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FOLD AROUND POST

EDNESDAY, June 28, 1995

One hundred years ago,

on June 29, 1895, a large group
of Doukhobors threw their
weapons into a fire in a
symbolic gesture of pacifism.
The burning of arms was

the significant beginning of
a movement towards peace
that, to this day, remains a
fire inside the hearts

and minds of the
descendants who,

although living

in a free and

democratic

country,

continue to

strive for

global

harmony.

The Castlegar Sun

here were thousands of people gath-
ered on a large mountain meadow,
praying and singing around a burn-
ing pyre of guns. The singing and
praying went on all night. Next morning they
watched as a cloud of cossacks on horseback,
the cavalry, approached, thundering through
the crowd, Shouting, they cracked whips over
the men who were standing ih the front, calmly
singing psalms, renouncing guns, vowing never
to kill anyone. Faces split from eye to jaw,
blood spurted. The praying went on. The
stunned masses, many bleeding, were herded
several kilometres back to the villages...”
From Head Cook at Weddings and Funerals by
Vi Plotnikoff, Polestar Press.

One hundred years ago, on June 29, 1895, a
large group of people called Doukhobors
gathered on a mountain clearing in Transcau-
casia, Russia. They threw their weapons onto
a large pile and lit it, symbolically refusing to
serve in the Russian military. As the flames lit
up the night sky, the people sang hymns and
prayed until the morning, when the Cossack
militia arrived on horseback.

No one realized that day how this single act
would change the path of history for genera-
tions of people. It resulted in torture and beat-
ings, imprisonment in Siberia, exile, and
migration to a far-off land. All because of
their belief in ‘toil and peaceful life’, and that
the spirit of God dwells in every living thing,
so you do not kill it.

This year thousands of descendants of those

ikhobors are ing that long-
ago event with a year-long celebration...“°The
Doukhobor Centenary of the Destruction of

SPECIAL

——§The

FLAM

that

RNED

Or a

ENTURY

Story by
VI PLOTNIKOFF
Layout & Design by

SHARLENE IMHOFF
CHRISTINE MOYER

Weapons”

Commemorative events are taking place
across Canada, at the United Nations in New York and in vari-
ous locations in Russia.

The Doukhobors were a social movement who became
known when they rejected the Ikons and most of the rites of
the Russian Orthodox Church. In the eighteenth century, they
were named ‘spirit wrestlers’ or ‘doukhobors’, by a Russian
Omrthodox priest. The name was adopted by the Doukhobors
who stated "We do not wrestle against the spirit, rather we
wrestle with the spirit of Christ’.

For many years the Doukhobors lived in Crimea in Southern
Russia, enjoying the mild climate and fertile soil. However,
when Nicholas the Second took over, the Doukhobors were
exiled to Transcaucasia in 1841. This was a rugged, mountain-
ous area, prone to heavy rains and deep snows.

Lushechka Kalmikova, the only woman to lead the
Doukhobors, remained their leader for 22 years, until her death
in 1886. She was charming, diplomatic and much loved by her
people. When Lushechka died, a young man by the name of
Peter Verigin was proclaimed leader to succeed her. It was
upon his advice that the Doukhobors rejected both the Oath of
Allegiance to the Tsar, and military service.

From his exile in Siberia, Peter Lordly Verigin gave instruc-
tions to his followers, through messengers, to destroy their
weapons on the night of June 29, 1895, and for the Doukhobor
conscripts in the army to stop serving. Led by Mathew Lebed-
off, they did so on Easter 1895. This act subsequently lead to
many of the men receiving floggings with thomy Acacia
plants, thrown in cold cells and beaten. Some perished and oth-
ers were exiled to Siberia. After the burning of arms, nearly
four thousand Doukhobors were exiled to subtropical valleys
in Georgia in Transcaucasia, where over one thousand men,
women and children perished from difficult conditions.

The humanitarian writer, Leo Tolstoy, came to the aid of the
Doukhobors. He enlisted the help of the Religious Society of
Friends (English and American Quakers) and plans were
underway for migration. Over one thousand were initially
moved to Cyprus, a British colony. Unaccustomed to the heat

of the tropics, many died, and Canada was then chosen as their
future home. Tolstoy contributed the proceeds of his novel
‘Resurrection’ toward the-migration to Canada. The first
shipload of Doukhobors left for Canada in December 1898.
Three more shiploads soon followed, bringing a total of 7,500
new immig 12,000 De chose to stay behind.

The Canadian government was anxious to settle the prairies,
and encouraged immigration for this purpose. They gave the
D Ib them i

On October 29, 1924, a mighty explosion shook the CPR
Train in the ins near Farron, b Castlegar and
Grand Forks, killing nine people, including Peter Verigin. The
mystery of the explosion was never solved. Peter Lordly Veri-
gin’s son, Peter P. Verigin, then came from Russia to continue
leading the D: b ity. He i the work of
his father until his death in 1939. His grandson, John J. Veri-
gin, became General Secretary of the organization, which was
renamed the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ, or
USCC. At present, John Verigin holds the title of Honorary
Chairman of the USCC.

Today the Doukhobors are looking ahead to the new Millen-
nium. They’re active in the fields of disarmament, human
rights and social justice, and in protecting the environment.
They also provide and y assi to
projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Organizations
involved in the above areas are also supported. These include
the United Nations, Greenpeace and Oxfam.

The D ity hasn't its Russian
brothers and sisters and has responded to economic and social
dislocations caused by the collapse of Communism. They're
also involved in the Children of Chernobyl program.

John Verigin Jr., son of the honorary Chairman of the USCC,
has been a driving force behind most of these humanitarian
activities. “With all people of goodwill, we're striving for a
world where love and respect are the guiding forces in human
relations,” he says, “The burning of arms was just the begin-
ning. We have to look ahead and continue our goal of global.
harmony.”

The preservation of their culture is very important to
Doukhobors and use of the Russian language is encouraged.
The Youth Cultural Festival draws hundreds of participants and
spectators from all over North America to the Brilliant Cultural
Centre each May. There are Sunday schools and pre-schools
conducted in Russian, prayer meetings and choir singing in all
of the Western provii a ity of
Doukhobors exists. People are preserving, or in some cases,
rediscovering their roots.

A highlight of centenary events is the “Voices for Peace”
concert, consisting of a pageant and choir. After months of
intensive practice, this group is presently touring western
Canada. August will see them performing in Toronto, Ottawa,
Montreal and at the United Nations in New York City, before

departing for Russia.

All factions of the Di came togt to plan and

d lands and d

from military service. The men went to work building railroads
to earn money for cattle and seed. There were no horses, so the
women hitched themselves to ploughs in order to clear the vir-
gin prairie. Women and girls spent long hours digging Seneca
roots and selling them for medical purposes. Soon sixty-one
villages were flourishing with vast fields of grain, gardens,
brick factories and flour mills.

P g to pressure, the new Mi of the Interior gave
the Doukhobors an ultimatum...take the Oath of Allegiance or be
deprived of their land. Ultimately, 250,000 acres of prime land,
cleared and worked, reverted to the government. Each family
was allowed to retain fifteen acres of its property. This prompted
Peter Verigin, who joined the Doukhobors from exile in Siberia
in 1902, to acquire land in British Columbia where the Oath of
Allegiance was not required. Some of the Doukhobors, who
became known as the Independents, remained on the prairies,
accepting homestead land, and becoming successful farmers.
The other two thirds of the group, known as the Christian Com-
munity of Universal Brotherhood, settled in B.C., clearing land,
planting vast orchards, building brick plants, and the famous
Brilliant Jam Factory. A small zealous group, known as the Sons
of Freedom was the third group. They renounced materialism
and proclaimed that governments were evil, keeping their chil-
dren out of public schools.

P ipate in this imp event in their history. Doukhobor
and non-D i are ged to attend cente-
nary celebrations in Castlegar on July 7, 8, and 9. After all, this
event comes only once every hundred years.

About the author

Vi Plotnikoff is a third generation
Doukhobor and author of Head
Cook at Weddings and Funerals.
The book, published by Polestar
Press and released in early 1994, is a
fictional account of Doukhobor life,
based on Vi's own experiences. The
book is now in its second printing.

Vi's ability to tell a story, combined
with her own sense of history and
writing skills, made her a natural
choice when the editor of The Castle-
gar Sun planned this special feature
for the centennial anniversary of the
burning of weapons.

¢