Talk:Russian Mennonite
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[edit] Ethnicity
It would be helpful to expand the ethnically Dutch characterization to include a broader perspective of the people making up the Russian Mennonite group. Surnames like Ratzlaff, Sawatzky and even Harder indicate lineages that originated elsewhere in the Mennonite sojourn. An excellent place to start is Peters and Thiessen's Mennonitische Namen, a reference to which will be added to the article.
JonHarder 18:02, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Persecution
- A paragraph about the terror caused by Nestor Makhno would be appropriate.
[edit] Catherine the Great
I believe that the comments about the relationship between Catherine the Great and the Mennonites may at best be misleading and at worst in error.
First, the word "invitation" must be understood in a political sense, not a personal one. The full extent of her 1763 "invitation" can be found in the words of her Manifesto at http://members.aol.com/jktsn/manifest.htm
Second, be sure, in reading the Manifesto, to note that it applies to all FOREIGNERS, not just Germans or Mennonites.
Third, it is my understanding that it was the Mennonites who pursued the opportunities in Russian territory and not the other way around - Catherine pursuing the Mennonites. In fact, it was her son who signed the 1789 agreement with the Mennonites, not herself (see the same link above, bottom of the page).
A review of material in the books, "From Catherine to Kruschev" by Adam Giesinger and "Human Capital" by Roger Bartlett would confirm my point of view.
Jerry Frank FranklySpeaking@shaw.ca
[edit] Sections moved from Mennonite article
I just moved a bunch of information from the main Mennonite article, and added the subheaders. It's now time for cleanup.
I also notice that the article is really short on information about the Mennonites in Russia during the 20th century. I'll try to dig up as much as I can, because I think the story of their struggles during that time is particularly of interest. I know that their German heritage made them a target for persecution during WWI and WWII, they were heavily preyed upon by bandits during the revolutionary period, and that Stalin also targeted them for their religious beliefs once he came to power.Sxeptomaniac 17:52, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Catherine - again
No one has taken the time to revise the article since my last comment so I will do it now.
Too much is made of Catherine's role in this migration. For example, the current edition of this article states, "As a result of their time on the Russian steppes under Catherine the Great, they were familiar with a strain of wheat . . ." It may be very true that they came to know about this type of wheat in Russia but why mention Catherine in that context? The Mennonites' first settlement occurred in 1789 and Catherine died in 1796. That means they only experienced 7 years under her rule. And I repeat my previous comment that the Mennonites' agreement was made with her son, not with Catherine.
Additional research indicates that the Mennonites did NOT in fact bring the winter wheat with them. See Kansas State Historical Society comment at http://www.kshs.org/teachers/trunks/pdfs/wheat_00b_background.pdf . I have therefore modified that entire section as well.
Jerry Frank, Webmaster, http://www.sggee.org 205.206.215.65 21:06, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
