Introduction to the Russian Mennonites

Summary: Mennonites in Russia? Invited by Catherine the Great to farm the Russian steppes--in exchange for exemption from military service--Mennonite emigrants from Polish Prussia and The Netherlands made their home in Russia. Some remain today; many more eventually left for North and South Americas and Europe. Nearly all retain memories and stories from that place--unbelievable prosperity for some; unspeakable terror for man...y; church tensions; struggles between the landed and the landless; exquisite clockmaking, storytelling, music-making, and food. Himself a Russian Mennonite, Kroeker heads into the history, but also the later movement of these people to the U.S. and Canada. Are they at all distinctive today? What has drawn some to the cities and professions, and others to the rural prairies? What about those in Europe, and those still in the former Soviet Union? Kroeker tells it all with vibrancy--the overview and the memorable details. Includes dozens of historic and contemporary photographs. [read more]