The German national region of the Altai Territory became the homeland for the Mennonites at the beginning of the 18th century. Members of this religious community were often forced to leave their homes in search of a place where they would not be persecuted. Nowadays, in a small part of the district, the descendants of the first settlers of the Mennonite Germans live.
Mennonites
This is a religious Protestant community formed in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 16th century. It is based on non-resistance, which is manifested in the refusal to take up arms, and even more so to use it against other people.
It would seem that Simons Menno, the founder of the movement, should have many followers, or at least they should have been respected for refusing to fight, but in reality everything was different. The working and peace-loving Mennonites refused to go to serve in the army, which irritated the authorities, and when it was impossible to avoid conscription, they simply gathered as a whole community and moved to another country.
The first wave of immigrants occurred in the 50s of the 16th century, when they had to flee from the persecution of the Inquisition. Mennonites came to Russia at the invitation of Catherine II at the end of the 18th century. These were 228 families who were exempted from both military and civilian service, providing more than 60 acres of land each.
The Khortitsky volost was the first to be populated, then the Melitopol district, and at the beginning of the 19th century some of the families, which had become quite numerous at that time, went to Siberia, where the German national region of Altai Krai was later formed.
County formation
When in 1907 3 representatives from 180 families went to Stolypin to negotiate to discuss the possibility of moving more than 800 people to Siberia, no one would have thought that an autonomous okrug would grow out of this in the future.
Nicholas II himself allocated 60,000 acres of land for the Mennonite Germans with the condition that they would cultivate and care for it, after which during 1908-1910 the territory was settled.
In 1927, the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee organized the German National Region of the Altai Territory with an administrative center in the village of. Halbstadt (1908 g). In 1938 it was disbanded, but restored by decree of the Supreme Council of Russia in 1991 within the same borders as it was.
Native Germans, descendants of the first Mennonite, left these places in the 90s, and today more than 50% of Russians, up to 40% of Russified Germans and 10% of other nationalities live here.
The villages of the German National Region of Altai Krai together comprise a little more than 17 thousand people.
County Economy
Most of the population is engaged in agriculture and livestock rearing. The okrug has the highest sowed land indicator: on 1432 km², arable land is 1243 km². Due to its special status, the German national region of the Altai Territory receives funding from Germany and the regional administration. For example, with their help, over the past 20 years, new houses have been built here with a total of 168 apartments, a meat factory, a dairy and a mill.
The main crops grown in the region are wheat and sunflower, vegetables and feed. The district has its own creamery, a brewery, a sausage shop and 3 cheese factories.
Population
The villages of the region are well-groomed, well-designed, they have a lot of greenery and beautiful front gardens. For example, Podsosnovo (Altai Territory, German National District) is the most active settlement. Founded in 1894, the village became a place for Germans to move from the Volga region, where there was not enough land for everyone.
Unfortunately, the events taking place in Russia from the beginning of the revolutionary coup until 1991 led to the fact that out of the 70,000 Germans living in these parts until 1917, almost no one has remained by now. Mass exodus began in the 90s, when most of the indigenous population left for their historical homeland, and the national composition of the region changed dramatically.
The same applies to the village of Polevoe (Altai Territory, German National District). It was founded by representatives of the Mennonite community in 1908. At that time, its population was only 119 people and was constantly growing in number until the beginning of the 90s. Since 1999, the number of people is constantly falling, which is associated with their emigration to Germany.
To date, the administration of the German national region of the Altai Territory, located in the village of Halbstadt, offers for sale houses for immigrants. The average cost of a private house in such large villages as Polevoe, Podsosnovo, in the administrative center and others costs from 300,000 rubles. This price is due to the fact that the settlements are equipped with central sewage and heating, have schools, kindergartens, cultural and financial institutions.
Territory infrastructure
The villages of the German region of Altai with a stretch can be called that. They are so well-equipped that they look more like European small villages. Almost every village has a club and a school, a hospital in the village of Kusak, and a district clinic in Halbstadt.
Before the wave of emigration in the 90s, German culture and customs flourished in the region, a German newspaper was published. Currently, it is published in Russian, as the Germans who moved here from Kazakhstan are Russian-speaking.
In the village of Polevoy there is a German center where festivals take place, frequented by artists from Germany.
Immigrants
Currently, those who wish to receive a special status of its resident with the possibility of further emigration to Germany are moving to the German Territory, although those who want to return back from Europe also come.
The second are especially welcome guests, since their connection with Germany, where they still have children and grandchildren, will help revive the former customs of native Germans in local villages.