Slavyanka, Azerbaijan
Encyclopedia
Slavyanka is a village and the most populous municipality, except for the capital Gədəbəy, in the Gadabay Rayon of Azerbaijan
. It has a population of 3,705. The municipality consists of the villages of Slavyanka and Maarif
.
s, members of a Pacifist dissenter Christian group resettled to Transcaucasia by Nicholas I
from the Molochna River settlements in today's Zaporizhia Oblast
of the Ukraine
. The village is said to have been named after the town of Slavyansk
(in today's Donetsk Oblast
), where many of the ancestors of the Molochna Doukhobors had originated.
Slavyanka was the birthplace of the Doukhobor leader Peter Vasilevich Verigin
, who was born there on June 29, 1859.
The Russian painter Vasili Vasilyevich Vereshchagin
visited Slavyanka in 1863. The village at the time had 205 houses with around 600 male residents (and, presumably, a similar number of females). According to Vereshchagin, the Doukhobors "lived an honest, reasonable, and prosperous life", but, under the pressure of the struggle for existence in the borderlands, had become less strict in their practices, many taking up smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol.
During the confrontation with the Czarist government in the mid-1890s over the conscription
and oath of allegiance
, in June 1895 Slavyanka became the site of the area's Doukhobors destroying their weapons in the well-known "Burning of the Arms" event. The government responded by exiling a large number of the local Doukhobors elsewhere in Russian Empire
; some died of starvation, exposure, and diseases in the process. In 1899, many survivors left for Saskatchewan
, Canada
.
Many of the Doukhobors that remained in Elisabethpol Governorate
(today's western Azerbaijan) joined other dissenting Christian groups, such as Molokan
s or Baptists. Others moved in the 1920s to Ukraine or Russia, where they named villages in Zaporizhia Oblast
and Rostov Oblast
after their old home in Azerbaijan.
During the Soviet period, the peasants of the village were collectivized
into a kolkhoz
named Put' Ilyicha .
in the so-called "Saskatchewan Doukhobor Colony"; it was founded in 1901 and abandoned in 1911. The other, near Kamsack, Saskatchewan in the so-called "South Doukhobor Colony", was established in 1899; in 1905, its residents mostly moved to two other villages, and this Slavyanka was soon abandoned.
) population,
The village is served by a paved road that runs from Ağamalı
via Slavyanka to the district center, Gadabay
.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. It has a population of 3,705. The municipality consists of the villages of Slavyanka and Maarif
Maarif
Maarif is a village in the Gadabay Rayon of Azerbaijan. The village forms part of the municipality of Slavyanka....
.
History
Along with a number of other villages in northwestern Azerbaijan, Slavyanka was settled in 1844 by the DoukhoborDoukhobor
The Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
s, members of a Pacifist dissenter Christian group resettled to Transcaucasia by Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
from the Molochna River settlements in today's Zaporizhia Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast is an oblast of southern Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhia.This oblast is an important part of Ukraine's industry and agriculture.-Geography:...
of the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The village is said to have been named after the town of Slavyansk
Sloviansk
Sloviansk is a city in eastern Ukraine, an administrative center of the Slovianskyi Raion within the Donetsk Oblast. It was founded in 1676, and has a population of 129,600.-History:...
(in today's Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
), where many of the ancestors of the Molochna Doukhobors had originated.
Slavyanka was the birthplace of the Doukhobor leader Peter Vasilevich Verigin
Peter Vasilevich Verigin
Peter Vasilevich Verigin often known as Peter "Lordly" Verigin was a Russian philosopher, activist and preacher of the Doukhobors.- In Transcaucasia:...
, who was born there on June 29, 1859.
The Russian painter Vasili Vasilyevich Vereshchagin
Vasili Vasilyevich Vereshchagin
Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin was one of the most famous Russian battle painters and one of the first Russian artists to be widely recognized abroad. The graphic nature of his realist scenes led many of them to never be printed or exhibited....
visited Slavyanka in 1863. The village at the time had 205 houses with around 600 male residents (and, presumably, a similar number of females). According to Vereshchagin, the Doukhobors "lived an honest, reasonable, and prosperous life", but, under the pressure of the struggle for existence in the borderlands, had become less strict in their practices, many taking up smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol.
During the confrontation with the Czarist government in the mid-1890s over the conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and oath of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
, in June 1895 Slavyanka became the site of the area's Doukhobors destroying their weapons in the well-known "Burning of the Arms" event. The government responded by exiling a large number of the local Doukhobors elsewhere in Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
; some died of starvation, exposure, and diseases in the process. In 1899, many survivors left for Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Many of the Doukhobors that remained in Elisabethpol Governorate
Elisabethpol Governorate
Elisabethpol Governorate or Elizavetpol Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Elisabethpol . Its area was 44,136 sq. kilometres, and it had 878,415 inhabitants by 1897....
(today's western Azerbaijan) joined other dissenting Christian groups, such as Molokan
Molokan
Molokans are sectarian Christians who evolved from "Spiritual Christian" Russian peasants that refused to obey the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning in the 17th century...
s or Baptists. Others moved in the 1920s to Ukraine or Russia, where they named villages in Zaporizhia Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast is an oblast of southern Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhia.This oblast is an important part of Ukraine's industry and agriculture.-Geography:...
and Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Southern Federal District. Rostov Oblast has an area of and a population of making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia...
after their old home in Azerbaijan.
During the Soviet period, the peasants of the village were collectivized
Collective farming
Collective farming and communal farming are types of agricultural production in which the holdings of several farmers are run as a joint enterprise...
into a kolkhoz
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
named Put' Ilyicha .
Slavyanka's name carried to Canada
The Doukhobors who emigrated to Canada named two of their new short-lived villages after the Caucasian Slavyanka. One Slavyanka was located near Blaine Lake, SaskatchewanBlaine Lake, Saskatchewan
Blaine Lake is a town in central Saskatchewan, Canada and is situated 80 kilometers north of Saskatoon at the junction of Saskatchewan Highway 12 and 40....
in the so-called "Saskatchewan Doukhobor Colony"; it was founded in 1901 and abandoned in 1911. The other, near Kamsack, Saskatchewan in the so-called "South Doukhobor Colony", was established in 1899; in 1905, its residents mostly moved to two other villages, and this Slavyanka was soon abandoned.
Present day
Despite significant emigration, Slavyanka still maintains ethnically Russian (MolokanMolokan
Molokans are sectarian Christians who evolved from "Spiritual Christian" Russian peasants that refused to obey the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning in the 17th century...
) population,
The village is served by a paved road that runs from Ağamalı
Agamali
Ağamalı is a village and municipality in the Gadabay Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,571.It is located within 7 kilometers from the old Doukhobor-Molokan village of Slavyanka in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains along the river Misderesi...
via Slavyanka to the district center, Gadabay
Gadabay
Gadabay is a rayon of Azerbaijan renowned for its potatoes and its gold fields. The famous Siemens company worked here in the Tsarist era claiming that they were exporting copper. However it has been recently revealed that in fact they were actually secretly exporting gold...
.