| Molokans in Selim and vicinityMay 5 2004 at 8:41 PM | Bro |
Response to Yes, they were |
| Hi Bill,
I am from a village of Selim. My father was friend of the Molokan priest in the village of Karahamza. This Molokan priest was also a high ranking leader of the Molokans in the area. I have forgotten his name now, but my father called him with a title called "Xazeyn." This Xazeyn owned and opreated the water mill in Karahamza village, down river from our village. He and his family (2 boys, 1 girl) did a superb job with the mill. He was well respected in the area, but isolated for sure. The Molokan community was too scattered over a wide geographical area and established a sense of community among themselves by visiting each other in religious hollidays. They were mostly water mill owners and did extensive gardening for their own needs.
Our village (Yolgecmez, a few miles from Selim) also had a Molokan family, (all millers). His name was Tirosh or Trosh. His wife's name was Gunesh, his daughter's name was Derunka . His son went with the name of Andre who drank havily and cursed thickly.
I did my studies in Kars and remember a few families of Molokans in Kars. One was a dentist (Trifom Denisenko was his name). He also owned and his daughter operated a shop until 1964.
These Molokans, as a minority among a sea of Muslims suffered a lot (mostly insults and assaults, scorns etc) and finally migrated to the Soviet Union in the early 1960's. They sold whatever they had cheaply and moved out. Within the first five years, all the area mills broke down and the new owners did not have the requisite skills to maintain them. It was only then that the so-called area natives realized what a big mistake they had made to feel the Molokans unwelcomed and cause their escape from the area. But it was too late by then. The Molokans played a role as innovation agents for the area. They had the technical know-how in mill operation and they also brought in new technologies. They generated their own electricity from small water turbines. These folks had electricity when villages in the area lived under oil lamps.
This is more or less what I stil remember...
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