In the XVIII century, a new ethnic group of Volga Germans appeared in Russia. They were colonists who traveled east in search of a better life. In the Volga region, they created a whole province with a separate way of life. The descendants of these settlers were deported to Central Asia during the Great Patriotic War. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some remained in Kazakhstan, others returned to the Volga region, and others went to their historical homeland.
Manifestos of Catherine II
In 1762-1763 Empress Catherine II signed two manifestos, thanks to which Volga Germans later appeared in Russia. These documents allowed foreigners to enter the empire, receiving benefits and privileges. The largest wave of colonists came from Germany. Visitors were temporarily exempted from tax duties. A special registry was created, which included lands that received the status of free settlement. If the Volga Germans settled on them, then they could not pay taxes for 30 years.
In addition, the colonists received a loan without interest for a ten-year term. Money could be spent on building their own new houses, buying cattle, food necessary before the first harvest, equipment for working in agriculture, etc. The colonies were noticeably different from neighboring ordinary Russian settlements. They established internal self-government. Government officials could not intervene in the life of the newly arrived colonists.
Set of colonists in Germany
In preparation for the influx of foreigners into Russia, Catherine II (German by nationality) created the Office of Guardianship. She was headed by a favorite of the Empress Grigory Orlov. The office acted on a par with the rest of the colleges.
Manifests were published in many European languages. The most intense campaign was launched in Germany (because of which the Volga Germans appeared). Most colonists were found in Frankfurt and Ulm. Those wishing to move to Russia went to Lubeck, and from there first to St. Petersburg. Recruitment was carried out not only by government officials, but also by private entrepreneurs who became known as callers. These people contracted and acted on her behalf. The callers founded new settlements, recruited colonists, ruled their communities, and kept part of the income from them.
New life
In 1760 Together, the callers and the state campaigned to move 30 thousand people. First, the Germans settled in St. Petersburg and Oranienbaum. There they swore allegiance to the Russian crown and became subjects of the empress. All these colonists moved to the Volga region, where the Saratov province was later formed. In the first few years, 105 settlements appeared. It is noteworthy that they all bore Russian names. Despite this, the Germans retained their identity.
The authorities took up an experiment with the colonies in order to develop Russian agriculture. The government wanted to check how the western norms of farming are taking root. The Volga Germans brought with them to their new homeland a scythe, a wooden thresher, a plow and other tools that were unknown to Russian peasants. Foreigners began to grow potatoes unknown to the Volga region. They also engaged in the cultivation of hemp, flax, tobacco and other crops. The first Russian population treated strangers wary or indefinitely. Today, researchers continue to study what legends were about the Volga Germans and what were their relations with their neighbors.
Prosperity
Time has shown that the experiment of Catherine II was extremely successful. The most advanced and successful farms in the Russian countryside were the settlements in which the Volga Germans lived. The history of their colonies is an example of sustainable prosperity. The growth of wealth due to efficient farming allowed the Volga Germans to acquire their own industry. At the beginning of the XIX century, water mills appeared in the settlements , which became an instrument of flour production. The oil industry, the manufacture of agricultural implements and wool also developed. Under Alexander II, in the Saratov province there were already more than a hundred tanneries founded by the Volga Germans.
The success story is impressive. The appearance of the colonists gave impetus to the development of industrial weaving. Its center became Sarepta, which existed in the modern borders of Volgograd. The enterprises for the production of scarves and fabrics used high-quality European yarn from Saxony and Silesia, as well as silk from Italy.
Religion
The confessional affiliation and traditions of the Volga Germans were not uniform. They came from different regions at a time when there was still no united Germany and each province had its own separate orders. It concerned religion. Lists of Volga Germans compiled by the Office of the Guardianship show that among them were Lutherans, Catholics, Mennonites, Baptists, as well as representatives of other confessional movements and groups.
According to the manifesto, the colonists could build their own churches only in settlements where the non-Russian population made up the vast majority. The Germans, who lived in big cities, were first deprived of this right. It was also forbidden to promote Lutheran and Catholic teachings. In other words, in religious politics, the Russian authorities gave the colonists exactly as much freedom as they could not harm the interests of the Orthodox Church. It is curious that at the same time, immigrants could baptize Muslims in their own rite, as well as make serfs of them.
Religion was associated with many traditions and legends of the Volga Germans. They celebrated the holidays according to the Lutheran calendar. In addition, the colonists had preserved national customs. These include the Harvest Festival, which is still celebrated in Germany itself.
Under Soviet rule
The 1917 revolution changed the lives of all citizens of the former Russian Empire. Volga Germans were no exception. Photos of their colonies at the end of the Tsarist era show that the descendants of immigrants from Europe lived in a separate environment from their neighbors. They retained their language, customs and self-awareness. For many years, the national question remained unresolved. But with the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the Germans got a chance to create their own autonomy within Soviet Russia.
The desire of the descendants of the colonists to live in their own subject of the federation was met with understanding in Moscow. In 1918, according to the decision of the Council of People's Commissars, an autonomous region of the Volga Germans was created, in 1924 it was renamed the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Its capital was Pokrovsk, renamed Engels.
Collectivization
The work and customs of the Volga Germans allowed them to create one of the most prosperous Russian provincial corners. The blow to their well-being was the revolution and horrors of the war years. In the 20s there was some recovery, which took on the greatest proportions during the NEP.
However, in 1930, a dispossession campaign began throughout the Soviet Union. The collectivization and destruction of private property led to the most sad consequences. The most efficient and productive farms were destroyed. Farmers, owners of small enterprises and many other residents of the autonomous republic were subjected to repression. At that time, the Germans came under attack along with all the other peasants of the Soviet Union, who were driven into collective farms and deprived of their usual lives.
Famine of the early 30s
Due to the destruction of the usual economic ties in the Volga Germans republic, as in many other regions of the USSR, famine began. The population in different ways tried to save their position. Some residents went to demonstrations, where they asked the Soviet government to help with the supply of food. Other peasants, finally becoming disillusioned with the Bolsheviks, organized attacks on warehouses where the state-selected bread was stored. Another form of protest was the neglect of work on collective farms.
Against the background of such sentiments, the special services began to look for "saboteurs" and "rebels", against whom the most severe repressive measures were used. In the summer of 1932, famine had already swept the cities. Desperate peasants resorted to plundering fields with still unripened crops. The situation stabilized only in 1934, when thousands of people had already died of starvation in the republic.
Deportation
Although the descendants of the colonists in the first Soviet years experienced many troubles, they were universal. In this sense, the Volga Germans then hardly differed in their share from the ordinary Russian citizen of the USSR. However, the outbreak of World War II finally separated the inhabitants of the republic from the rest of the citizens of the Soviet Union.
In August 1941, a decision was made, according to which the deportation of Volga Germans began. They were exiled to Central Asia, fearing cooperation with the advancing Wehrmacht. The Volga Germans were not the only people surviving forced displacement. The same fate awaited the Chechens, Kalmyks, Crimean Tatars.
Liquidation of the Republic
Together with the deportation, the abolition of the Autonomous Republic of the Volga Germans took place. Parts of the NKVD were introduced into the territory of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Residents received orders within 24 hours to collect a few permitted items and prepare for relocation. In total, about 440 thousand people were deported.
At the same time, military men of German nationality were removed from the front and sent to the rear. Men and women fell into the so-called labor armies. They built industrial enterprises, worked in mines and in logging.
Life in Central Asia and Siberia
Mostly deportees were settled in Kazakhstan. After the war, they were not allowed to return to the Volga region and restore their republic. About 1% of the population of today's Kazakhstan considers themselves Germans.
Until 1956, the deportees were in special settlements. Every month they had to visit the commandant’s office and put a mark in a special magazine. Also, a significant part of the settlers settled in Siberia, finding themselves in the Omsk region, Altai Territory and the Urals.
Modernity
After the fall of communist power, the Volga Germans finally gained freedom of movement. By the end of the 80s. only old-timers remembered life in the Autonomous Republic. Therefore, very few returned to the Volga region (mainly to Engels in the Saratov region). A lot of deportees and their descendants remained in Kazakhstan.
Most of the Germans went to their historical homeland. After unification in Germany, they adopted a new version of the law on the return of their compatriots, an early version of which appeared after the Second World War. The document stipulated the conditions necessary for the immediate acquisition of citizenship. The Volga Germans met these requirements. The surnames and language of some of them remained the same, which facilitated integration in the new life.
According to the law, all interested descendants of the Volga colonists received citizenship. Some of them have long been assimilated with Soviet reality, but still wanted to go west. After the German authorities complicated the practice of obtaining citizenship in the 90s, many Russian Germans settled in the Kaliningrad region. This region was formerly East Prussia and was part of Germany. Today in the Russian Federation there are about 500 thousand people of German nationality, another 178 thousand descendants of the Volga colonists live in Kazakhstan.