Table Of ContentThe Chronicles
of Spirit Wrestlers’
Immigration to Canada
God is not in
Might, but in Truth
Grigori Vasil’evich Verigin
ǐ
Edited by Veronika Makarova · Larry A. Ewashen
Translated by Veronika Makarova
The Chronicles of Spirit Wrestlers’
Immigration to Canada
Grigoriı Vasil’evich Verigin
̌
The Chronicles
of Spirit Wrestlers’
Immigration
to Canada
God is not in Might, but in Truth
Edited by Veronika Makarova and Larry A. Ewashen
Translated by Veronika Makarova
Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich Verigin (Deceased)
Editors
Veronika Makarova Larry A. Ewashen
Department of Linguistics Creston, BC, Canada
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Translated by Veronika Makarova
ISBN 978-3-030-18524-4 ISBN 978-3-030-18525-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18525-1
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This book is dedicated to Pëtr Vasil’evich Verigin, a visionary of his time.
The book is dedicated to his life, 16 years of his suffering in exile and his
tragic still unresolved death in British Columbia. It is also dedicated to all
the Doukhobors who underwent the burden of suffering for the Truth in
Russia, and attempted to conquer evil with good. Many of them
were sacrificed in their truly heroic and excruciating battle.
P t e
reface by the ranslator and the ditors
This book is a translation into English of the Russian original that describes
the history of an ethnic and religious group known as Doukhobors
(Doukhobortsy) or Spirit Wrestlers. The author portrays their life in the
late nineteenth-century Russia and their immigration to Canada.
Doukhobortsy originated in Russia as a distinct Christian group in the
seventeenth to eighteenth centuries. In Russian, “Doukhoborets”
(Doukhobortsy in plural) means a Spirit Wrestler; subsequently the word
got simplified to “Doukhobor.” Their dissent with the Orthodox Church
as well as their refusal to be conscripted into the army as this would violate
the “thou shalt not kill” commandment led to their persecution in Russia
that intensified at the end of the nineteenth century, the time when the
narration of the book begins. In 1899, close to 8000 Doukhobors immi-
grated to Canada in search of a place where they could enjoy freedom of
religion, exercise exemption from military conscription and work the land
together in a commune. Today Doukhobors are still part of the multicul-
tural pattern of Canada, and by the editors’ estimate (other scholars’ esti-
mates may differ), about 3000 of them (in narrow terms of some affiliation
with Doukhobor beliefs or activities) and up to about 30,000–40,000 (in
terms of descent or heritage) currently reside mostly in British Columbia
(BC) and Saskatchewan, as well as in other locations in Canada.
The book begins with the important years in reformation and consoli-
dation of Doukhobor beliefs in the late nineteenth century initiated by
Pëtr Verigin, the most famous Doukhobor leader, and the author’s
brother. It continues with the arrival of Doukhobors in Canada and closes
vii
viii PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR AND THE EDITORS
in 1924 with Pëtr Verigin’s tragic death in a still unsolved train bombing
and his subsequent funeral.
This book was the first ever written by a Doukhobor, and one of the
first immigrant narratives in Canada. It describes the survival of Doukhobor
pioneers in the harsh climate of the prairies. It also reports a series of initial
culture clashes and misunderstandings between Doukhobors and the
Canadian government. This book is, therefore, of great interest to a wide
range of scholars, including historians of Canada and Russia, political sci-
entists, social scientists, ethnographers, anthropologists, specialists in
Canadian and Russian studies, religious studies, social justice, as well as in
communication and critical discourse. It is also of significance to the gen-
eral public as it highlights the need for tolerance and diversity in Canadian
society. The book is also an indispensable source of information for any-
one interested in the history of early Western Canada’s settlement during
the crucial period of 1900–1920s on the Canadian prairies and in BC. The
last, but not the least, for Canadian Doukhobors with no command of
Russian, this book describes the lives and beliefs of their ancestors.
The author, Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich Verigin, was not only writing his per-
sonal recollections but he also interviewed many older generation
Doukhobors and recorded their life experiences and stories. His brother
Pëtr (Peter) Vasil’evich Verigin (Lordly)1—the Doukhobor leader—
assisted him with information about his own life and events surrounding
it and also with the descriptions of experiences during his 16-year exile in
the remote regions of northern Russia and Siberia. He also approved his
younger brother’s literary work and encouraged him to share his historical
information at community meetings.
Many pages in his writings contained details of events before and after
Doukhobors burned their weapons in 1895, an event that changed their
lives forever and led to the sufferings that they endured at the hands of the
Russian tsar’s military authorities. All these writings later became the
major part of his book. The book also protocols the injustices and financial
losses that Doukhobors were subjected to in Canada as they struggled for
their religious rights against the assimilation policies of the Canadian
government.
Very importantly for our day and age, the book time and again restates
the most essential part of Doukhobor beliefs, their pacifism. In the author’s
own voice, in the testimonies of other Doukhobors and in their docu-
ments cited in the book, the senseless, brutal and barbaric nature of war-
fare is revealed; and people of the earth, no matter which religion, race,
PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR AND THE EDITORS ix
nation or creed, are called upon to lower their weapons and live together
in peace, sharing resources that are otherwise wasted in bloodshed. The
book highlights other aspects of Doukhobor beliefs such as their dream of
a global community, brotherhood and equality of all the people on earth.
The volume also describes their kind treatment of animals, vegetarianism,
as well as abstinence from alcohol and tobacco. The narrative also calls for
social justice, tolerance and diversity.
Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich completed his manuscript in 1929–1930 and asked
a friend to type it. It was subsequently sent for publication to Pavel
Ivanovich Biriukov in Switzerland who arranged publication in France.
The original story was significantly abridged, as the author’s niece, Fedos’ia
Luk’ianovna Verigin(a) shared with Larry Ewashen in 1974. The original
title of the book is “God is not in might but in truth,” an old Russian say-
ing.2 In order to explain to an English speaking reader what the narrative
is about, we decided to provide a new title for the book and keep the origi-
nal one as a subtitle.
The translator and the editors attempted to make the text as compre-
hensible to a modern reader as possible, while at the same time preserving
the authentic voice of the author.
The translation has been carried out by Dr. Veronika Makarova, a
Professor of Linguistics, at the University of Saskatchewan. Her areas of
expertise are linguistics, applied linguistics, Russian linguistics, as well as
Doukhobor Studies. She directed and produced four documentary films
about the National Doukhobor Heritage Village in Saskatchewan.
This book project was inspired by its literary editor, Larry A. Ewashen,
Doukhobor historian, filmmaker and writer [http://www.larrysdesk.
com/larry-a-ewashen%2D%2D-curriculum-vitae.html].
The American Library of Congress transliteration system is followed in
the book (except for diacritic marks over “ia, iu and ts”).3
notes
1. “Lordly” is a somewhat controversial translation of his Russian nickname
“Gospodniı”̌ (God’s) which indicates that his life was dedicated to God.
2. This proverb is attributed to the thirteenth-century Russian Prince and war-
rior Saint Alexander Nevskiı ̌(Nevsky), who is famous for his multiple victo-
ries in battles, his wisdom, as well as for the strength of his Christian faith.
It is possible that the author did not know the origins of this proverb.
x PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR AND THE EDITORS
3. American Library of Congress transliteration system for Russian is found at
https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html. For consistency, all the
Russian personal names and place names were transliterated directly from
Russian following the American Library of Congress transliteration system
(with the exception of a few diacritic symbols). The traditional anglicized
versions of the place names or personal were provided in Translator’ chapter
notes where important or relevant (e.g., Iakutsk (Yakutsk) for Якутск;
Aleksandra Fёdorovna (Alexandra Feodorovna) for Александра Фёдоровна).
P P b ,1 e
reface by avel iriukov the ditor
o P r
of the riginal ublication in ussian
Pavel Biriukov (Fourth person from the left, standing) with a group of
Doukhobors
The author of this book, Grigoriı ̌Vasil’evich Verigin, the youngest brother
of Pëtr Vasil’evich,2 asked me to write a preface.
I agreed because the subject of this book is dear to me, and the main
character, Pëtr Vasil’evich, is undoubtedly an outstanding man.
xi
