Dukh-i-zhizniki in America

An update of Molokans in America (Berokoff, 1969).

Enhanced and edited by Andrei Conovaloff, 2012.  Send comments to < Administrator @ Molokane. org >
Original:  © by John K. Berokoff, 1969. Printed by Stockton-Doty Trade Press, Inc. Whittier, Calif., 208 pages.

Updater's Preface

Molokans in America was the first history book in English by a Dukh-i-zhznik for American Dukh-i-zhizniki. Published in 1969, it was the last of several books by the late author and translator John Kereich Berokoff (1898-1972), and his only book with photos and tables. In many ways the book is a good reference despite many errors and omissions which have never been addressed on the scale presented here. Because many descendants of Dukh-i-zhizniki refer to his books for their history, and scholars often cited them, this widely distributed book needed to be corrected and updated.

In Black Font the reader will find the original text, and in bracketed [Red Font] changes and comments, with hyperlinks to more information on the Internet. The current Russian alphabet is used here, updating pre-1918 Russian texts. Brackets are used for corrections to aid those who may print these pages without color. Simple HTML code is used for quick download and mobile devices.

John K. Berokoff appears to have arrived to America in 1907, about age 8, and raised on the east side of  Los Angeles, California, where he would have experienced many events and issues of his generation. Most important for him was translating the ritual books used in his Dukh-i-zhiznik faith because most youth born in the U.S. were not as Russian-literate as he. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he greatly assisted University of Southern California graduate student Pauline Young with her theses resulting in her book The Pilgrims of Russian-Town, 1932. Young's works about Pryguny stood alone until Berokoff's history.

Berokoff's Molokans in America was first web-published in 1998 by me after correcting the original for spelling and grammar, and enhancing with some clarifications, links, definitions and maps. More than 10 years later, much more history had been collected, and is on the Internet. Much forgotten history was found by exploring hints provided by Berokoff, for example the role of Cherbak. Much of this new material has been added to substantially clarify and improve the original book essentially producing a new version with an accurate title, which will be updated as time permits. 

The major error was that the original book was NOT about Molokane, but about the Russian sectarians Dukhovnie kristiane pryguny (Spiritual Christian Jumpers) and affiliated faiths (Maksimisty, Zionisty, Novie Israeli, etc.), whose descendants established the Dukh-i-zhznik faith in America, and are properly called Dukh-i-zhizniki after 1928. Again, it is a book about Dukh-i-zhizniki not Molokane, which confused a lot of people and continues to confuse nearly everyone.

One family of the Maksimist faith smuggled to the U.S. secret writings by their imprisoned prophet and leader M.G. Rudomiotkin. These and other imported writings soon impacted and changed the politics and religions of the entire population of the descendants of these various Spiritual Christians, and are still debated today among those who remain among the Dukh-i-zhizniki in America.

My main criticism of the original book is the misnomer title and careless identification of Spiritual Christian faiths. Though the book appears to be about "Molokans," Berokoff presents very little information about the Molokan faith until the last addenda letter, or about Molokan congregations in San Francisco and north of Sacramento, California. Several times he admits that he does not know their elders or rituals. In the Addenda letters Berokoff changes his religious labels from WWI, through WWII and in the 1960s. Only once in Addenda XXVII #7 does he confess the original Russian label of his people is "Dukhovnaye Christiani Pryguny" (page 203), yet throughout the text (pages 1-156) he perpetuates the confusing myth that they are Molokans (329 times) while sparsely inconsistently stating they are Spiritual Christian Jumpers or Pryguny (9 times), or a Brotherhood (3 times). He reported the wrong faith 36 times more than the correct faith (329/9).

My second criticism is Berokoff did little research. His facts are mainly from his oral history, particularly his knowledge and records of conscientious objectors during both world wars. Though public libraries had 100s of relevant newspaper articles, and more oral history was abundant around him, he only referred to one 1969 Los Angeles Times article (Chapter 1, page 17) about a meteor shower, which appeared just before publication, and never quotes an elder. It may be that he did not know how to mine the library, or conduct interviews, or the facts were so embarrassing that he chose to censor his own book as he may have done with Pauline Young's Pilgrims in Russian-Town. With more facts he would not have missed so much relevant history and could have correlated events.

For examples, he omits that Doukhobors tried to move to the U.S. from Canada several times; he unequally mentioned most colonization efforts and completely missed plans for major colonies in Hawaii (1905), and with Doukhobors near Santa Barbara (1910) and Oregon (1923); he omits the impact of youth who excelled in sports and crime; omits the impact of the 1930s dust bowl; and he omits many people who greatly aided the Spiritual Christians (Tolstoy, Bodianski, Demens, de Blumenthals, Gould, Green), while briefly mentioning a few (Cherbak, Bartlett). He could have correlated the many court hearings in Los Angeles with groups fleeing to form rural colonies, the Long Beach earthquake with protests about the Big Church komitet, or success in sports and education with urban assimilation.

My third wish is for more reader aids — maps, section labels and an index. The inside-cover map by Shubin is very crude and some villages have 2 names. Simple maps showing the migration paths, neighborhoods, assemblies and colonies would have greatly orientated the reader; and are being inserted as time permits.

Despite the misleading title, and weak and biased content, Berokoff's Molokans in America stands alone as the most valuable history of Dukh-i-zhizniki in the Americas since Young's work in the late 1920s and 1930s (thesis, dissertation, books, articles) up to 1991, spanning almost 60 years.  Most of his flawed factual content and interpretations were not recorded or preserved anywhere else and serve as a rough draft for the actual history. There is no archive of his papers, or recorded interview. Dukh-i-zhiznik oral history has forgotten most of what he presented, or changed it. Berokoff's book appeared 37 years after Young.

Unfortunately the misleading "Molokan" label was spread widely by scholars using Young and Berokoff as a sources. Though both books identified their subjects as Pryguny, they describe them as people who use the book Dukh i zhizn' but masked those two religions with 100s of repetitions of the word "Molokan."

After Berokoff, the next Dukh-i-zhiznik-produced history appeared 32 years later in 1991 (A.F. Wren, True Believers…) using the same misleading labels, and no citations. For more than 70 years after Young, only these 2 member-produced books (Berokoff, Wren) existed along with a few scholarly papers, theses and dissertations by non-Russians. Then several books by American Dukh-i-zhizniki soon followed (Mohoff, Valov, Shubin), as their fear of publishing somewhat attenuated. All these books and papers further abused the Molokan label, have many errors and omissions, lacked citations and could be greatly improved, as is being done with this book.

In the 1940s, Pauline Young was working on a second book to report that the Spiritual Christians, whom she earlier assumed would assimilate, were being revitalized by their own Americanized youth. Unfortunately her working papers were destroyed in a fire at the International Institute, and the book was never completed. Her sequel would have reported how youth trained at Young Russian Christian Association (YRCA) infused the United Molokan Christian Association (UMCA) with new talent, management skills and programs, causing attendance to grow for 20 years. In the mid-1960s, UMCA Sunday School attendance peaked at rank 10 in the country, 3rd in California — a phenomenal achievement!

But the 20-year (1970s-1990s)takeover of the UMCA by Dukh-i-zhizniki caused the Sunday School attendance to plummet about 95%, and greatly reduced regular attendance in all diaspora congregations. 100 years after immigration from Russia, most of the descendants of these Spiritual Christians, subjects of this book, assimilated or were expelled from the Dukh-i-zhiznik faith, leaving a total faith-practicing diaspora smaller than the number who immigrated.

In 1966, Berokoff was himself bullied and ostracized by the most zealous Dukh-i-zhiznik congregations for publishing his translations: Selections from the Book of Spirit and Life and history. Though most readers greatly appreciated his books, several descendants of J.K. Berokoff still hate him for exposing "their Molokan religion" to the world. They did not know that soon after publication in 1928, their "secret" Kniga sol'nsta, dukh i zhizn' and other ritual books were in several libraries, including the National Library of Congress.

I hope this improved version will re-orientate readers of this Spiritual Christian history in America by correcting the errors and omissions, and guide them to using the original faith label (Pryguny) used by the immigrants themselves, and to use the new faith label (Dukh-i-zhizniki) which describes their persistent descendant ritualists. When the 3 faith labels (Molokane, Pryguny, Dukh-i-zhizniki) are untangled and properly used, their histories and identities immediately become clear.
Contents

  Chapter  
Title
 Page

Foreword
 7

Introduction: The Flight to the Refuge          
9

Why Did They Wait So Long in Russia?
Why Did Most Stay Home?  		Added
1
 The Migration 11
2
 The First Years 32
3
 Attempts at Farming 51
4
 The First World War 77
5
 Post War Problems 103
6
 Appearance of New Leaders 109
7
 The Second World War 138
8
 Aid to Brethren in Iran 148
9
 Conclusion 157

Addenda — Petitions and Letters  177

Photos  Added

Maps Cover

Foreword   [Contents]

    [page 7] There are numerous reasons why the life of the [Dukh-i-zhizniki] Molokan people in America deserves to be recorded in a book but the most important, perhaps, is the probability that the third and fourth generation [Dukh-i-zhizniki] American[s] Molokans are unacquainted with the real reason for their forefathers' emigration from Russia or how they managed to survive as a community for over sixty years in a large city abundantly supplied with various worldly temptations 

    It is also possible that they do not know why the United States of America was chosen as a place of settlement in preference, say, to Canada or to South America and how it came about that they chose Southern California instead of remaining on the Eastern seaboard as millions of other immigrants did. 

    What was their life in Los Angeles like as they clung together in one close knit neighborhood while other nationalities scattered to become assimilated in the local population? Insisting, for religious reasons, on wearing full beards and their peasant clothes in the face of ridicule while other nationalities conformed to local customs; periodically dropping everything to attend the funeral of a relative, a friend or a church dignitary, quitting their jobs twice a year to observe their week long holidays plus three other one day religious observances, they yet managed to support their very large families without public charity or assistance from [American] non-Molokan sources. 

    To [Dukh-i-zhizniki] Molokans born and raised since the end of the second World War, this accomplishment may not seem very impressive because the continuous prosperity and full employment of the last 25 years would lead them to believe that it was always thus, but in fact, during the first ten years of their [page 9] life in America the [Dukh-i-zhizniki] Molokans were subjected to periods of unemployment when the bread winner of the family considered himself very fortunate if he worked an average of four days a week at $2.00 per day as casual laborer in a lumber yard. How did they do it? 

    This book attempts to answer some of these questions. It is a narrative based on personal observations, on notes, letters and documents in the writer's possession as well as on information gathered from many persons who are old enough to have personally experienced the history of the [Dukh-i-zhizniki] Molokans in America. It is a story of a people who were and are unique among all the ethnic groups in the Los Angeles area.

Introduction — The Flight to the Refuge     [Contents]

    [page 9] Prophecies of [Prygun] Efeem Gerasovich Klubnikin concerning the coming of World Wars and their after effects, written in his youthful years in the village of Nikitina, Russia in 1855 or thereabouts. 

    Pages 636 and 651, Book of Spirit and Life.

[Story, Tale 2] ПОВЕСТЬ 2.  О взятiu съ земли мира
"Kings will go to war with China. From the time of the war in China, peace will be taken from the earth. [2] There will be powerful wars in the East. From the time of the war in the East the wrath of God will spread throughout the whole earth.
 Пойдут цари воевать на Китай, с Китайской войны миръ будет взять с земли. 2. На востоке будет сильная война; смешается кровь с водою, и с восточной войны разольется гнев по всей земле,
[3] There will be great groaning and crying of peoples, blood will flow everywhere. Great misfortunes and agitation among the peoples; tortures, torment and persecutions. [4] People will fly in all directions; to mountains, caves, forests and to different countries. [5] Separations of father and son, mother and daughter, husband and wife … 3. Будеть великий плачь и стон народов, кровь нещадно прольется повсеместно, настанеть великое бедствие и волнениe в народах: мучения, скорб, казнь и претмснения.  4. Великое бегство по всем местам: в горы, ущелья, лмса и въ иныя земли.  5. Разлука отца с сыном, матери съ дочерью, мужа съ женою.

*      *     *      *


[Story, Tale 22.  Song about the journey] ПОВЕСТЬ  22.   Песнь о noxoде.
"Let us sing loudly a song about the flight to a place of refuge. [2] The Lord has sent His angels with trumpets to all the people; to go, to go on a journey, to remove themselves from worldly worry.
Воспоемъ громкую песнь, о походе въ место убежища !
2. Господь послалъ Ангеловъ съ трубою, возвеститъ всему народу; итить, итить в поход,-удалиться от миpcкихъ забот!
[3] We shall stand firmly on our feet, the Lord will give us His help. He is our joy and our strength.
3. Станем твердо на ноги, Господь дасть нам помоги. Онъ-радость и крепость наша.
[4] A herald is flying from heaven, his command is to prepare us for a journey (pokhod). [5.] Angels are released to torment and to punish harshly everyone throughout the universe". 4. Вестник с неба летитъ, собираться в поход велитъ. 5. Решаются Ангелы, на жестокую казнь и мучение, повсеместно, по всей вселенной.


Why did they wait so long in Russia? 
Why did most stay?

Why did the non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians in the Caucasus (Pryguny, Maksimisty, Molokane, Subbotniki, …) wait 50 years after Klubnikin's prophesy to migrate, until after 1900? And, why did less than 1% of them move to the Americas?

Though many factors prompted non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians to migrate from the Caucasus among the wave of Eastern Europeans to North America around 1900, the oral history of each family reports different reasons for their ancestors' journey. Berokoff began his book (above) with parts of the Maksimist Klubnikin prophesies beginning in 1852, then discusses many, but not all, of the possible reasons for migration. Following is a somewhat chronological list of clustered likely factors which could affect their migration from Russia to California, contrasted with plausible reasons why the vast majority (99+%) stayed home.

Reasons  TO  Leave — 1%  went to the Americas.

  1. Economic
  2. Personal
  3. War
  4. Freedom
  5. Doukhobors
  6. Tolstoy
  7. Excitement

Reasons  NOT TO  Leave — 99%  stayed  home.

  1. Economic
  2. Personal
  3. War
  4. Freedom
  5. Doukhobors
  6. Tolstoy
  7. Excitement

[Contents] [Chapter 1>]

Molokan, Prygun and Dukh-i-zhiznik History
Molokane, Pryguny and Dukh-i-zhizniki Around the World