How they came
History
The Molokans' road to Azerbaijan began with faith and persecution. Having rejected the official church, they were exiled to the empire's edges — and found a new homeland here.
How they came
The Molokans' road to Azerbaijan began with faith and persecution. Having rejected the official church, they were exiled to the empire's edges — and found a new homeland here.
The Molokans' history is the story of people whom faith made exiles, and whom labour and persistence turned into sturdy masters of a new land.
History
The Spiritual Christian movement arose in Russia in the 18th century. The Molokans rejected the official Orthodox church, icons, clergy and elaborate rites, reading the Bible directly. For this they were persecuted as heretics.
Under Nicholas I such "sectarians" were exiled en masse to the outskirts — including Transcaucasia. It was both a punishment and a way to colonise the empire's new lands.
History
After the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, Russian Molokan peasants began to settle in Transcaucasia. The first Molokan families settled here in 1834, and in 1840 the village of Ivanovka was founded.
The village was named after Colonel Grigory Nikiforovich Ivanov, who led the resettlement. Of the many Molokan villages, Ivanovka has survived best to our day.
Milestones of history
The rise of the Spiritual Christian movement in Russia.
Persecution and exile of the Molokans to Transcaucasia.
The first Molokan families on this land.
The founding of Ivanovka, named after Colonel Ivanov.
The Molokans are Spiritual Christians, a movement of their own; they should not be confused with the Old Believers. Datings and details vary across sources.