The Molokans

I recently discovered a great story in my research on conscientious objectors. The Molokans are a group of people who moved to America prior to WWI to escape religious persecution in Russia. The sad thing is that they faced religious persecution in America. I found their story very inspirational. Here is an excerpt on them:

The religious sectarians best loved by their fellow-objectors in Fort Leavenworth Military Prison were the Molokans. They came to this country from Russia on the understanding that here they would be exempt from military service. They formed their own isolated colony in Arizona and kept their own customs. They are fine farmers and have succeeded in making the desert blossom as a rose. It is part of their creed to abstain from all animal foods. They believe that their conduct is guided by the Holy Spirit, and they are sometimes called "Holy Jumpers" because of certain physical manifestations of what they consider the inspiration of the Spirit.

Some months before America declared war the Holy Spirit appeared to them in a dream and warned them the day was near when they would be conscripted. Furthermore the Spirit directed that they must destroy even the shotguns which they had been using to keep off the blackbirds. The following day in the public square they broke their guns and burned them. Several days before registration the Spirit again came to them promising them that Christ would defend them if only they would not submit to the military. On registration day thirty-four of them held religious services in front of the registration offices at Glendale, Arizona. After they had completed their worship they entered the office and quietly informed the chairman that they would not register and gave reasons for it. Some of the Molokans came all the way to Washington to see the President. Through Mr. Tumulty they were assured that they would not be molested. Nevertheless thirty-four were sentenced to civil prison for refusal to register--a frefusal in which they persisted though most of them as married men were entitled to delayed classification. Six of them finally reached the military prison at Fort Leavenworth. There they won an affectionate regard from their fellow-objectors which reflects honor not only on them but on their sect.

"While many religious fellows," writes one of the objectors, "argued and wrangled and condemned one another to hell fire the Molokans quietly read their Bibles, walked up and down, or sang their songs. If direct questions were put to them with the purpose of drawing out their condemnation of certain conscientious objectors' or soldiers' points of view, they always answered with some kind and sympathetic remark, always maintaining their own faith throughout. They joined wholeheartedly in games, they seemed to understand the Russian situation, and showed a grasp of economic ills in the United States." In fact, the Molokans seemed to have been radically minded. "They said that in Russia their teachers had often been imprisoned with revolutionaries and so learned much of the revolutionary economics, which they thought in accord with Christianity."

An even more striking tribute to these men comes from a socialist objector of Jewish birth who had no love for religion.

"During our association with the Molokans, we found them very affable and by no means obtuse. I used to take great delight in watching them perform their religious ceremonies. Six sturdy, bearded, dignified and sincere men, they would form a circle, and with their arms folded and eyes raised to heaven, they said their evening prayers. Even those of us who profess no religious belief would remain quiet and watch with respect while the Molokans conducted their religious services.

"The evening prior to their release, we persuaded them to sing their hymns as a sort of farewell. This time it seemed to me they sang with even more fervor and more ardor than ever before. While watching them, I could not help thinking of the sufferings these men had endured, and how in the face of all persecution they remained true to their principles. These men being strict vegetarians, their main sustenance for a period of more than eight months was corn flakes and milk. I often wondered how they were able to retain their health on this diet. In perplexity I questioned Kornivaloff about this one day. 'Oh,' he said, 'all right for me. Nobody else can do this (pointing to heaven) except if they have faith.' Despite this one-sided diet and their long incarceration, they were always happy, and diffused cheerfulness to all with whom they came in contact. They would say: 'Well, by and by, maybe everything come all right.'

"They took a keen interest in our elementary English and arithmetic classes, and, unlike a good many other Christians, they were eager to learn about this world. Kulikoff, just before he left, said facetiously they may set aside a day each year in commemoration of their imprisonment. This day he said, 'We'll celebrate by feasting on corn flakes and milk!'

"By way of a send-off we gave them three rousing cheers, which shook the foundations of the Disciplinary Barracks. For the remainder of the day we were a rather doleful lot...But when these men were released, we felt that for once the government had discharged those who deserved it most."

Quoted in Norman Thomas, Conscientious Objector in America, (New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1925), 50-54.