be distributed on German soil. In addition, in Germany there were persons involved in the recruitment of immigrants. These people were both civil servants and entrepreneurs, the so-called “summoners,” who entered into an agreement with government agencies to recruit colonists.
For four years, starting in 1763, when the flow of immigrants was the most intense, about 30 thousand people arrived in Russia as colonists. Of these, about half were recruited by “callers”. Most of all who wanted to go to reside in Russia were from Bavaria, Baden and Hesse.
Organization of the first settlements
Initially, the colonists were brought to St. Petersburg (later to Oranienbaum, a suburb of the capital), where they got acquainted with the life and culture of Russia, and also swore allegiance to the emperor. Only then did they go to the lands of the Southern Volga.
It must be said that this path was rather difficult and dangerous. During this trip, for various reasons, more than three thousand immigrants died, or almost 12.5% of the total.
The first settlement, which was now organized by the Russian Germans, was the colony of Nizhny Dobrinka, in the German manner called Moninger. It was founded in the summer of 1764 near Tsaritsyn.
In total, 105 colonies of German immigrants were organized in the Lower Volga. Of these, 63 colonies were founded by “summoners,” and another 42 by state bodies.
Genesis in the colonies
Since then, the Volga German firmly settled on Russian soil, began to establish his life and gradually merge into the public life of the empire, while not forgetting his roots.
The immigrants brought with them many agricultural implements, until then practically not used in Russia. They also applied an effective three-field turnover. The main crops cultivated by the Volga Germans were cereals, flax, potatoes, hemp, and tobacco. Some plant species were introduced into large-scale circulation in the Russian Empire precisely because of this nation.
But Volga German lived not only by agriculture, although this industry remained the basis of its activity. The colonists began to engage in industrial processing of products of their farms, in particular the production of flour and sunflower oil. In addition, weaving began to actively develop in the Volga region.
Approximately such remained the life of German colonists in the Volga region during the 18th – 19th centuries.
Organization of the Autonomous Republic
The coming of the Bolsheviks to power fundamentally changed life in the country. This event had a tremendous impact on the life of the Volga Germans.
Initially, it seemed that the coming of the Communists promised the Germans a further expansion of their rights and self-government. In 1918, the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Volga Germans was created in parts of the former Samara and Saratov provinces, which until 1923 had the status of an autonomous region. This formation was directly part of the RSFSR, but enjoyed great opportunities for self-government.
The administrative center of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans was first Saratov, and since 1919 - Marxstadt (now the city of Marx). In 1922, the center was finally moved to the city of Pokrovsk, which since 1931 was named Engels.
The main authority in the republic was the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets, and since 1937 - the Supreme Council.
German was used as a second language for office work. At the beginning of 1939, about two thirds of the population of this entity were Volga Germans.
Collectivization
However, it cannot be said that the Volga German could enjoy life under Soviet rule. If the majority of the peasant population of Russia were former serfs and, after liberation from serfdom, at best became peasants with little land, then among the Germans there was a rather high percentage of prosperous owners. This was due to the fact that the conditions of colonization of the Volga region assumed the endowment of people with large tracts of land. Therefore, there were many farms that were regarded by the Bolshevik authorities as "kulak".
The Volga Germans are the people of Russia, who almost suffered the most from the process of "dispossession". Many representatives of this ethnic group were arrested, imprisoned, and even shot in the process of collectivization. Due to imperfect management, organized collective farms could not work with a hundredth of the efficiency with which the destroyed farms worked.
Famine
But this is not the worst thing in the life of the German Volga region. In 1932-1933, the region was gripped by unprecedented famine. It was caused not only by crop failure, but also by the fact that collective farms forced them to donate all the bread to the state. The scale of the famine that swept the Volga is comparable only to a similar phenomenon that occurred at the same time in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
The exact number of Germans who died from starvation is very difficult to determine, but according to estimates, the total mortality rate in the autonomous republic in 1933 amounted to 50.1 thousand people, while in 1931 it was equal to 14.1 thousand people. In two years, famine claimed at best tens of thousands of Volga Germans.
Deportation
The final blow that the Russian Germans received from the Stalinist regime was their forced deportation.
The first targeted actions of a repressive nature against them began in the second half of the 30s, when relations between the USSR and Nazi Germany grew tense. Stalin saw the threat in all Germans, considering them potential agents of the Reich. Therefore, all representatives of this nationality, working for the defense industry or serving in the army, were fired at best, and were often arrested.
The beginning of World War II signified a new tragic turn in the fate of the long-suffering people. During the second half of 1941 - the first half of 1942, Volga Germans were deported from their native places to remote regions of Kazakhstan, Siberia and Central Asia. Moreover, they were given a day to collect, and only a limited number of personal items were allowed to take with them. The deportation was carried out under the control of the NKVD.
During the operation, nearly 1 million Germans were taken from various regions of the USSR, but most of them were residents of the Volga region.
Current situation
The repressed Germans of the Volga region for the most part could not return to their homeland. They tried to organize their autonomy in Kazakhstan at the end of the 70s, but met resistance from the local population. Attempts to mass return to the Volga after the collapse of the Soviet regime were also doomed to failure, since the houses in which the Volga Germans once lived were now populated by new residents who did not want to return them to their former owners. Therefore, many ethnic Germans went to Germany. Only a part of them managed to return to the city of Engels. The Volga region is currently not a place of compact residence for representatives of the mentioned ethnic group.
Now about 500 thousand Volga Germans inhabit various regions of Russia, about 180 thousand continue to live in Kazakhstan, but many have left for Germany, the USA, Canada and Argentina.
Culture
Volga Germans have a rather distinctive culture, which is equally different both from Russian customs and from the culture of the indigenous population of Germany.
The vast majority of representatives of this nation are Christians of various movements, mainly of the Protestant direction (Lutherans, Baptists, Mennonites, etc.), but quite a few among them are Orthodox and Catholics.
Despite years of deportation and separation, many Volga Germans still retain their culture and language. It can be said that over the centuries of their stay outside Germany, they have become a separate ethnic group, which, however, is akin to that nationality that now lives in the historical homeland of all Germans.