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LLM - Digital Humanities 16

ERROR: type should be string, got "https://doi.org/10.4316/CC.2022.01.03 https://doi.org/10.4316/CC.2022.01.03 Copyright © 2022 “Codrul Cosminului”, XXVIII, 2022, No. 1, p. 55–72. GERMAN COLONISTS FROM BESSARABIA \nIN RUSSIAN HISTORICAL LITERATURE \nOF THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES Vyacheslav STEPANOV \n \nInstitute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences \nE-mail: vpstepanovpochta@gmail.com Abstract. The article analyses the Russian historiographical heritage of German \nsettlers in Bessarabia in the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, the least \nresearched period in Russian history. The historical Bessarabia territory is currently part of \nthe Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Despite using the same documents, the studies on the \nGermans of Bessarabia reach different conclusions because they depended on the political \nconjuncture in which the papers were written. Russian authors of the 19th - the first decades \nof the 20th centuries viewed German settlers’ ethnic, confessional and agricultural \ndevelopment in Bessarabia from different angles, often guided by their subjective \nimpressions. The researchers covering this period relied exclusively on the recollections of \ncontemporaries of German ancestors who had been living in Bessarabia since the beginning \nof the 19th century. Often, the authors used unverified propaganda information. In this paper, \nprinted sources from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were used to create a \ncoherent image of the German population in Bessarabia and reflect the attitudes of Russian \nscientists and authorities regarding this ethnical group of immigrants who endured great \nhardship. 2 Pompei N. Batyushkov, Bessarabiya. Istoricheskoe opisanie [Bessarabia. Historical de-\nscription], Sankt-Peterburg, 1892, s. 144; I. F. Lagorio, Statisticheskie svedeniya o bessa-\nrabskih nemetskih koloniyah v 1861-1862 gg. [Statistical information about the \nBessarabian German colonies in 1861-1862], in “Zapiski Bessarabskogo oblastnogo \nstatisticheskogo komiteta”, t. I, Kishinev, 1864, p. 73. 1 Spiski naselennyh mest Rossijskoj imperii, sostavlennye i izdavaemye central'nym \nstatisticheskim komitetom ministerstva vnutrennih del. III Bessarabskoj oblast' [Lists of \nthe Russian Empire localities, compiled and published by the Central Statistical \nCommittee of the Ministry of the Interior. III Bessarabia region], Sankt-Peterburg, \n1861, p. XXIV. 3 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, Naselenie Bessarabii i Podnestrov'ya v XIX v. (Etnicheskie i social'no-\ndemograficheskie processy) [The Population of the Bessarabia and Transnistria in the \n19th century (Ethnic and Social-Demographical processes)], Kishinev, 1979, p. 212. Keywords: Germans, historiography, Bessarabia, population, authorities, migration Keywords: Germans, historiography, Bessarabia, population, authorities, migration Rezumat. Coloniștii germani din Basarabia în lucrările de istorie rusești din \nsecolul al XIX-lea și începutul secolului XX. Articolul analizează patrimoniul istoriografic \nde limbă rusă privitor la coloniștii germani din Basarabia în secolul al XIX-lea și primele \ndecenii ale secolului al XX-lea, în perioada cel mai slab cercetată din istoria Rusiei. În prezent, \nteritoriul Basarabiei istorice face parte din Republica Moldova și Ucraina. În ciuda faptului \ncă folosesc aceleași izvoare, studiile privind germanii din Basarabia ajung la concluzii \ndiferite, deoarece au depins de conjunctura politică în care s-au redactat lucrările. Autorii German Colonists from Bessarabia in Russian Historical Literature 56 ruși din secolul al XIX-lea și din primele decenii ale secolului XX au privit evoluția etnică, \nconfesională și agrară a coloniștilor germani din Basarabia din unghiuri diferite, ghidându-\nse adesea de impresiile lor subiective. Cercetătorii acestei perioade s-au bazat exclusiv pe \nmemoriile contemporanilor strămoșilor germani care s-au așezat în Basarabia încă de la \nînceputul secolului al XIX-lea. Adeseori, autorii au folosit informații de propagandă \nneverificate. În studiul de față, sursele tipărite din secolul al XIX-lea și începutul secolului XX \nau fost folosite pentru a schița o imagine coerentă a populației germane din Basarabia, \nprecum și pentru a reflecta atitudinile oamenilor de știință și ale autorităților ruse față de \nacest grup etnic de imigranți care a avut de îndurat mari greutăți. ruși din secolul al XIX-lea și din primele decenii ale secolului XX au privit evoluția etnică, \nconfesională și agrară a coloniștilor germani din Basarabia din unghiuri diferite, ghidându-\nse adesea de impresiile lor subiective. Cercetătorii acestei perioade s-au bazat exclusiv pe \nmemoriile contemporanilor strămoșilor germani care s-au așezat în Basarabia încă de la \nînceputul secolului al XIX-lea. Adeseori, autorii au folosit informații de propagandă \nneverificate. În studiul de față, sursele tipărite din secolul al XIX-lea și începutul secolului XX \nau fost folosite pentru a schița o imagine coerentă a populației germane din Basarabia, \nprecum și pentru a reflecta atitudinile oamenilor de știință și ale autorităților ruse față de \nacest grup etnic de imigranți care a avut de îndurat mari greutăți. INTRODUCTION Bessarabia was, in the 19th century, a gateway to the Balkans. It was evident \nwhen this territory became a space of confrontation between empires. The \nregion’s peculiarity is that all life activities closely interact between the \nautochthonous population and immigrants. One of the understudied ethnic \ngroups was the German colonists. They arrived in Bessarabia in the 19th century \nand nearly vanished entirely because of a decision made by the Stalinist \nadministration in 1940. German colonists represented a different governmental \ninitiative for recovering vacant areas, and a small portion of the Swiss and French \njoined them. They were also called “Warsaw settlers”, although there were very \nfew Poles among them. They left Poland and went to Bessarabia. By the mid-\nnineteenth century, they were around 26 thousand people.1 They all lived mainly \nin the region’s south in the Akkerman uyezd2. By the beginning of the 20th century, \nthe German population had already been living in 75 villages in Bessarabia3. Many Vyacheslav Stepanov 57 German colonies created subsidiary settlements to preserve land capital. German colonies created subsidiary settlements to preserve land capital. 5 Georg Leibbrandt, Die deutschen Kolonien in Cherson und Bessarabien: Berichte der \nGemeindeämter über Entstehung und Entwicklung der lutherischen Kolonien in der 1. \nHälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart, Ausland und Heimat-Verl.-Aktienges., 1926. 4 Аnton Golopenția, Românii de la est de Bug [Romanians from the East of the Bug River], \nVol. 1, București, Editura Enciclopedică, 2006, р. 33. 6 A. Reimarus, Mennonity (kratkiy ocherk) [Mennonites (Brief Essay)], Moskva, \nBezbozhnik, 1930. p\n]\nş\n12 I. A. Nestorescu, Transnistria noastră [Our Transnistria], Buzău, 1942. 7 Viktor Schirmunski, Die deutschen Kolonisten in der Ukraine. Geschichte, Mundarten, \nVolkslied, Volkskunde, Charkow, Zentral-Völker-Verlag, 1928. 9 Hermann Aubin, Die Jahrtausendfeier der Rheinlande und die Ostmark, in Festschrift zur \nJahrtausendfeier der Rheinländer in Danzig, Danzig, 1925, S. 9–15. HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW German Colonists from Bessarabia in Russian Historical Literature 58 The following period focuses on Soviet Moldova. The scholars practically \ndid not study the German population. Separate studies in the field of ethnic \ndemographics only partially touched upon certain aspects of the history and \nculture of the German settlers’ everyday life (Valentin S. Zelenchuk13 and the book \nof Vladimir M. Kabuzan14). The data on the German population of the region’s \ncities is partly reflected in the works of Nikolai V. Babilunga15 and Stepanida F. Kustryabova16. The monographs of well-known historians of the time, Yakim S. Grosul17, Il’ya G. Budak18 and Ivan I. Meshcheryuk19 present aspects of the socio-\neconomic life of the German population in the region. The studies of Elena I. Druzhinina, who investigated the general situation in southern Ukraine in the 19th \ncentury, including the condition of the German colonies20, are worth mentioning. 14 Vladimir M. Kabuzan, Narodonaselenie Bessarabskoi oblasti i levoberezhnyh raionov \nPridnestrov'ya (konec XVIII – pervaia polovina XIX vv.) [The population of the \nBessarabian region and the left-bank regions of Transnistria (the end of the 18th – the \nfirst half of the 19th centuries)], Kishinev, “Shtiintsa”, 1974. 15 Nikolai V. Babilunga, Natsional'nyj sostav gorodskogo naseleniya Bessarabii v epohu \nimperializma [The national composition of the urban population of Bessarabia in the \nera of imperialism], in “Izvestiya AN MSSR: Seriya obshchestvennyh nauk”, 1979, № 3, \np. 24-33; Idem, Dinamika gorodskogo naseleniya Bessarabii v epohu imperializma \n[Dynamics of the urban population of Bessarabia in the era of imperialism], in \n“Izvestiya AN MSSR: Seriya obshchestvennyh nauk”, 1981, № 2, p. 53-61. 16 Stepanida F. Kustryabova, Polozhenie trudyashchihsya i demograficheskie protsessy v \ngorodah Bessarabii (1918–1940) [The situation of workers and demographic processes \nin the cities of Bessarabia (1918–1940)], Kishinev, “Shtiintsa”, 1977. 17 Yаkim S. Grosul, Krest'yane Bessarabii (1812-1861) [Peasants of Bessarabia (1812-\n1861)], Kishinev, Gosud. Izdatel’stvo Moldavii, 1956. 18 Yakim S. Grosul, Il'ya G. Budak, Krest'yanskaya reforma 60-70 gg. XIX veka v Bessarabii \n[Peasant reform 60-70s of 19th century in Bessarabia], Kishinev, Gosud. Izdatel’stvo \nMoldavii, 1956; Yakim S. Grosul, Il'ya G. Budak, Ocherki istorii narodnogo hozyaistva \nBessarabii (1812-1861 gg.) [Essays on the history of the national economy of \nBessarabia (1812-1861)], Kishinev, Kartia moldoveniaske, 1967. 19 Ivan I. Meshcheryuk, Sotsial'no-ekonomicheskoe razvitie bolgarskih i gagauzskih siol v \nyuzhnoi Bessarabii (1808–1856) [Socio-economic development of the Bulgarian and \nGagauz villages in southern Bessarabia (1808-1856)], Kishinev, Redaktsionno-\nizdatel’skij otdel AN MSSR, 1970. 20 Elena I. HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW The article focuses on German migration to Bessarabia and their impact and \ndevelopment of the Bessarabian land. During the interwar period, the Romanian \nsociologist Anton Golopenţia, a Romanian sociologist, was interested in the \nGerman population of Bessarabia. He dedicated his research in the Bug4 Region to \nstatistics, particularly those affecting the German people. Before the Second World \nWar, the theme of German settlers comes up with renewed vigour in Germany5 \nand the USSR. Moreover, in the Soviet Union, a steadily negative attitude towards \nthe German population began to take shape in the late 20s (A. Reimarus = David \nPenner6, Viktor Schirmunski7, Aleksandr Klibanov8). Hermann Aubin, one of the authors of the theory of “cultural province,” \nattempted to explain how the German people’s cultural area took shape, regardless \nof state and temporary borders9. According to the theory, the colonists played an \nessential role in expanding the ecumene of the Germanic ethnos. Many experts \nsupported this theory, including Heinrich Brunner, Joachim Schulz10, and others. The period of 1940-1944 was a period of active spread of Romanian values. This process also affected German settlers who survived after repatriation in \n1940. Particular attention was paid to the situation in the Transnistria of the \nDniester region. It is worth mentioning the works of Ion Nistor11, I. A. Nestorescu12, and others. 5 Georg Leibbrandt, Die deutschen Kolonien in Cherson und Bessarabien: Berichte der \nGemeindeämter über Entstehung und Entwicklung der lutherischen Kolonien in der 1. Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart, Ausland und Heimat-Verl.-Aktienges., 1926. f\nJ\ng\ng\n6 A. Reimarus, Mennonity (kratkiy ocherk) [Mennonites (Brief Essay)], Moskva, \nBezbozhnik, 1930. 7 Viktor Schirmunski, Die deutschen Kolonisten in der Ukraine. Geschichte, Mundarten, \nVolkslied, Volkskunde, Charkow, Zentral-Völker-Verlag, 1928. 8 A. Klibanov, Menonity [Mennonites], Мoskva–Leningrad, 1931. y [\n]\ng\n9 Hermann Aubin, Die Jahrtausendfeier der Rheinlande und die Ostmark, in Festschrift zur \nJahrtausendfeier der Rheinländer in Danzig, Danzig, 1925, S. 9–15. 10 Joachim Schulz, Die deutschen Volksgruppen in Südosteuropa, Leipzig – Berlin, Teubner, 1940. 11 Ion Nistor, Aspecte geopolitice şi culturale din Transnistria [Geopolitical and cultural 10 Joachim Schulz, Die deutschen Volksgruppen in Südosteuropa, Leipzig – Berlin, Teubner, 1940. 11 Ion Nistor, Aspecte geopolitice şi culturale din Transnistria [Geopolitical and cultural \naspects of Transnistria], Bucureşti, 1942. 11 Ion Nistor, Aspecte geopolitice şi culturale din Transnistria [Geopolitical and cultural \naspects of Transnistria], Bucureşti, 1942. p\n]\nş\n12 I. A. Nestorescu, Transnistria noastră [Our Transnistria], Buzău, 1942. 14 Vladimir M. Kabuzan, Narodonaselenie Bessarabskoi oblasti i levoberezhnyh raionov \nPridnestrov'ya (konec XVIII – pervaia polovina XIX vv.) [The population of the \nBessarabian region and the left-bank regions of Transnistria (the end of the 18th – the \nfirst half of the 19th centuries)], Kishinev, “Shtiintsa”, 1974. 13 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, op. cit. 21 Ol'ga V. Shcherbinina, Kritika sovremennoi zapadnogeranskoi burzhuaznoi istoriografii \nistorii Moldavii [Criticism of modern West German bourgeois historiography of the \nhistory of Moldova], Kishinev, “Shtiintsa”, 1984. 22 Alfred Ziеbart, Arzis, Bessarabien. Blick auf 150 Jahre Kolonistenleben und –schicksal \n1816–1966, Ludwigsburg, Eigenverlag des Verfassers, 1971. 31 Sergei V. Kapustin, Etnografiya Bessarabii glazami issledovatelej nemetskogo proiskhozh-\ndeniya [Ethnography of Bessarabia through the eyes of researchers of German origin] \nin the «Uchenye zapiski Orlovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta”, 2017, no. 3(76), \np. 23–28; Idem, Coverage of the history and culture of life support of the German settlers \nof Bessarabia and the left bank of the Dniester in the late 20th - early decades of the 21st \ncentury in the printed scientific literature of Germany, in “ABYSS”, 2019, № 1(07), \nhttp://abyss.su/_media/abyss_issue/7/kapustin_statja_na_anglijskom.pdf (Accessed \non 22.01.2022). HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Druzhinina, Yuzhnaya Ukraina 1800-1825 gg [Southern Ukraine 1800-1825], \nMoskva, “Nauka”, 1970; Eadem, Yuzhnaya Ukraina v period krizisa feodalizma. 1825–\n1860 gg. [Southern Ukraine in the period of feudalism crisis. 1825–1860], Moskva, \n“Nauka”, 1981. Vyacheslav Stepanov 59 As for the Soviet period, Ol’ga V. Shcherbinina21 wrote about bourgeois \nfalsifications, including the theme of German settlers. In the second half of the 20th \ncentury, German scholars published works devoted to various aspects of the past \nof the German colonists in Bessarabia (Alfred Ziеbart22, Jakob Becker23, etc.). Some \nauthors who wrote about the German colonists themselves were their \ndescendants (Alexander Suga24). The study of German issues became increasingly important in the post-\nSoviet period, in both the Republic of Moldova and elsewhere. Valentina \nChirtoagă’s work stands out among Moldovan specialists. She wrote the first \ndissertation research devoted to the study of various aspects of the lives of \nGerman colonists in Bessarabia25. Two researchers from Germany, descendants of \nthe Bessarabian Germans, Luminița Fassel26 and Ute Schmidt27, and a native of \nRussia, Viktor Disendorf,28 attempted to summarise information about the \nGermans of Bessarabia. 22 Alfred Ziеbart, Arzis, Bessarabien. Blick auf 150 Jahre Kolonistenleben und –schicksal \n1816–1966, Ludwigsburg, Eigenverlag des Verfassers, 1971. kob Becker, Bessarabien und sein Deutschtum, Bietigheim – Württemberg, Krug, 1966. 24 Alexander Suga, Die völkerrechtliche Lage Bessarabiens in der geschichtlichen \nEntwicklung des Landes, Bonn, 1958. 25 Valentina Chirtoagă, Etnicii germani din Basarabia: evoluție demografică, social-\neconomică și cultural-spirituală (1814-1917). Teză de doctor în istorie [The German \nethnic groups in Bessarabia: demographic, socio-economic and cultural-spiritual \nevolution (1814-1917). The Doctoral Thesis in History], Chișinău, 2018. 26 Lumința Fassel, Das deutsche Schulwesen in Bessarabien (1812-1940). Eine komparativ-\nhistorische und sozio-kulturelle Untersuchung, München, Verlag Südostdeutsches \nKulturwerk, 2000. 27 Ute Schmidt, Die Deutschen aus Bessarabien. Eine Minderheit aus Südosteuropa (1814 bis \nheute), 2 durchgesehene Auflage. Köln – Weimar – Wien, Böhlau Verlag 2004; Eadem, \nBessarabien. Deutsche Kolonisten am Schwarzen Meer, Potsdam, Deutsches \nKulturforum Östliches Europa, 2008; Eadem, Bessarabiya. Nemeckie kolonisty \nPrichernomor'ya: ocherki [Bessarabia. German colonists of the Black Sea region: \nessays], Odessa, Optimum, 2015. 28 Viktor Disendorf, Istoricheskaya demografiya nemetskogo naseleniya Rossiii SSSR (XVIII \n– nachalo XXI vv.) [Historical demography of the German population of Russia and the \nUSSR (18th – the beginning of the 21st centuries)], Rottenburg, 2010, \nhttp://wolgadeutsche.net/diesendorf/Ist_demograf.pdf (Accessed on 25.01.2022). HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW German Colonists from Bessarabia in Russian Historical Literature 60 A series of doctoral thesis from Ukraine demonstrates the surge of interest in \nthe history of German settlements in modern Ukrainian historiography. These \nworks touch upon various aspects of the history and culture of the German colonists \nin Ukraine, and some cover the border areas of the Republic of Moldova.29 Sergei Kretinin30, a modern researcher from Russia, made several advances \nin examining German colonists’ history. In his articles, Sergei V. Kapustin31 \naddressed ethnography and the history of the Bessarabian Germans. Although the German presence in Bessarabia has been explored, issues still \nneed to be addressed. One of them is connected with the history of personalities \nof German colonists, which is insufficiently covered. The traditional daily lifestyle \nof this ethnic-social segment of the Bessarabian population remains understudied. y\np\nof German colonists, which is insufficiently covered. The traditional daily lifestyle \nof this ethnic-social segment of the Bessarabian population remains understudied. The purpose of this study has been to focus briefly on the examination of \n19th-century Russian works about German colonists in Bessarabia. The purpose of this study has been to focus briefly on the examination of \n19th-century Russian works about German colonists in Bessarabia. 29 Kateryna S. Lyah, Nіmets'komovnі kolonіsty Pіvdnya Ukrayny v mul'tinatsіonal'nomu \notochennі: problema vzaemodіy kul'tur (XIX – pochatok XX st.) [German-speaking \ncolonists of Southern Ukraine in a multinational environment: the problem of cultural \ninteraction (19th – early 20th centuries)], Donetsk, 2005. 30 Sergei V. Kretinin, Bessarabskie nemtsy: poslednie kolonisty Rossiiskoj imperii [Bessa-\nrabian Germans: the Last Colonists of the Russian Empire], in “Rossiya – Germaniya”, \n2013, No 2(6), p. 65–69. 32 Vyacheslav P. Stepanov, Trudy po etnografii naseleniya Bessarabii XIX – nachala XX vv. \nOcherki istorii etnograficheskogo izucheniya bessarabskih ukraintsev [Works on the eth-\nnography of the population of Bessarabia in the 19th – early 20th centuries. Essays on \nthe history of the ethnographic study of Bessarabian Ukrainians], Kishinev, 2001, p. 69. DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL FATE \nOF THE GERMAN COLONISTS IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES The historiography of the 19th century and early 20th century, devoted to the \nGerman settlers’ historical destiny and everyday culture in Bessarabia, can be \ndivided into several stages. Stage I – the first half of the 19th century until the 1860s was \ncharacterised by episodic information about the Germans in this region. Territorial features, such as the positioning of German settlers on the periphery, \nalso impacted this. However, it was precisely because of this fact that the Vyacheslav Stepanov 61 Bessarabian outskirts of the Russian Empire were recorded and explored in the \n19th century on behalf of various government departments.32 Pavel P. Svinyin’s description of Bessarabia was one of the first published \nmaterials approached. It mentioned that “in addition to several Austrian subjects, \nscattered in the cities and villages of Bessarabian for various trades, 1743 families \nwere resettled here from the Duchy of Warsaw in 1814; they were all of the \nLutheran confession, except 121 Catholic families”33. The privileges granted to the Warsaw colonists encouraged the influx of \nGerman settlers for nearly the entire 19th century. If the region had 33,501 \nGermans in 1861, there were 42,681 in 1891 and 59,998 people in 189734. The \nGerman colonists’ special status, long-term benefits, and the ban against dividing \nland plots contributed to the accumulation of land property35. Subsequently, \nGerman colonists were labelled as the prosperous but closed and \nuncommunicative representatives of a foreign ethnic environment.36 Stepan Kornilovich, who wrote about the region in the twenties of the 19th \ncentury, confirmed the words of Svinyin and noted that “several families from \nforeign lands were resettled to the region for agriculture and cultivation of \nvineyards; they were mostly from the Duchy of Warsaw, the Bavarian and \nWertemberg kingdoms and Switzerland”37. Kornilovich named several families of 33 Opisanie Bessarabskoi oblasti. Sostavleno vedomstva gosudarstvennoi kollegii inostran-\nnyh del nadvornym sovetnikom Pavlom Svinyinym, 1816 goda [Description of the \nBessarabian region. Compiled by the department of the State Collegium of Foreign \nAffairs by court adviser Pavel Svinyin, 1816], in “Zapiski Odesskogo obshchestva istorii \ni drevnostei”, vol. VI, 1867, p. 206. 34 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, op. cit., p. 211. More accurate is the figure given by Sеrgei Sulyak \n– 60,206 inhabitants of German origin. See: Sergei G. 36 Nikolai D. Zabotkin, Mirnoe zavoevanie nemtsami Yuzhnoi Bessarabii [Peaceful conquest \nof southern Bessarabia by the Germans], Akkerman, 1910, p. 3. epan Kornilovich, Statisticheskoe opisanie Bessarabii sobstvenno tak nazyvaemoi, i 35 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, op. cit., p. 211–212. 35 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, op. cit., p. 211–212. Budzhaka, s prilozheniem general’nogo plana ego kraya, sostavlennoe pri grazhdanskoi \ns’emke Bessarabii, proizvodivshei po vysochajshemu poveleniyu razmezhevanie zemel' \nonoi na uchastki s 1822 po 1828-i god [Statistical description of the so-called Bessarabia \nproper, or Budjak, with the application of the general plan of its region, compiled \nduring the civil survey of Bessarabia, which, by the highest command, delimited its \nlands into sections from 1822 to 1828], Akkerman, 1899, p. 23. 40 Aleksandr I. Zashchuk, Materialy dlya geografii i statistiki Rossii, sobrannye ofitserami \nGeneral’nogo shtaba. Bessarabskaya oblast' [Materials for the geography and statistics \nof Russia, collected by officers of the General Staff. Bessarabia region], Sankt-\nPeterburg, 1862, ch. 1-2; Idem, Etnografiya Bessarabskoi oblasti [Ethnography of the \nBessarabian region], in “Zapiski Odesskogo obshchestva istorii i drevnostei”, T. 5, \nOdessa, 1863, p. 491–589. DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL FATE \nOF THE GERMAN COLONISTS IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES Sulyak, Naselenie Bessarabii v XIX \nv.: chislennost', natsional'nyi sostav, religioznaya prinadlezhnost' (Po materialam \ndorevolyutsionnyh issledovanii) [The population of Bessarabia in the 19th century: size, \nethnic composition, religious affiliation (based on pre-revolutionary studies)], in Trudy \nOb’edinennogo nauchnogo soveta po gumanitarnym problemam i istoriko-kul’turnomu \nnaslediyu. 2009, Sankt-Peterburg, 2010, p. 61. 35 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, op. cit., p. 211–212. 36 Nikolai D. Zabotkin, Mirnoe zavoevanie nemtsami Yuzhnoi Bessarabii [Peaceful conquest \nof southern Bessarabia by the Germans], Akkerman, 1910, p. 3. German Colonists from Bessarabia in Russian Historical Literature 62 German settlers in 1971: there were 4848 men and 4522 women.38 The author \nalso focused on the German occupations, listing all of the German colonies and \npresenting their economic characteristics39. There are only positive reviews on \nthe German farming tradition of the Germans near Daragan. Stage II, the 1860s - 1880s. In the second half of the 19th century, a \nconsiderable amount of statistical literature included information about the \nGerman settlers. Outlying territories were specially studied, which explains the \nauthorities’ attention to their development. The comprehensive works of General \nStaff officer Aleksandr Zashchuk, which contain information about the German \ncolonists, are evidence of this.40 In 1862, historian E. Busch published a study41 that provided information \non the number of German settlers in Russia. According to V. Disendorf, E. Busch’s \ninformation was underestimated for Novorossia (which included Bessarabia) by \n16.6%. Inaccuracies, in his opinion, are explained by the fact that Busch used the \narchives of the Evangelical Church, which did not consider the Germans of other \nfaiths.42 Friedrich Matthäi’s book was published a few years later. A separate section \nis devoted to the German colonists of Bessarabia43. A sombre work written in 1875 40 Aleksandr I. Zashchuk, Materialy dlya geografii i statistiki Rossii, sobrannye ofitserami \nGeneral’nogo shtaba. Bessarabskaya oblast' [Materials for the geography and statistics \nof Russia, collected by officers of the General Staff. Bessarabia region], Sankt-\nPeterburg, 1862, ch. 1-2; Idem, Etnografiya Bessarabskoi oblasti [Ethnography of the \nBessarabian region], in “Zapiski Odesskogo obshchestva istorii i drevnostei”, T. 5, \nOdessa, 1863, p. 491–589. 41 E. H. Busch, Materialien zur Geschichte und Statistik des Kirchen- und Schulwesens der Ev.-\nLuth. Gemeinden in Russland, St. Petersburg, Commissionsverlag von G. Haessel, 1862. 41 E. H. Busch, Materialien zur Geschichte und Statistik des Kirchen- und Schulwesens der Ev.-\nLuth. Gemeinden in Russland, St. Petersburg, Commissionsverlag von G. Haessel, 1862. 42 Viktor Disendorf, op. cit. 39 Ibid., p. 188–220. 43 Friedrich Matthäi, Die deutschen Ansiedlungen in Rußland. Ihre Geschichte und \nihrevolkswirtschaftliche Bedeutungfür die Vergangenheit und Zukunft. Studien über das \nrussische Kolonisationswesen und über die Herbeiziehung fremder Kulturkräfte nach \nRußland, Leipzig, Hermann Fries, 1866, p. 37–67. ]\np\n38 Ibid., p. 62. 38 Ibid., p. 62. p. 188–220. 44 Alekandr F. Rittikh, Plemennoi sostav kontingentov russkoi armii i muzhskago naseleniya \nEvropeiskoi Rossii [The tribal composition of the contingents of the Russian army and \nthe male population of European Russia], St. Petersburg, 1875; Idem, Etnografiches-\nkaya karta Evropeiskoi Rossii [Ethnographic map of European Russia], Sankt-\nPeterburg, 1875. 45 I. F. Lagorio, Statisticheskie svedeniya o Bessarabskih nemetskih koloniyah v 1861-1862 \ngg. [Statistical information about the Bessarabian German colonies in 1861-1862], in \n“Zapiski Bessarabskogo oblastnogo statisticheskogo komiteta”, T. I, Kishinev, 1864, \np. 73–77. 46 Peter I. Köppen, Hronologicheskii ukazatel’ materialov dlya istorii inorodtsev Evropeiskoi \nRossii [Chronological index of materials for the history of foreigners in European \nRussia], Sankt-Peterburg, 1861. 47 Dmitrii I. Bagalei, Kolonizatsiya Novorossiiskogo kraya i pervye shagi ego po puti kul’tury. \nIstoricheskii etyud [Colonization of the Novorossiysk District territory and its first steps \nalong the path of culture. Historical sketch], Kiev, 1889, p. 77–99. DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL FATE \nOF THE GERMAN COLONISTS IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES 43 Friedrich Matthäi, Die deutschen Ansiedlungen in Rußland. Ihre Geschichte und \nihrevolkswirtschaftliche Bedeutungfür die Vergangenheit und Zukunft. Studien über das \nrussische Kolonisationswesen und über die Herbeiziehung fremder Kulturkräfte nach \nRußland, Leipzig, Hermann Fries, 1866, p. 37–67. Vyacheslav Stepanov 63 by General Staff Officer, a member of the Russian Geographical Society, Aleksandr \nF. Rittikh,44 was a reaction of the military department to universal military service, \nintroduced in the state in 1874. I. Logario45 presented certain statistical \ninformation about the German settlers of the region. Academician Peter von \nKöppen, a well-known Russian statistician, made substantial contributions to the \nstudy of southern ethnography, detailing the areas of settlement, the number, and \noccupation of the Germans.46 When discussing the later decades of the twentieth century, it is essential to \nmention Dmitrii I. Bagalei’s historical study, dedicated to the colonisation of \nNovorossia. The whole section was devoted to foreign settlers, and German \ncolonists were separately studied. The author emphasised that they differed from \neach other by their religious identity47. Stage III, between the 1890s and 1918, was the time of generalisation of \nthe accumulated knowledge, the publication of several comprehensive works on \nthe region’s history and ethnography, and the creation of local scientific centres. Pompei Batyushkov’s book Bessarabia... was published towards the end of the \n19th century; it was an example of Russian patriotic work.48 Batyushkov’s attitude \ntoward German presence in Russia reflects the views of the Slavophile intelligentsia, \nwhich advocated depriving the German population of special privileges in the post- 47 Dmitrii I. Bagalei, Kolonizatsiya Novorossiiskogo kraya i pervye shagi ego po puti kul’tury. Istoricheskii etyud [Colonization of the Novorossiysk District territory and its first steps \nalong the path of culture. Historical sketch], Kiev, 1889, p. 77–99. 47 Dmitrii I. Bagalei, Kolonizatsiya Novorossiiskogo kraya i pervye shagi ego po puti kul’tury. Istoricheskii etyud [Colonization of the Novorossiysk District territory and its first steps \nalong the path of culture. Historical sketch], Kiev, 1889, p. 77–99. 48 Batyushkov’s book was perceived differently in scientific circles. A. I. Yatsimirsky, the \nmodern Moldavian researcher Olga S. Lukyanets, criticized it for tendentiousness. See: \nOlga S. Lukyanets, Russkie issledovateli i moldavskaya etnograficheskaya nauka v XIX – \nnachale XX v. [Russian researchers and Moldovan ethnographic science in the 19th – \nearly 20th centuries], Kishinev, 1986, p. 70. German Colonists from Bessarabia in Russian Historical Literature 64 reform period (late 70-80s of the 19th century). V. S. 52 Bessarabiya. Graficheskii, istoricheskii, statisticheskii, ekonomicheskii, etnograficheskii, \nliteraturnyi i spravochnyi sbornik. Izdanie gazety “Bessarabets” pod red. P. A. Krushevana \n[Bessarabia. Graphic, historical, statistical, economic, ethnographic, literary and refer-\nence collection. Edition of the newspaper “Bessarabets” published by P. A. Krushevan], \nMoskva, 1903, p. 183. y\ny\np\n51 Irina Izhboldina, “Zhivaya starina” v proizvedeniyah russkih literatorov Bessarabii kontsa \nXIX - nachala XX vv.: issledovaniya i materialy [“Zhivaya starina” in the works of Russian \nwriters of Bessarabia in the late 19th – early 20th centuries: research and materials], \nKishinev, 2012, p. 13. 49 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, op. cit., с. 212. With reference to Nikolai Zabotkin, Mirnoe zavoe-\nvanie nemtsami Yuzhnoi Bessarabii [Peaceful conquest of southern Bessarabia by the \nGermans,], Akkerman, Ekon. tip. I.A. Kara-Fedorova, 1911, p. 2. 50 Igor P. Shornikov, Obshchestvenno-politicheskaya i literaturnaya deyatel'nost' P. A. Krushevana \n[Socio-political and literary activities of P. A. Krushevan]. Avtoreferat dissertatsii na \nsoiskanie uchenoi stepeni kandidata istoricheskih nauk. Special'nost' 07.00.02 – \nOtechestvennaya istoriya. Moskva, 2011, p. 33. 49 Valentin S. Zelenchuk, op. cit., с. 212. With reference to Nikolai Zabotkin, Mirnoe zavoe-\nvanie nemtsami Yuzhnoi Bessarabii [Peaceful conquest of southern Bessarabia by the \nGermans,], Akkerman, Ekon. tip. I.A. Kara-Fedorova, 1911, p. 2. \n50 Igor P. Shornikov, Obshchestvenno-politicheskaya i literaturnaya deyatel'nost' P. A. Krushevana \n[Socio-political and literary activities of P. A. Krushevan]. Avtoreferat dissertatsii na \nsoiskanie uchenoi stepeni kandidata istoricheskih nauk. Special'nost' 07.00.02 – \nOtechestvennaya istoriya. Moskva, 2011, p. 33. \n51 Irina Izhboldina, “Zhivaya starina” v proizvedeniyah russkih literatorov Bessarabii kontsa \nXIX - nachala XX vv.: issledovaniya i materialy [“Zhivaya starina” in the works of Russian \nwriters of Bessarabia in the late 19th – early 20th centuries: research and materials], \nKishinev, 2012, p. 13. \n52 Bessarabiya. Graficheskii, istoricheskii, statisticheskii, ekonomicheskii, etnograficheskii, \nliteraturnyi i spravochnyi sbornik. Izdanie gazety “Bessarabets” pod red. P. A. Krushevana \n[Bessarabia. Graphic, historical, statistical, economic, ethnographic, literary and refer-\nence collection. Edition of the newspaper “Bessarabets” published by P. A. Krushevan], \nMoskva, 1903, p. 183. DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL FATE \nOF THE GERMAN COLONISTS IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES Zelenchuk gave another \nexample of such an approach, which intensified in connection with Russia’s \naccumulated socio-economic contradictions before World War I. For instance, \nNikolai D. Zabotkin wrote in 1910 that “German colonisation in the Akkerman uyezd \nthreatens with a complete collapse of the economy of other agricultural elements \nand is aimed at their displacement and enslavement.”49 Contemporary Moldavian historians have ambivalent attitudes toward \nPavel A. Krushevan’s personality. He is associated with Russian “imperial” \nnationalists, strong Russian state supporters50, and bright, creative characters.51 \nHowever, P. Krushevan was undoubtedly a very talented person, endowed with \nnumerous virtues and a man of his time – an odious monarchist. The detailed \ndescription of the German population of the region given in the almanack \n“Bessarabets”, in a separate paper “Bessarabia”, edited by P. A. Krushevan, is very \nindicative: “Hardworking workers, excellent agronomists and cattle breeders, the \nGermans live clean, even in wealth. Their long-standing resettlement on the \nsteppes of Budjak did not in the least change their patriarchal Germanic habits at \nthe end of the 18th century. They do not have a broad Russian prowess, capable of \nadopting everything and applying it to everything. The German peasant rarely \nlooks beyond the boundary of his plot and knows only himself and the society of \nhis village. Given this, their skill and diligence remain with them and are not \ninstilled in the native population.”52 Vladimir N. Butovich is connected to the German settlers’ topic, \nemphasising aspects and potential opportunities for cohabitation of numerous Vyacheslav Stepanov 65 ethnonational colonies on the territory of Bessarabia53. These studies can also \ninclude the later work of Jakob Stach54. Among the works of contemporaries of \nthat period, which covered the history and culture of everyday life of the German \ncolonists in southern Russia, reference must be made to the work of Jacob Prinz, \npublished in German in Moscow in 1898.55 Not only the Germans were interested in their compatriots – the works of \nIvan Sergeev,56 Petr Tkachev,57 Andrei Fadeev,58 and Grigorii Pisarevskii59, which \nchronicled the history and culture of the Germans in Russia, were published in the \nlate 19th and early 20th centuries. 53 Vladimir Butovich, Materialy dlya etnograficheskoi karty Bessarabskoi gubernii \n[Materials for the ethnographic map of the Bessarabian province], Kiev, 1916. 54 Jаkob Stach, Ocherki iz istorii i sovremennoi zhizni yuzhnorusskih kolonii [Essays on the \nhistory and modern life of the South Russian colonies], Moskva, 1916. 55 Jakob Prinz, Die Kolonien der Brüdergemeinde. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Deutschen \nKolonien Südrusslands, Moskva, 1898. 56 Ivan I. Sergeev, Mirnoe zavoevanie Rossii nemtsami [Peaceful conquest of Russia by the \nGermans], Peterburg, 1915. 57 Petr N. Tkachev, Nemetskie idealisty i filistery [German idealists and philistines], in \n“Delo”, Sankt-Peterburg, 1867, No 12, p. 1–27. 60 Andrej M. Fadeev, op. cit., Part I, p. 47. \n61 Ibid., p. 60. 58 Andrei M. Fadeev, Vospominaniya Andreya Mihajlovicha Fadeeva. 1790-1867 gg. \n[Memoirs of Andrei Mikhailovich Fadeev. 1790-1867], Odessa, 1897, in 2 parts. 59 Grigorii G. Pisarevskii, Iz istorii inostrannoi kolonizatsii v Rossii v XVIII veke (po neiz-\nvestnym arhivnym materialam) [From the history of foreign colonization in Russia in \nthe 18th century (According to unknown archival materials)], Moskva, 1909. 60 Andrej M. Fadeev, op. cit., Part I, p. 47. \n61 Ibid., p. 60. 62 Natal'ya V. Savinova, Rossiiskii natsionalizm i nemetskie pogromy v Rossii v gody Pervoi \nmirovoi voiny: 1914-1917 gg. [Russian nationalism and German pogroms in Russia \nduring the First World War: 1914-1917]. Avtoreferat dissertacii na soiskanie uchenoj \nstepeni kandidata istoricheskih nauk. Special'nost': 07.00.02 – Otechestvennaya \nistoriya; \nhttp://www.dissercat.com/content/rossiiskii-natsionalizm-i-nemetskie-\npogromy-v-rossii-v-gody-pervoi-mirovoi-voiny-1914-1917-g [Accessed: 25.12.2021]; \nSvetlana V. Obolenskaya, “Nemeckii vopros” i predstavleniya v Rossii o nemtsah v gody \nPervoi mirovoi vojny [The “German question” and ideas in Russia about the Germans \nduring the First World War], in “Rossiya i Germaniya”, Moskva, vyp. 2, 2001, p. 189. DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL FATE \nOF THE GERMAN COLONISTS IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES The Memoirs of Andrei Fadeev presents a \ndescription of the German colonies, located, among other things, in Transnistria \nand further in Novorossia.60 An interesting observation found in his memoirs \nleads to the conclusion that the influx of German colonists to Russia and, in \nparticular, to Bessarabia was associated with the mystical hobbies of Emperor \nAlexander I: “The reason for this was the petition of Mrs Krüdener and other \nmystics addressed to Emperor Alexander, who often travelled abroad. They \ngreatly influenced the Tsar and requested him to allow many inhabitants of all \ncountries of Germany, consisting mainly of pietists, to move to Russia. They also \nasked him to provide them with special protection.”61 The information presented \nabove cannot be considered an unequivocal description of the reasons for the \nmigration of the German colonists to Russia. Nevertheless, it makes one wonder \nhow much the fate of an entire ethnic-social community may depend on a \nsubjective factor. 55 Jakob Prinz, Die Kolonien der Brüdergemeinde. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Deutschen \nKolonien Südrusslands, Moskva, 1898. 56 Ivan I. Sergeev, Mirnoe zavoevanie Rossii nemtsami [Peaceful conquest of Russia by the \nGermans], Peterburg, 1915. 57 Petr N. Tkachev, Nemetskie idealisty i filistery [German idealists and philistines], in \n“Delo”, Sankt-Peterburg, 1867, No 12, p. 1–27. 58 Andrei M. Fadeev, Vospominaniya Andreya Mihajlovicha Fadeeva. 1790-1867 gg. [Memoirs of Andrei Mikhailovich Fadeev. 1790-1867], Odessa, 1897, in 2 parts. 59 Grigorii G. Pisarevskii, Iz istorii inostrannoi kolonizatsii v Rossii v XVIII veke (po neiz-\nvestnym arhivnym materialam) [From the history of foreign colonization in Russia in \nthe 18th century (According to unknown archival materials)], Moskva, 1909. 60 Andrej M. Fadeev, op. cit., Part I, p. 47. 61 Ibid., p. 60. German Colonists from Bessarabia in Russian Historical Literature 66 On top of the “anti-German wave” during the First World War, the question \nof the loyalty of the Bessarabian Germans and the Germans in Russia became \nparticularly relevant. Then the restrictions on their rights signed by Nicholas II \ncame out.62 A series of anti-German sentiments swept through the ministries and \ndepartments and among the adherents of the country’s regime.63 On February 2, 1915, the Emperor signed the Law “On the Restriction of \nLand Ownership and Land Use of Enemy Subjects”, which also applied to the \nBessarabian Germans. During the war, radical approaches prevailed. 63 Nikolai Varadinov, Istoriya Ministerstva vnutrennih del [History of the Ministry of the \nInterior], Sankt-Peterburg, 1858, P. III, T. 1, p. 501 – 503; Ivan Sobolev, Bor'ba s \n“nemetskim zasil'em” v Rossii v gody Pervoi mirovoi vojny [The fight against “German \ndominance” in Russia during the First World War]. Avtoreferat dissertacii na soiskanie \nuchenoj stepeni kandidata istoricheskih nauk. Special'nost': Special'nost': 07.00.02 – \nOtechestvennaya istoriya. Sankt-Peterburg, 1998; Sergei P. Sheluhin, Nemetskaya \nkolonizatsiya na yuge Rossii [German colonization in southern Russia], Odessa, 1915. DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL FATE \nOF THE GERMAN COLONISTS IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES The \ngovernment focused on eradicating the German ethnic community in Russia, \nalthough at the expense of the agricultural economy.64 This liquidation policy was \nespecially active in the front-line zones, although it had little impact. Therefore, \nKarl Lindemann65 emphasised that the Bessarabian Germans never thought their \nland could be taken from them. It would be incorrect to claim that only extreme opinions against the \nGerman settlers in Russia were expressed in the literature of the time. There were 63 Nikolai Varadinov, Istoriya Ministerstva vnutrennih del [History of the Ministry of the \nInterior], Sankt-Peterburg, 1858, P. III, T. 1, p. 501 – 503; Ivan Sobolev, Bor'ba s \n“nemetskim zasil'em” v Rossii v gody Pervoi mirovoi vojny [The fight against “German \ndominance” in Russia during the First World War]. Avtoreferat dissertacii na soiskanie \nuchenoj stepeni kandidata istoricheskih nauk. Special'nost': Special'nost': 07.00.02 – \nOtechestvennaya istoriya. Sankt-Peterburg, 1998; Sergei P. Sheluhin, Nemetskaya \nkolonizatsiya na yuge Rossii [German colonization in southern Russia], Odessa, 1915. 64 Aleksandra Yu. Bahturina, “Luchshe pust' nemtsy razoryatsya, chem budut shpionit'”: \nnemtsy-kolonisty i rossiiskoe obshchestvo v gody “germanskoi” vojny [“Better let the \nGermans go bankrupt than spy”: German colonists and Russian society during the \n“German” war], р. 10, in https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/luchshe-pust-nemtsy-\nrazoryatsya-chem-budut-shpionit-nemtsy-kolonisty-i-rossiyskoe-obschestvo-v-gody-\ngermanskoy-voyny/viewer [Accessed on 04.01.2022]. 65 Karl E. Lindemann, Prekrashchenie zemlevladeniya i zemlepol'zovaniya poselyan-sob-\nstvennikov [Termination of land ownership and land use of village owners], Moskva, \nTipografіya K. L. Men'shova, 1917. 65 Karl E. Lindemann, Prekrashchenie zemlevladeniya i zemlepol'zovaniya poselyan-sob-\nstvennikov [Termination of land ownership and land use of village owners], Moskva, \nTipografіya K. L. Men'shova, 1917. 65 Karl E. Lindemann, Prekrashchenie zemlevladeniya i zemlepol'zovaniya poselyan-sob-\nstvennikov [Termination of land ownership and land use of village owners], Moskva, \nTipografіya K. L. Men'shova, 1917. Vyacheslav Stepanov 67 additional publications that took a more honest approach to the phenomena of \nGerman colonial presence in Russia. The works of Grigorii Pisarevskii66, Semion \nBondar’67 and Karl E. Lindemann68 are among them. However, because of the \npolitical climate and the previously prevailing public attitude, their voice was \nweak and had little impact on the overall situation. 66 Grigorii G. Pisarevskii, op. cit. \n67 Semion D. Bondar', Sekta menonitov Rossii [Russian Mennonite sect], Sankt-Peterburg, \nTipografiya V. D. Smirnova, 1916. \n68 Karl E. Lindemann, op. cit., p. 65-66. \n69 Jаkob Stach, op. cit., p. 97. \n70 Karl E. Lindemann, op. cit. \n71 Rossiya. Polnoe geograficheskoe opisanie nashego Otechestva: nastol'naya i dorozhnaya \nkniga dlya russkih lyudei. Novorossiya i Krym (Bessarabskaya, Hersonskaya, Tavriches-\nkaya i Ekaterinoslavskaya gubernii, oblasti Vojska Donskogo i Stavropol'skoi gubernii) \n[Russia. A complete geographical description of our Fatherland: a desktop and travel \nbook for Russian people. Novorossia and Crimea (Bessarabian, Kherson, Taurida and \nYekaterinoslav provinces, regions of the Don Army and Stavropol province)], Sankt- 66 Grigorii G. Pisarevskii, op. cit. \n67 Semion D. Bondar', Sekta menonitov Rossii [Russian Mennonite sect], Sankt-Peterburg, \nTipografiya V. D. Smirnova, 1916. \n68 Karl E. Lindemann, op. cit., p. 65-66. \n69 Jаkob Stach, op. cit., p. 97. \n70 Karl E. Lindemann, op. cit. 71 Rossiya. Polnoe geograficheskoe opisanie nashego Otechestva: nastol'naya i dorozhnaya \nkniga dlya russkih lyudei. Novorossiya i Krym (Bessarabskaya, Hersonskaya, Tavriches-\nkaya i Ekaterinoslavskaya gubernii, oblasti Vojska Donskogo i Stavropol'skoi gubernii) \n[Russia. A complete geographical description of our Fatherland: a desktop and travel \nbook for Russian people. Novorossia and Crimea (Bessarabian, Kherson, Taurida and \nYekaterinoslav provinces, regions of the Don Army and Stavropol province)], Sankt- DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN THE HISTORICAL FATE \nOF THE GERMAN COLONISTS IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES p\nAmong balanced studies, the extract from Jakob Stach’s book reveals the \nauthor’s attempt to uncover the cause for the German colonists’ poor mastery of \nthe Russian language and avoidance of interaction with Russian peasants: “until \nthe time of the Crimean War, and even until the sixties of the last century, there \ncan be no question of the attitude of the colonists towards the Russian population, \nbecause in South Russia there was almost no Russian population, and the sparsely \npopulated Russian cities very rarely communicated with the colonies, because at \nthat time there was no means of communication. The only exceptions were the \ncolonies located at the nearest distance from the cities: Odessa, Yekaterinoslav, \nand Elizavetgrad.69 When studying the issue concerning the situation of German settlers in the \nregion, one cannot disregard the policy of the official authorities about the German \nsettlement, which became more complicated during the First World War. In this \nregard, Karl E. Lindemann’s study, which reflected the situation of the German \npopulation by the decrees of February 2 and December 13, 1915, and July 10, 15 \nand August 19, 1916, is eloquent. The regulations had a considerable impact on \nthe economic status of German settlers before the Bolshevik Revolution70, as well \nas the development of an unfavourable attitude concerning colonists. The second half of the 19th century, especially the end and beginning of the \nnext century, is marked by the publication of several encyclopaedic works \ncontaining information about the Bessarabian Germans.71 German Colonists from Bessarabia in Russian Historical Literature 68 72 Olga S. Lukyanets, Kollektivnye predstavleniya narodov Bessarabii drug o druge (pervaya \npolovina ХХ v.) [Collective ideas of the peoples of Bessarabia about each other (the first \nhalf of the 20th century)], in Etnograficheskie issledovaniya v Respublike Moldova, \nKishinev, 2006, р. 181. Peterburg, 1910, vol. 14; Lev S. Berg, Bessarabiya. Strana. Lyudi. Hozyaistvo \n[Bessarabia. Country. People. Economy], Kishinev, Universitas, 1993, p. 116. Peterburg, 1910, vol. 14; Lev S. Berg, Bessarabiya. Strana. Lyudi. Hozyaistvo \n[Bessarabia. Country. People. Economy], Kishinev, Universitas, 1993, p. 116. \n72 Olga S. Lukyanets, Kollektivnye predstavleniya narodov Bessarabii drug o druge (pervaya Peterburg, 1910, vol. 14; Lev S. Berg, Bessarabiya. Strana. Lyudi. Hozyaistvo \n[Bessarabia. Country. People. Economy], Kishinev, Universitas, 1993, p. 116. \n72 Olga S. Lukyanets, Kollektivnye predstavleniya narodov Bessarabii drug o druge (pervaya \npolovina ХХ v.) [Collective ideas of the peoples of Bessarabia about each other (the first \nhalf of the 20th century)], in Etnograficheskie issledovaniya v Respublike Moldova, \nKishinev, 2006, р. 181. CONCLUSIONS Bessarabia in the 19th century never formed a single ethnocultural \ncommunity. There is no reason to assume that this was done on purpose. While \ncoexisting, the multicultural communities also kept their distance from one \nanother. Having their privileges, the Warsaw and Transdanubian colonists lived \nrelatively closed. The Jews lived in the same “chamber” within a different ethnic \nenvironment, which is also explained by their diverse confessions and occupation \n(trade, usury, possession, etc.). The territory substantially constrained the life of the Bessarabian settler, \nparticularly in the colony, which had a specific influence on the consciousness of \nboth the individual inhabitant and members of the ethnic-social community. According to the modern researcher Olga S. Lukyanets, the interaction between \nGerman settlers and the local population increased throughout the interwar \nperiod. By the end of the 30s, “Bessarabian Germans more often came into contact \nwith the region’s wealthiest part of the population”.72 The analysed data allows \nconcluding that the conditionally selected stage – the first half of the 19th century \nuntil the 60s – was characterised by episodic information about the Germans of \nthe region. Despite the voluminous and multifaceted works of the authors of that \ntime (Aleksandr Zashchuk, E. H. Busch, Aleksandr F. Rittikh, Peter von Köppen, \nDmitrii Bagalei and many others), the history and everyday life of the Germans in \nBessarabia were covered episodically and superficially. The second stage, lasting 60-80 years, can be characterised as a period of \nheightened interest in many elements of German settlers’ lives and daily lives, \nfollowed by a rise in hostility toward their presence from liberal and Slavophile \nauthors. Negative manifestations can also be seen in the next stage, which spans \nthe 1890s through 1918. Authors, who emphasised the importance of German \nsettlers to the economic growth of Russian regions, argued against such one-sided \nviews (Semion Bondar’, Grigorii Pisarevskii, Jakob Stach, Karl Lindemann and \nothers). Simultaneously, various publications appeared at the time in which Vyacheslav Stepanov 69 researchers attempted to perform a detailed study of the region’s people, \nincluding the lifestyle of the German colonists (Lev S. Berg). Furthermore, these \ngeneralising books often featured less specific content than those expressly \ndevoted to German colonists. At the same time, they attempted to employ a \ncomplex approach (Aleksandr I. Zashchuk laid the foundation in Ethnography of \nthe Bessarabian Region) that was to be developed in the future. CONCLUSIONS It is essential to add that modern researchers from Germany (Ute Schmidt), \nthe Republic of Moldova (Valentina Chirtoagă) and Russia (Sergei Kretinin, Sergei \nKapustin) are increasingly interested in studying the German colonists of \nBessarabia. It gives hope that the study of their historical fate in Bessarabia will \nbe continued. 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