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AT recent times the Russian government began to actively support the return to their homeland of compatriots and their descendants who emigrated abroad. Within the framework of this policy, several years ago, the resettlement of Old Believers from Bolivia and Uruguay to Russia began. Publications and stories dedicated to these unusual people periodically appear in the domestic media. They look like either from Latin America, or from our pre-revolutionary past, but at the same time they have retained the Russian language and ethnic identity.
The Russian diaspora in the Americas: large numbers, brilliance and rapid assimilation
The successful preservation of one's language and culture on foreign Latin American soil is a very a rare thing for Russian scattering. In the first half of the 20th century in New World hundreds of thousands of Russian refugees and migrants resettled - white emigrants, religious sectarians, seekers of a better life and refugees of the Second World War who fled from returning Soviet power to German-occupied territories.
Among them were the most famous technical specialists who made a huge contribution to the development of the new homeland, for example, Igor Sikorsky, Vladimir Zworykin or Andrey Chelishchev. There were famous politicians like Alexander Kerensky or Anton Denikin, famous cultural figures like Sergei Rachmaninov or Vladimir Nabokov. Even military leaders were present, such as the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Paraguay, General Ivan Belyaev or Wehrmacht General Boris Smyslovsky, adviser to the famous President of Argentina Juan Peron on anti-partisan operations and the fight against terrorism. On the ground North America turned out to be the center of Russian Orthodoxy, independent of communism, devoutly preserving the pre-revolutionary tradition.
Not so long ago in San Francisco or Buenos Aires Russian speech was common. Today, however, the situation has changed radically. The task of preserving national identity proved overwhelming for the overwhelming majority of Russian emigrants to the New World. Their descendants in the second, maximum, in the third generation assimilated. At best, they have managed to preserve the memory of their ethnic roots, culture, and religious affiliation, resulting in figures like the well-known Canadian political scientist and politician Michael Ignatiev. This rule is also true for the Old Believers from European Russia (merchants and townspeople), who also quickly disappeared among the population of the New World. Against the background of the common fate of the Russian emigration, the situation of the Siberian Old Believer communities in Latin America, who are now returning to Russia, seems unusual and surprising.
From Russia to Latin America: the path of the Old Believers
Latin American Old Believers are the descendants of those who fled toXVIII - XIXcenturies from religious persecution Russian state in Siberia and later in the Far East. In these regions, many Old Believer settlements were created, in which ancient religious traditions were preserved. Most of the local Old Believers belonged to a special sense in the Old Believers - the so-called "chapel". This is a special compromise direction, dogmatically equidistant from both priests and non-priests.
At the chapels, the functions of spiritual leaders are performed by elected lay mentors (“until the true Orthodox clergy appear”). The conditions of life in the expanses of Siberia hardened them, forced them to live exclusively on their own farm and made them more closed and conservative than the rest of the Old Believers. If in the cinema or fiction depict the Old Believers in the form of some kind of forest hermits, then their prototype is precisely the chapels.
The revolution and mainly collectivization led to the flight of the Old Believers-chapels from Russia. In the 1920s and early 1930s, some of them moved from Altai to Chinese Xinjiang, and the other part moved from the Russian Amur to Manchuria, where the Old Believers settled mainly in the Harbin region and created strong peasant farms. Parish in 1945 Soviet army turned into a new tragedy for the Old Believers: most of the adult men were arrested and sent to camps for "illegal border crossing", and the farms of their families remaining in Manchuria were "dispossessed", that is, actually plundered.
After the victory of the Communists in China in 1949, the new authorities began to unambiguously squeeze the Old Believers out of the country as an undesirable element. In search of a new refuge, the Old Believers ended up in Hong Kong for a while, but in 1958, with the help of the UN, one part of them left for the United States, and the other for Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil. In the last of these countries, with the help of the World Council of Churches, the Old Believers received 6,000 acres of land 200 miles from São Paulo.
Development South America
Ultimately, separate communities of Old Believers were founded in a number of Latin American countries. Many families of Old Believers managed to live in more than one country until, in the 1980s, most of them finally settled in Bolivia. The reason for this was the warm welcome from the government of this country, which allocated land to the Old Believers. Since then, the Old Believer community in Bolivia has become one of the strongest in all of Latin America.
These Russians adapted to South American reality very quickly, and now they treat them with unflappable calmness. The Old Believers steadfastly endure the heat, despite the fact that they are not allowed to open the body. They are already used to jaguars, they are not particularly afraid of them, they only protect domestic animals from them. With snakes, the conversation is short - with a boot on the head, and cats are brought in not to hunt mice, but to catch lizards.
In Bolivia, the Old Believers are mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Of the most popular crops grown by them, corn, soybeans and rice occupy the first place. At the same time, it should be noted that the Old Believers succeed better than many Bolivian peasants who have lived on these lands for several centuries.
Unlike Uruguay, where the descendants of Russian sectarians live in the settlement of San Javier, the Bolivian Old Believers were able to preserve not only their religion and the way of life that had developed several centuries ago, but also the Russian language. Although some of them have gone to large cities such as La Paz, most Old Believers prefer to live in quiet villages. Children are reluctantly allowed to go to big cities, because there, according to parents, whom it is customary to listen to, there are a lot of demonic temptations.
It is noteworthy that being at such a distance from their historical homeland, the Bolivian Old Believers have preserved their cultural and religious customs even better than their co-religionists living in Russia. Although, perhaps, the remoteness from the Russian land was the reason that these people are fighting so fiercely for their values and traditions.
The preservation of traditional values is greatly facilitated by the fact that Latin American Old Believers do not allow their children to marry people of a different religion. And since there are currently about 300 Russian Old Believer families living there, in which at least 5 children each, the choice of the younger generation is quite large. At the same time, it is not forbidden to marry or marry a native Latin American, but he must definitely learn Russian, accept the faith of his spouse and become a worthy member of the community.
Old Believers in Bolivia are self-sufficient communities, but they are not cut off from the outside world. They were able to perfectly establish not only their way of life, but also cultural life. For example, holidays are celebrated there very solemnly with dances and songs, but with songs that do not contradict their religion. Despite the fact that TV, for example, is banned, they never get bored and always know what to do in their free time. Along with studying at a local school, where all classes are held in Spanish and where they communicate with the local population, they also study with their teachers, who teach them Old Church Slavonic and Russian, because the sacred books are written in them. Interestingly, all the Old Believers living in Bolivia speak without a Spanish accent, although their fathers and even grandfathers were born in Latin America. Moreover, their speech still bears clear features of the Siberian dialect.
Leaving Latin America
During the stay of the Old Believers in Bolivia, many presidents were replaced in this country, but the Old Believers never had difficulties in relations with the authorities. Serious problems for the Bolivian Old Believers began with the coming to power of President Evo Morales, one of the main figures of the "left turn" in Latin America and the first leader of Bolivia to visit Russia. This politician acts as a champion of the ideas of socialism, anti-imperialism and a defender of communities in which many Indian tribes continue to maintain their way of life since ancient times.
At the same time, Morales is an Indian nationalist, striving to expropriate and squeeze out all “foreign elements” from the purely Indian state he is creating, including foreigners and white Bolivians, which include Russian Old Believers. It is not surprising that under Morales "problems" suddenly appeared with the land of the Old Believers.
It was after this that the process of the return resettlement of the Old Believers to Russia intensified, first from Bolivia, and then, following their example, from other Latin American states, primarily those where left-wing populists who are members of the Bolivarian Alliance or sympathize with it are in power. Today, the Russian Foreign Ministry is helping the process of repatriation of Old Believers, although many of them prefer not to go to Russia, but to join their fellow believers in the United States.
Poorly representing the realities of Siberia and naively taking the word of domestic officials, many Latin American Old Believers found themselves in a very difficult situation at the first stage of resettlement in 2008-2011. As a result, not all repatriates remained in Russia. Nevertheless, the process of repatriation gradually improved, and today we can hope that for the majority of these Old Believers their odyssey will sooner or later end in their historical homeland.
There are polar opinions about the chapel Old Believers living in both Americas, and in Russia itself. Someone considers them archaic Russian Amish, someone sees in their communities a fragment of the departed "Holy Russia" and therefore chooses their way of life as an object to follow.
Of course, comparing the descendants of the Siberian Old Believers in Latin America with the Amish is incorrect.. Absolutely all Russian Old Believers use technology, electricity and even the Internet as needed. In the same Bolivia, none of the chapel Old Believers would have thought of abandoning tractors and combines, perhaps the only forbidden piece of equipment is the TV.
The idealization of this group of Old Believers is also not justified. The opinion of the author of this article, based on personal communication with the Latin American Old Believers, is that these people are just a cast of peasant Russia that has survived to this day.XXcentury with all its good and bad qualities. If to positive traits can be attributed to hard work, attitude to preserve one's identity and commitment to family values, to negative features - low level education and a narrow outlook, which very often prevents the Old Believers of Latin America from making adequate decisions in modern world.
He lives in a special dimension, where the connection between man and nature is unusually strong. In the vast list of amazing phenomena that travelers encounter in this incomprehensible, mysterious country, a significant position is occupied by Russian Old Believer settlements. The village of Old Believers in the middle of the South American selva is a real paradox, which does not prevent Russian “bearded men” from living, working and raising children here. It should be noted that they managed to arrange their lives much better than most of the indigenous Bolivian peasants who have lived in these parts for many centuries.
History reference
Russians are one of the ethnic communities of the South American Republic. In addition to family members of Russian embassy employees living in Bolivia, it includes about 2,000 descendants of Russian Old Believers.
Old Believers or Old Believers is the common name for several Orthodox religious movements that arose in Russia as a result of the rejection of church reforms by believers (XVII century). Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, the "Great Sovereign of All Russia" from 1652 to 1666, started church reforms aimed at changing the ritual tradition of the Russian Church in order to unify it with the Greek Church. "Antichrist" transformations caused a split in the first, which led to the emergence of the Old Believers or Old Orthodoxy. Those dissatisfied with "Nikon's reforms" and innovations were united and headed by Archpriest Avvakum.
The Old Believers, who did not recognize the corrected theological books and did not accept changes in church rites, were subjected to severe persecution by the church and persecution by state authorities. Already in the XVIII century. many fled from Russia, at first they fled to Siberia and the Far East. Stubborn people irritated Nicholas II, and later the Bolsheviks.
The Bolivian Old Believer community was formed in stages, since Russian settlers arrived in the New World in “waves”.
The Old Believers began to move to Bolivia as early as the 2nd half of the 19th century, arriving in separate groups, but their massive influx occurred in the period 1920-1940. - in the era of post-revolutionary collectivization.
If the first wave of immigrants, attracted by fertile lands and the liberal policies of local authorities, came to Bolivia directly, then the second wave was much more difficult. First in the years civil war Old Believers fled to neighboring Manchuria, where a new generation managed to be born. In China, the Old Believers lived until the early 1960s, until the “Great Cultural Revolution” broke out there, led by the “great pilot”, Mao Zedong. The Russians again had to run away from the construction of communism and the mass drive to the collective farms.
Some of the Old Believers moved to and. However, exotic countries, full of temptations, seemed to the orthodox Old Believers unsuitable for a righteous life. In addition, the authorities gave them lands covered with wild jungle, which had to be uprooted by hand. In addition, the soil had a very thin fertile layer. As a result, after several years of hellish labor, the Old Believers set off in search of new territories. Many settled in, someone left for the USA, someone went to Australia and Alaska.
Several families made their way to Bolivia, which was considered the wildest and most backward country on the continent. The authorities gave the Russian wanderers a warm welcome and also gave them plots overgrown with jungle. But the Bolivian soil was quite fertile. Since then, the Old Believer community in Bolivia has become one of the largest and strongest in Latin America.
Russians quickly adapted to South American living conditions. The Old Believers endure even the exhausting tropical heat with firmness, despite the fact that it is not permissible for them to open their bodies excessively. The Bolivian selva has become a small homeland for the Russian "bearded men", and the fertile land provides everything necessary.
The government of the country willingly goes towards the Old Believers, allocating land for their large families and providing soft loans for development Agriculture. The settlements of the Old Believers are located far from large cities on the territory of the tropical departments (Spanish LaPaz), (Spanish SantaCruz), (Spanish Cochabamba) and (Spanish Beni).
It is curious that, unlike communities living in other countries, Old Believers in Bolivia practically did not assimilate.
Moreover, being citizens of the republic, they still consider Russia to be their real homeland.
Lifestyle of the Old Believers in Bolivia
The Old Believers live in remote quiet villages, carefully preserving their way of life, but not rejecting life rules the surrounding world.
They traditionally do what their ancestors lived in Russia - agriculture and animal husbandry. Old Believers also plant corn, wheat, potatoes, sunflowers. Only in contrast to their distant cold homeland, here they still grow rice, soybeans, oranges, papayas, watermelons, mangoes, pineapples and bananas. Labor on the ground gives them a good income, so basically all the Old Believers are wealthy people.
As a rule, men are excellent entrepreneurs, whose peasant acumen is combined with incredible ability capture and perceive everything new. So, in the fields of the Bolivian Old Believers, modern agricultural equipment with a GPS control system works (that is, the machines are controlled by an operator transmitting commands from a single center). But at the same time, the Old Believers are opponents of television and the Internet, they are afraid of banking operations, preferring to make all payments in cash.
A strict patriarchy prevails in the community of Bolivian Old Believers. The woman here knows her place. According to the laws of the Old Believers, the main purpose of the mother of the family is to preserve the hearth. It is unsuitable for a woman to flaunt herself, they wear dresses and sundresses to the toes, cover their heads, never use cosmetics. Some indulgence is allowed for young girls - they are allowed not to tie their heads with a scarf. All clothes are sewn and embroidered by the female part of the community.
Married women are forbidden to protect themselves from pregnancy, so Old Believer families traditionally have many children. Children are born at home, with the help of a midwife. Old Believers go to the hospital only in extreme cases.
But one should not think that Old Believer men are despots who tyrannize their wives. They also have to follow many unwritten rules. As soon as the first fluff appears on the young man’s face, he becomes a real man who, along with his father, is responsible for his family. Old Believers are usually not allowed to shave their beards, hence their nickname - "bearded men".
The Old Believer way of life does not provide for any secular life, reading "obscene" literature, cinema and entertainment events. Parents are very reluctant to let their children go to big cities, where, according to adults, there are a lot of “demonic temptations”.
Strict rules forbid the Old Believers to eat food bought in the store, and, moreover, visit public eating establishments. They usually only eat what they have grown and produced themselves. This setting does not apply only to those products that are difficult or simply impossible to obtain on your farm (salt, sugar, vegetable oil, etc.). Being invited to visit by local Bolivians, the Old Believers eat only food brought with them.
They do not smoke, do not chew coca, do not drink alcohol (the only exception is home-made mash, which they drink with pleasure on occasion).
Despite the external dissimilarity with the locals and the strict observance of traditions that are very different from Latin American culture, the Russian Old Believers never had conflicts with the Bolivians. They live amicably with their neighbors and understand each other perfectly, because all the Old Believers are fluent in Spanish.
Toborochi
How the life of the Old Believers in the country developed can be found by visiting the Bolivian village Toborochi(Spanish: Toborochi).
In the eastern part of Bolivia, 17 km from the city, there is a colorful village founded in the 1980s. Russian Old Believers who arrived here. In this village you can feel the real Russian spirit; here you can relax your soul from the bustle of the city, learn an ancient craft or just have a wonderful time among amazing people.
As a matter of fact, the Old Believer settlement in the open spaces of Bolivia is an unrealistic spectacle: a traditional Russian village of the late 19th century, which is surrounded not by birch groves, but by the Bolivian selva with palm trees. Against the backdrop of exotic tropical nature, a sort of fair-haired, blue-eyed, bearded Mikuls Selyaninovichs in embroidered shirts-kosovorotkas and in bast shoes are walking around their well-groomed possessions. And ruddy girls with wheaten braids below the waist, dressed in long-sleeved colorful sundresses, sing heartfelt Russian songs at work. Meanwhile, this is not a fairy tale, but a real phenomenon.
This is Russia, which we have lost, but which has been preserved far beyond the ocean, in South America.
Even today, this small village is not on the maps, and in the 1970s there was only impassable jungle. Toborochi consists of 2 dozen courtyards, quite distant from each other. Houses are not log, but solid, brick.
The families of the Anufrievs, Anfilofievs, Zaitsevs, Revtovs, Murachevs, Kalugins, Kulikovs live in the village. Men wear belted embroidered shirts; women - cotton skirts and dresses to the floor, and their hair is removed under the "shashmura" - a special headdress. The girls in the community are great fashionistas, each of them has up to 20-30 dresses and sundresses in her wardrobe. They themselves come up with styles, cut and sew new clothes for themselves. Seniors buy fabrics in the cities - Santa Cruz or La Paz.
Women are traditionally engaged in needlework and housekeeping, raising children and grandchildren. Once a week, women go to the nearest city fair, where they sell milk, cheese, pastries.
Most Old Believer families have many children - 10 children are not uncommon here. As in the old days, newborns are named according to the Psalter according to the date of birth. The names of the Toborochins, which are unusual for a Bolivian, and for a Russian person sound too archaic: Agapit, Agripena, Abraham, Anikey, Elizar, Zinovy, Zosim, Inafa, Cyprian, Lukiyan, Mamelfa, Matrena, Marimiya, Pinarita, Palageya, Ratibor, Salamania, Selyvestre, Fedosya, Filaret, Fotinya.
Young people strive to keep up with the times and master smartphones with might and main. Although many electronic devices are formally banned in the countryside, today even in the most remote wilderness one cannot hide from progress. Almost all houses have air conditioners, washing machines, microwaves, and in some - and TVs.
The main occupation of the inhabitants of Toboroch is agriculture. Around the settlement are well-groomed agricultural lands. Of the crops grown by the Old Believers in vast fields, the first place is occupied by corn, wheat, soybeans and rice. Moreover, the Old Believers succeed in this better than the Bolivians who have been living in these parts for centuries.
To work in the fields, the “bearded men” hire local peasants, whom they call Kolya. At the village factory, the harvest is processed, packed and sold to wholesalers. From the fruits that grow here all year round, they make kvass, mash, make jams and jams.
In artificial reservoirs, the Toborians breed Amazonian freshwater pacu fish, whose meat is famous for its amazing softness and delicate taste. Adult pacu weigh more than 30 kg.
They feed the fish 2 times a day - at dawn and at sunset. The food is produced right there, at the village mini-factory.
Here everyone is busy with their own business - both adults and children, who are taught to work from an early age. The only day off is Sunday. On this day, members of the community have a rest, go to visit each other and attend church. Men and women come to the Temple in elegant light clothes, over which something dark is thrown over. The black cape is a symbol of the fact that everyone is equal before God.
Also on Sunday, men go fishing, boys play football and volleyball. Football is the most popular game in Toborochi. The local football team has won amateur school tournaments more than once.
Education
The Old Believers have their own education system. The very first and main book- the alphabet of the Church Slavonic language, according to which children are taught from an early age. Older children study ancient psalms, only then - the lessons of modern literacy. Old Russian is closer to them, even the smallest fluently read the Old Testament prayers.
Children in the community receive a comprehensive education. More than 10 years ago, the Bolivian authorities financed the construction of a school in the village. It is divided into 3 classes: children 5-8 years old, 8-11 and 12-14 years old. Bolivian teachers regularly come to the village to teach Spanish, reading, mathematics, biology, and drawing.
Children learn Russian at home. In the village, only Russian is spoken everywhere, with the exception of the school.
Culture, religion
Being far from their historical homeland, the Russian Old Believers in Bolivia have preserved their unique cultural and religious customs better than their co-religionists living in Russia. Although, perhaps, it is the distance from native land was the reason why these people so guard their values and earnestly defend the traditions of their ancestors. The Bolivian Old Believers are a self-sufficient community, but they do not oppose the outside world. The Russians were able to perfectly organize not only their way of life, but also their cultural life. Boredom is unknown to them, they always know what to do in their free time. They celebrate their holidays very solemnly, with traditional feasts, dances and songs.
Bolivian Old Believers strictly observe strict commandments regarding religion. They pray at least 2 times a day, morning and evening. Every Sunday and on religious holidays, the service lasts for several hours. Generally speaking, the religiosity of the South American Old Believers is characterized by zeal and steadfastness. Absolutely in each of their villages there is a prayer house.
Language
Unaware of the existence of such a science as sociolinguistics, Russian Old Believers in Bolivia intuitively act so as to save for posterity native language: live apart, honor age-old traditions, at home they speak only Russian.
In Bolivia, the Old Believers who arrived from Russia and settled far from large cities practically do not marry the local population. This allowed them to preserve the Russian culture and language of Pushkin much better than other Old Believer communities in Latin America.
“Our blood is truly Russian, we have never mixed it, and we have always preserved our culture. Our children under the age of 13-14 do not learn Spanish, so as not to forget their native language, ”the Old Believers say.
The language of ancestors is kept and instilled by the family, passing it on from the older generation to the younger. Children must be taught to read in Russian and Old Slavonic, because in every family the main book is the Bible.
It is surprising that all the Old Believers living in Bolivia speak Russian without the slightest accent, although their fathers and even grandfathers were born in South America and have never been to Russia. Moreover, the speech of the Old Believers still bears shades of the characteristic Siberian dialect.
Linguists know that in the case of emigration, people lose their native language already in the 3rd generation, that is, the grandchildren of those who left, as a rule, do not speak the language of their grandparents. But in Bolivia, the 4th generation of Old Believers is already fluent in Russian. This is a surprisingly pure, dialectal language that was spoken in Russia in the 19th century. At the same time, it is important that the language of the Old Believers is alive, it is constantly developing and enriching itself. Today it is a unique combination of archaism and neologisms. When the Old Believers need to designate a new phenomenon, they easily and simply invent new words. For example, Toboro residents call cartoons "jumping", and lamp garlands - "blinks". They call tangerines "mimosa" (probably because of the shape and bright color of the fruit). The word “lover” is alien to them, but “boyfriend” is quite familiar and understandable.
Over the years of living in a foreign land, many words borrowed from Spanish have entered the oral speech of the Old Believers. For example, they call the fair "feria" (Spanish Feria - "show, exhibition, show"), and the market - "mercado" (Spanish Mercado). Some Spanish words among the Old Believers have become “Russified”, and a number of obsolete Russian words used by the inhabitants of Toborochi are now not heard even in the most remote corners of Russia. So, instead of “very”, the Old Believers say “very much”, the tree is called “forest”, and the sweater is called “kufayka”. They don't have television, the bearded men believe that television leads people to hell, but still they occasionally watch Russian films.
Although at home the Old Believers communicate exclusively in Russian, everyone speaks Spanish to a sufficient degree for a trouble-free living in the country. As a rule, men know Spanish better, because the responsibility to earn money and provide for the family lies entirely with them. The task of women is to run the household and raise children. So women are not only housekeepers, but also keepers of their native language.
Interestingly, this situation is typical for Old Believers living in South America. While in the USA and Australia, the second generation of Old Believers has completely switched to English.
marriages
Closed communities are usually characterized by closely related unions and, as a result, an increase in genetic problems. But this does not apply to the Old Believers. Even the ancestors established the immutable "rule of the eighth tribe", when marriages between relatives up to the 8th tribe are prohibited.
The Old Believers are well aware of their ancestry and communicate with all relatives.
Mixed marriages are not encouraged by the Old Believers, but young people are not categorically prohibited from creating families with local residents. But only a non-believer must by all means accept the Orthodox faith, learn the Russian language (it is obligatory to read the sacred books in the Old Slavonic language), observe all the traditions of the Old Believers and earn the respect of the community. It is easy to guess that such weddings occur infrequently. However, adults rarely ask the opinion of children about marriage - most often, parents themselves choose a spouse for their child from other communities.
By the age of 16, young men acquire the necessary experience in the field and can already get married. Girls can get married at the age of 13. The daughter's first "adult" birthday present is a collection of old Russian songs painstakingly handwritten by her mother.
Back to Russia
In the early 2010s For the first time in many years, Russian Old Believers had friction with the authorities when the leftist government (Spanish: Juan Evo Morales Ayma; President of Bolivia since January 22, 2006) began to show increased interest in the Indian lands where Russian Old Believers settled. Many families are seriously thinking about moving to their historical homeland, especially since the Russian government is last years actively supports the return of compatriots.
Most of the South American Old Believers have never been to Russia, but they remember their history and say that they have always felt homesickness. Even the Old Believers dream of seeing real snow. The Russian authorities allocated land to the newcomers in those regions from which they fled to China 90 years ago, i.e. in Primorye and Siberia.
The eternal misfortune of Russia - roads and officials
Today only in Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia lives approx. 3 thousand Russian Old Believers.
As part of the program for the resettlement of compatriots to their homeland in 2011-2012. several Old Believer families moved from Bolivia to Primorsky Krai. In 2016, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church reported that those who had moved were deceived by local officials and were on the verge of starvation.
Each Old Believer family is capable of cultivating up to 2 thousand hectares of land, as well as raising livestock. The earth is the most important thing in the life of these hardworking people. They themselves call themselves in the Spanish manner - agricultors (Spanish Agricultor - "farmer"). And the local authorities, taking advantage of the settlers' poor knowledge of Russian legislation, allocated them plots intended only for haymaking - nothing else can be done on these lands. In addition, some time later, the administration raised the land tax rate for the Old Believers several times. Approximately 1,500 families left in South America who are ready to move to Russia fear that they will not be welcomed “with open arms” in their historical homeland either.
“In South America, we are strangers, because we are Russians, but nobody needs us in Russia either. Here is paradise, the nature is so beautiful that it takes your breath away. But officials are a real nightmare, ”the Old Believers are upset.
The Old Believers make sure that over time all barbudos (from Spanish - “bearded men”) move to Primorye. They themselves see the solution to the problem in the control by the administration of the President of Russia over the implementation of the federal program.
In June 2016, Moscow hosted the 1st International Conference “Old Believers, the State and Society in the Modern World”, which brought together representatives of the largest Orthodox Old Believer concords (Consent is a group of associations of believers in the Old Believers - ed.) from Russia, near and far abroad. The participants of the conference discussed "the difficult situation of the families of the Old Believers who moved to Primorye from Bolivia."
Problems, of course, abound. For example, attending school by children is not included in the age-old traditions of the Old Believers. Their usual way of life is to work in the field and pray. “It is important for us to preserve traditions, faith and rituals, and it will be very disappointing that we have saved this in a foreign country, but we will lose it in our own country”, - says the head of the seaside Old Believer community.
Education officials are confused. On the one hand, I do not want to put pressure on the original migrants. But under the law on universal education, all citizens of Russia, regardless of their religion, are required to send their children to school.
The Old Believers cannot be forced to violate their principles, for the sake of preserving traditions they will be ready to break away again and look for another haven.
"Far Eastern hectare" - bearded men
The Russian authorities are well aware that the Old Believers, who managed to preserve the culture and traditions of their ancestors far from their homeland, are the Golden Fund of the Russian nation. Especially against the background of the unfavorable demographic situation in the country.
The plan for the demographic policy of the Far East for the period up to 2025, approved by the government of the Russian Federation, provides for the creation of additional incentives for the resettlement of fellow Old Believers living abroad to the regions of the Far East. Now they can get their far eastern hectare» at the initial stage of obtaining citizenship.
Today, about 150 families of Old Believer settlers who arrived from South America live in the Amur Region and Primorsky Territory. Several more families of South American Old Believers are ready to move to the Far East; land plots have already been selected for them.
In March 2017, Kornily, Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, became the first Old Believer primate in 350 years to be officially received by the President of Russia. During a lengthy conversation, Putin assured Kornily that the state would be more attentive to compatriots wishing to return to their native lands and look for ways to best resolve emerging problems.
“People who come to these regions ... with a desire to work on the land, create strong large families, of course, must be supported,” V. Putin emphasized.
Soon, a group of representatives of the Russian Agency for the Development of Human Capital took a working trip to South America. And already in the summer of 2018, representatives of the Old Believer communities from Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil came to the Far East to get acquainted on the spot with the conditions for a possible resettlement of people.
Primorsky Old Believers are very much looking forward to moving to Russia for their relatives who have remained overseas. They dream that long-term wanderings around the world will finally end and they want to finally settle here - albeit on the edge of the earth, but in their beloved homeland.
Curious facts
- The traditional Old Believer family is based on respect and love, about which the apostle Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians: “Love endures for a long time, is merciful, love does not envy, does not exalt itself, ... does not behave violently, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; love covers everything, believes everything, ... endures everything "(1 Cor. 13:4-7).
- There is a popular proverb among the Old Believers: “In Bolivia, only what is not planted does not grow”.
- When it comes to driving, men and women have equal rights. In the Old Believer community, a woman driving is quite commonplace.
- The generous Bolivian land yields up to 3 crops per year.
- It was in Toborochi that a unique variety of Bolivian beans was bred, which is now grown throughout the country.
- In 1999, the city authorities decided to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pushkin's birth, and a street named after the great Russian poet appeared in the administrative capital of Bolivia.
- The Bolivian Old Believers even have their own newspaper - "Russkoebarrio" (Spanish "barrio" - "neighborhood"; La Paz, 2005-2006).
- Old Believers have a negative attitude towards any barcodes. They are sure that any barcode is a "devil's mark".
- The brown pacu is "famous" for its creepy teeth, which are strikingly similar to human ones. However, human teeth are not capable of inflicting such terrible wounds on the victim as the jaws of a predatory fish.
- In their bulk, the Toborians are descendants of the Old Believers from Nizhny Novgorod province who, under Peter I, fled to Siberia. Therefore, the old Nizhny Novgorod dialect can be traced in their speech today.
- When asked who they consider themselves to be, the Russian Old Believers confidently answer: "We are Europeans".
, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, but Peru, like Paraguay, has no access to the sea. Bolivia is an amazing country of contrasts, where voodoo cults and Christianity coexist peacefully with a very devout local population. In Bolivia, a real cult of death, skulls can be found on every house, effigies of thieves and criminals hang on the streets of cities, reminding local residents what will happen if they commit an offense, perhaps more recently, thieves really hung on poles instead of stuffed ones. Every family in Bolivia has a skull, it is not clear where they come from, so every year on November 8 this skull must be taken to the church and drunk with wine. In the old days, the Mayan cult flourished in Bolivia, which was based on various sacrifices, the more serious the sacrifice to the gods, the higher it is valued and the higher the gratitude of the gods, today sacrifices in their price have dropped to animals and various trinkets. However, the sacrifice is held every first Friday of the month. The symbol of life in Bolivia is the llama, Bolivians buy a dried llama embryo in souvenir shops and put it in a wicker basket along with sugar, then they burn the basket. The church needs to highlight any major purchase.
The locals in Bolivia are very specific, they are all descendants of the Mayan Indians with a characteristic appearance, they are very knocked down and short in stature, women wear dozens of skirts and English men's bowlers at the same time, but they are slightly smaller; they cannot be pulled over their heads, but only put on their heads is amazing as they do not fly off while walking.
Living standards and poverty in Bolivia
All the cities of Bolivia are not expressive and more like slums, the local climate is sometimes harsh and cold, so villages or plywood houses are not built here, as in Central America, the houses are an unusual mixture of brick and clay building materials, it can be assumed that at first the houses they started to build from clay, then bricks began to appear on sale and with it money from local citizens, so clay buildings began to be completed with bricks, in general, few buildings in Bolivia were completed and brought to mind, building a house is a very costly thing and in one generation the Bolivians cannot finish it, the house started by the grandfathers can be completed by the grandchildren. Bolivia has a poorly developed infrastructure, the cities are very dirty, there are very few rich people among the locals, there are no oligarchs like in Ukraine, therefore only the poor live in the mountains and in the valleys, unlike neighboring countries, for example, Argentina, where only the very rich can be seen in the mountains at home, while the poor live in the lowlands and in the center of the city. Mount La Paz in the capital strongly resembles similar mountains in Rio, built up with shacks. high fences and barbed wire they remind you that crime is very high in Bolivia, any things that are poorly welcomed will be stolen
Jobs and salaries in Bolivia
The average salary in Bolivia is about $375 a month, but not everyone can get that kind of money. The unemployment rate is officially 8.5%, but in fact this figure can be twice as high, 60% of the population is below the poverty level. Half of the population is employed in the service sector, it also brings half of GDP, agriculture is developed in rural regions, it brings 11% of GDP and 40% of the population is employed in it, industry 37% of GDP and 17% of workers, primarily oil and tin extraction developed tobacco industry and food production.
Men and women in Bolivia
In Bolivia, gender inequality is pronounced, as male literacy is on average for South America, but for women this figure is much lower, there is little chance for a woman to get a job, but the weight changes when looking at an average life expectancy of 64 years for men and 70 years for women, in this respect Bolivia is very similar to Russia or Ukraine, where men do not live very well, they are exploited, they drink a lot, smoke and have a very low social culture.
Many Russians are now interested in the question of how to obtain Bolivian citizenship. The acquisition of a second citizenship is an issue that worries many residents of our country today. And we are talking not just about moving or the opportunity to have an indefinite vacation outside of Russia, we are talking about business immigration.
View of the capital of Bolivia - La Paz
Latin America is a promising direction. It is clear that the best countries for immigration are here, Panama. But it is quite difficult to obtain citizenship of these countries, and it cannot be done in a short period of time (except in this country it is carried out in an expedited manner).
The location of the countries of South America on the map
Due to the fact that citizenship is a complicated procedure in these promising countries, one should pay attention to a country like Bolivia.
Citizenship of Bolivia actually gives a lot of advantages that a little dedicated person does not even know about.
Bolivia and Spain have an agreement providing for dual citizenship for residents of these countries(if desired, a citizen of Bolivia in an accelerated mode, in about 2 years, maybe, therefore, with all the ensuing consequences).
There is a real opportunity to live in this country. Bolivia is not an expensive country by Russian standards, and even a person with a small amount of capital will be able to settle down here comfortably.
Average price of basic products in Bolivia
If we talk about the minuses, then the Bolivian passport does not belong to the so-called good documents for traveling. Bolivians visit almost all countries of the world on a visa.
Citizenship can be obtained on the basis of origin, on the basis of residence in the country for 2 years. For some categories of citizens, this period is reduced to one year. Those who have:
- spouse (spouse) - a citizen of Bolivia;
- children - citizens of Bolivia;
- special education and work in Bolivia in the field of education, science, technology, industry or agriculture;
- right to military service(or the one who carries military service in the ranks of the Bolivian army);
- gratitude for services to the Republic.
What documents do I need to submit to obtain Bolivian citizenship?
To apply for citizenship, you must provide the following documents:
- foreign passport of the Russian Federation (or birth certificate of the Russian Federation);
- on the territory of the Russian Federation;
- photographs (here you will need not only standard ones, but also photographs of the right and left profiles, they are taken in La Paz, the capital of the state);
- fingerprints of both hands.
During the registration of citizenship, the person (or the whole family) must be in the territory of Bolivia. The process of registration as a whole can last from 6 to 9 months. The cost of the procedure is 50-90 thousand dollars. All RF documents must be translated into Spanish and notarized.
Pay attention to the video: preparation of documents for living in Bolivia for permanent residence.
Standard of living in Bolivia
All interested people are concerned about the following questions:
- real estate in Bolivia: prices, possibilities of buying, renting;
- what language do Bolivians speak and who are they;
- transport in Bolivia: how best to move around the country, how much it costs to buy a personal car, how much gasoline costs;
- work in Bolivia for Russian immigrants;
- prices for food, clothing, personal items, medical treatment, utilities.
It is clear that life in Bolivia is a little like a fairy tale, because Latin America is still not North America. On the other side, knowledgeable people This country has long been called Latin American Tibet, as it is very isolated from the rest of Latin America, and this, oddly enough, is a big plus. In the neighborhood of big Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, there really is not much good.
The population of Bolivia is Indians and mestizos. Moreover, in terms of the number of Indians, Bolivia is the leader among Latin American countries. They speak a mixture of local dialects and Spanish. Official language- Spanish.
Typical Indians of the country
Public transport in Bolivia is poorly developed, and not everyone has personal cars.
Although you can buy any model, prices in Bolivia are low by European and Russian standards. Gasoline is cheap, but the roads are not very good. The best choice is an SUV, especially if you live in a rural area.
Bolivia is a small country, has no access to the sea, is surrounded by the Andes, so with real estate in Bolivia, especially in major cities, the situation is not easy. But a house in the countryside is quite possible to buy. It will cost (by Russian standards) not expensive.
Rental prices in Bolivia
Three women with completely different destinies. Nana, Sveta and Natasha.
RTW 2006-07: 18-19.04 sucre
Uyuni with a salt lake - Potosi with dynamite - and we arrived in Sucre, a city with a Russian hairdresser.
It's warm here. Height is only 2000 m above sea level.
In the whole city, I remember most of all Central market. A huge indoor space filled to overflowing with stalls of fresh fruit, smoothies, salads, juices and cakes. A mug of fruit cocktail with juice costs 4.5 rubles, a cup of fruit salad costs 3.5 rubles. Lunch - $ 2 for two, with meat and soup.
But our acquaintances became much more significant. In Sucre we met three Russian women who have been living in Bolivia for a long time.
Three women with completely different destinies.
Natashin The phone was given to us by friends from Moscow. She met us in her own car, with two children. Natasha is married to a Bolivian. He works in La Paz, but she does not like the noisy and dirty city, and they live in a pleasant and clean Sucre with her husband's parents. She has just opened her own furniture store. Dreams of creating a Russian settlement (Russian district). She also publishes a newspaper in Russian, sends it to the Russian embassy.
We sat first in the park with ice cream, then in Natasha's salon. Sveta looks great, she has enough money to implement a wide variety of ideas. And yet she did not give the impression of a happy woman. Maybe it only seemed to us, but everything in her stories looked "seemingly not bad." I don't even know how to describe. No, she wasn't trying to look very successful and unnaturally pleased. Rather, on the contrary, she spoke quite honestly about everything. And some kind of slight dissatisfaction showed through in all the stories.
Having asked Natasha for advice on where to get a haircut, we immediately found the next acquaintance. Light. Sveta is studying to be a hairdresser and works in a salon. Rather, there is only one real salon in Sucre. But the one where Sveta works will soon receive equipment, and there will be a second salon in the city.
On the way, the taxi driver asked us what to see in Russia if he ever gets there, whether he can work there, and whether it is necessary to speak Russian (are Russian and Spanish so different? won’t they understand me there? how, Russians won’t speak Spanish?).
Sveta is Natasha's friend. She is also married to a Bolivian. He studied in Ukraine, so he brought his wife with him. It was very difficult for Sveta there and it was not clear how to be and what to do next. So she actually ran away. It's not easy here either. Not much money. If Natasha can afford to open a furniture store that has not yet brought profit, she has to learn and work about Light. Uncertainty shines through in Sveta's words. Maybe something would work out at home? Or maybe it would be worse. She doesn't look very happy either. Not unhappy, no. But not entirely happy either. The most difficult thing in Sveta's life is the relationship with her husband's parents. Natasha is also not perfect in this regard, although she lives in Sucre voluntarily with her husband's parents.
We spent the evening with new friends at the Joyride cafe in the very center of the city. Cool place. Good and not cheap. Or rather, not cheap by local standards. For us, $1.50 for an alcoholic cocktail... well, you get the idea.
In general, in Bolivia we feel very strange. We look like hippie homeless people in our things shabby during the journey, in old shoes, with backpacks torn apart by crossings. And yet we can easily afford to pay for well-dressed local girls. We are even uncomfortable from the realization that here we can afford anything at all. Land and apartments in Bolivia cost next to nothing. But this is nothing here very difficult to earn. We honestly told Natasha and Sveta that we saved up $20,000 for a trip at home in 8 months, and spent $12,000 on the road in 6 months. And they were the first to be amazed by these amounts. Or rather, until now, everyone was also amazed, but in the vein of "you spent so little." Now the situation was reversed.
We go back to the hotel by taxi. Trading is easy here.
You sit in a taxi and already on the road you start a dialogue:
-How much will you take?
-4 bolivianos per person ($0.5).
- Is it possible for 3? Oh please!
- You can do it for 3.
Here I will tell you more about Nana, the owner of a Georgian cafe in the town of Oruro. Nana is from Tbilisi but has been living in Bolivia for 11 years. I came here for my daughter after the death of her husband. The daughter is married to a Bolivian. Nana has a good relationship with her daughter's husband's family. But, of course, she misses Tbilisi - you can even see it in her eyes. It's hard to get used to the new rules. But he does what he can. Here, she opened a cafe, from 5 to 9 pm she bakes cakes and eclairs, pancakes and khachapuri here.
Nana, Sveta and Natasha. Very pleasant and not very happy. I would like to believe that they are simply not very good at settling in life, and being in Bolivia was a good way out for them, and at home it would be harder.
But back to the city of Sucre. Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia.
Its real capital is busy, noisy and dirty La Paz. Sucre looks more like a rural seat of government. Historical, sophisticated, green, with wooden balconies and bright houses. With a whole one supermarket for the whole city in that distant 2007.
The main attraction of the surroundings are dinosaur footprints.
Once, not far from Sucre, they began to extract cement and dug up a layer with traces of dinosaurs. 68 million years ago it was the bottom of the lake. But then, due to tectonic processes, the lake reared up, and now its bottom has turned into a quarry wall.
The workers were driven away and the tourists caught up. They made something like a park. Very weak park. With a couple of dinosaur figures, a 15 minute tour and ice cream.
