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Molokane and Pryguny in Turkey

Molokane and Pryguny first moved to Kars province, Turkey, in 1876-77 when this territory was conquered by the Russian Empire. About 1890 the Russian military draft became mandantory for men and 1/3 of all Doukhobors left to Canada by 1900. Some Molokans and many Pryguny with Maksimisty began to leave, originally to Canada but diverted to Los Angeles. (See Berokoff: Chapter 1, The Migration.)

Though the territory was greatly impacted by Russo- Turkish Wars, massacres and genocides, by 1915 less than 1% of all Molokane and Pryguny in Russia moved, about 2500, half of the 5000 predicted at the time to migrate. Some villages in Kars may have lost 10% or more. In January 1919, the first parliament in Kars elected one deputy per 10,000 voters, 64 were elected — 60 Muslims, three Greeks, and one Molokan. (Caucasian Knot). Due to political ethnic cleansing, more Molokans and Pryguny moved to Russia in the mid-1920s (to Rostov), and again in 1959-1962 (to Stavropol', with Turkey's Nekrasovtsy Old Believers). In the 1970s a few families were discovered in Kars and Istanbul by visiting American Jumpers and invited to live in California. Several families remain in Kars today.

In Turkish, Molokan is typically spelled "Malakan".

Help/donations needed to translate many of the followng Turkish articles to English and Russian.
Molokane and Pryguny Around the World
Molokane ve Pryguny Dünya Çapında