Subbotniki.net

The Subbotniki Information Exchange

(Cубботники, Subbotniks)

....preserving our Subbotnik heritage

Established April 4, 2005   (Last updated on January 20, 2012)
Welcome! This Subbotniki.net web site is dedicated to research and information exchange regarding the Subbotniki (Cубботники, Subbotniks) — non-Jewish Russians including many Christians who converted to and/or adopted many tenets of Judaism. This site does not represent any organization, just individuals wishing to promote knowledge and understanding about these people.

Please explore the content here and send us your comments or questions. New material or links are always appreciated.

NOTE: The views represented by the content of external links contained or referenced on this web site are not necessarily those of the Subbotniki.net web site coordinators but are included only to present the wide range of views surrounding the Subbotniki so that all this information can be viewed in context.
Send corrections, suggestions, new information to: Bill Aldacushion
Web Site Guide
  1. Subbotniki (Cубботники) — An Introduction
  2. The Subbotniki Research Report Comprehensive, introductory research report with photos, maps and bibliography (material below was discovered after report was written)
  3. Subbotniki in Los Angeles: Background and History
  4. General Background Information and Research
  5. Subbotniki Around the World
  6. Other Subbotniki-related Reference Web Sites
  7. Contact Information



Purpose of this website: Prior to the launch of this web site (April 4, 2005), there was no central source of information on the Subbotniki, nor was information on this Russian religious sect easy to find. As a descendant of Subbotniki and Molokan parents in America, I have always wanted to better understand my religious and ethnic heritage. I can remember that my Pivovaroff babunya [grandmother] who was Subbotniki and my Babashoff babunya who was Molokan practiced their religions in different ways and on different days, but beyond that, there were many similarities between them.

I have been told by my Subbotniki ancestors that they did not consider themselves to be Jews and originally did not even call themselves Subbotniki. While living in Russia, they met in secret in a member's basement to avoid detection by government authorities and the Orthodox Church. They simply referred to their group as the congregation that met at so-and-so's house. The moniker Subbotniki was laid upon them by the outside community due to their observance of the Saturday Sabbath as prescribed in the Old Testament. After immigrating to Los Angeles at the beginning of the 20th century, they referred to themselves as Russians or Russian Americans. There was a contention between the Subbotnik and the Jewish communities and between the Subbotniks and the Molokans as described in my Subbotnik Research Report.

I am pleased to present the information on this website which I maintain with Andrei Conovaloff, who hosts a similar site about Molokans — Molokane.org. I am grateful for his support, without which this site could not be launched. My goal is to promote understanding and to encourage others to share what they may know about the Subbotniki. Since the Subbotniki have essentially ceased to exist as an organized congregations, except in a few pockets of the former Soviet Union, I feel it is important to document what we have found so far.
Bill Aldacushion

1. Subbotniki (Cубботники) — An Introduction
Russian: Subbotniki — субботники.  English: Saturday Sabbath Keepers.

Subbotniki is a Russian Sabbath-observing sect — “Saturday people” —  "Sabbath keepers" — “the people of the Law of Moses” — non-Jewish Russians who obey the Old Testament, hold services on Saturday, and follow many Jewish laws and customs. They are not to be confused with other Sabbath-keepers or Sabbatarians, like “Seventh-Day Baptist,” Church of God, Seventh-day Adventists, etc. (See The Sabbatarian Context discussion below on this web site.)  Other spellings: "Subbotnikim" in Israel, "Subotnik", "Subbotnick", "Sobotniki".

Several references in Russian and other source material label members of this sect as Judaizers as opposed to calling them Jews. The term Judaizers can be defined: "... predominantly a Christian term. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions this term includes groups such as Jewish Christians, Quartodecimans, Ethiopian Christians, descendants of English Puritanism such as the Seventh-day Adventists and others, who claim the necessity of obedience to the Mosaic Laws which are found in the first five books of the Christian Old Testament." The Russian Orthodox Church punished their heresy — Christian- Judaizers.

Only a few Subbotniki congregations with dwindling numbers are known to exist today in Israel, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan with some Sabbatarian congregations found in Transylvania and Hungary. Some emigrated to Israel, Europe and the US. See the  Sekstanstvo (Sectarian) Bodies: Judaizing Sects for a further discussion of the classification of these sects.

Subbotniki in Vyoskii   Subbotnki Funeral
Subbotnik service in Vyoskii, Russia, 2005.            Subbotniki funeral in Los Angeles, USA, 1930's
See also photos in Armenia and America.

For the purposes of discussion on this web site, members of the Subbotniki sect can be broadly sub-categorized into two groups:
  1.  “Molokan-Subbotniki” relates to ethnic Russians who converted from the Molokan faith to Subbotniki, but 
    • Did not adopt the Talmud as a basis of their religious practices 
    • Continued to acknowledge their relationship to the Molokan community despite of their religious differences which sometimes divided family members
    • Were not able to read, speak or understand the Hebrew language
    • Some followed the Molokans when they emigrated to Los Angeles around 1910. More recently, some Molokan-Subbotniki living in the independent republics on the Former Soviet Union have resettled near Molokan communities in Stavropol, Russia
  2. “Geres / Gers” (Russian: Gery [геры]) relates to ethnic Russians who adopted all aspects of Judaism and have closer affiliation with the Jews of Israel. 
The primary focus of my research is the Molokan-Subbotniki. For a more in-depth discussion of the Subbotniki sub-groups see the Subbotniki (Judaizers) article by A. Shmulevich below.

2. The Subbotniki Research Report


The Subbotniki Research Report with photographs, maps bibliography and citations of additional resources and references, by William Abram Aldacushion (Алдакушин), July 2000 — webmaster of this site. Bill is a descendant of the dissolved Molokan-Subbotniki congregation in Los Angeles.

3. Subbotniki in Los Angeles: Background and History
More About the Subbotniki In Los Angeles

114 Subbotniki known to be buried at Home of Peace Memorial Park    Item updated December 9, 2011 - Major revision with addition of links to gravestone photographs)
Short history of this Jewish cemetery in East Los Angeles used by the Subbotniki congregation since 1911 with 114 deceased listed with vital statistics, locations, comments and links to grave stone photographs.

The Russians in Los Angeles By Lillian Sokoloff included in Studies in Sociology published by the Southern California Sociological Society, University of Southern California Press, March 1918 (Annotated by Andrei Conovaloff)  Item added November 8, 2010

"...Subbotniks (Judaized Russians) ... are Russians who have embraced the Jewish faith. This result was not through influence exerted on the part of Jews, however, because the Jews do not have any form of mission work for the purpose of conversion to Judaism; nor were there any Jews living in that part of Russia where these religious sects developed. The Subbotniks embraced Judaism as a result of reading the Old Testament."

In 1971, Los Angeles Subbotnik congregation dissolves, donates $800 to UMCA
Article by Alex Tolmas, Vice President UMCA, 1971.

The Subbotniki: Secret Jews of Boyle Heights
Article by Rabbi William M. Kramer, PhD — Western States Jewish History, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2000

Memories and Music
Article by Roberto Loiederman — The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, April 28, 2006
Efforts are underway to restore the Breed Street Shul near where the Subbotniki congregation in Los Angeles once conducted services.

Couple celebrates 70 years at ages 89, 92 - Daily Pilot (Newport Beach, California), November 27, 2007 
Article about Morris Abram Pivaroff (son of a respected leader in the former Los Angeles Subbotniki community) who maintained some of the basic tenets of his religion within his family upon his marriage to his beloved non-Subbotniki spouse Lillian. Note: Morris passed away on January 7, 2009 at the age of 93.
"Their mothers decided a few months before the scheduled wedding date that the couple's cultural and religious differences just couldn't be ignored. The couple was young, respectful and didn't want to hurt their families, so they ended their relationship. .... 'Well, here's how {we got back together}," Lillian said. "He called me up after a couple of months and asked me if we got married and had children, if it would be all right if we raised them in his religion.'"
Historical Relationship with Molokans
See also Chapter 6 of The Subbotniki Research Report indexed above.

Judaizers
Encyclopedia Judica
"Simeon Uklein ... introduced many Jewish customs among the members of his sect. His disciple Sundukov called for greater association of the sect with the Jews; this resulted in a split within its ranks and the creation of the 'Molokan Sabbath Observers'. ... The Judaizers succeeded particularly in the province of Saratov, where the preacher Milyukhin won over whole villages to his faith."

Molokans Petition against "American, Catholic and Subbotniki bootleggers" in Los Angeles' Flats during Prohibition Item added October 3, 2011
Excerpt from doctoral dissertation: Assimilation Problems of Russian Molokans in Los Angeles by Pauline V. Young, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, June 1930
"Appeal to American Social Agencies:  The Molokans realize that their children are often the prey to undesirable city influences over which the Colony has no control. They, therefore, attempt to secure the cooperation of various urban social organizations which they hope might help them in eliminating the disorganizing forces to which immigrant neighborhoods are generally subjected. American, Italian, and Subbotniki bootleggers have a strong hold in the Flats. The Molokans have appealed to the district attorney's office to help them stamp out liquor from their Colony." (September 27, 1924)
Editors note: During Prohibition, there was an exemption granted in the Volstead Act providing for the manufacture and consumption of so-called “ritual wine” used in Jewish and Catholic religious observances (sacrament, weddings, funerals, Seder/Passover dinners, circumcisions, etc.). It was inevitable that some of this product made its way into the broader market for general consumption. See this article posted to the American Jewish Archives for a more in-depth discussion of this topic: Let Them Drink and Forget Our Poverty”: Orthodox Rabbis React to Prohibition by Hannah Sprecher

P. N. Miliukov on Molokans and Judaizers
Excerpt translated from: Miliukov, P.N., Ocherki po istorii russkoi kul'tury (Essays of the history of Russian culture). Volume 2 of 3. Moscow. Reprinted 1994. Pages 126-7. [Original published in 1942.]
"Especially numerous were judaizers in the Saratov region were this unorganized sect had its own leader / preceptor [наставник — nastavnik], Semyon Dalmatov."

Early Jumper Leaders Criticize Subbotniki, original Molokans and the Russian Orthodox Church.  Updated July 30, 2010
Comments on 2 passages from the Jumpers' Book of the Sun: Spirit and Life. in which the Jumper leaders scorn the Subbotniki and all other 666 false faiths.

70 Molokan families converted to Judaism in Saratov, Russia, before 1925.
 1946 interview with Mrs. Clara Adamovna, whose Molokan family all became Jews.
Some Molokans converted to Subbotnik then Judaism. They lived in Central Russia, then offered land in South Ukraine (Milky Waters), then in the Caucasus. They believed that Judaism is the right religion and that Palestine (Israel ) is the "promised land". Many fled illegally to ancient Palestine where their descendants are probably today. A few may have come to America. Here is very little of this history....


The Ukrainian Stundists and Russian Jews: a collaboration of evangelical peasants with Jewish intellectuals in late imperial Russia
Paper by Sergei Zhuk (Ball State University) presented by at the 5th International Postgraduate Conference held at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, 2008
"...At the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, the Subbotniki movement spread to the south, to the new regions of Russian colonization in southern Ukraine and northern Caucasus, where their ideas of ‘Moses law’ and ‘Hebrew rituals’ affected local Molokans and other religious dissenters. .....Some Molokans in Ukraine accepted Sabbatarian religious practices, which transformed the entire Molokan movement..."

4. General Background Information and Research
Comprehensive Books and Research Reports

Gentile Reactions to Jewish Ideals - With Special Reference to Proselytes by Jacob S. Rasin, Published Posthumously under the Editorship of Herman Hailperin, Philosophical Library, New york, 1953  Item added August 23, 2011

Jacob RasinThis comprehensive and seminal work is available in many libraries. Used copies can be found for sale on several on-line book stores. Pages 705 -723 deal with the origin on Subbotniki and discuss the motivation of several individuals for converting to these beliefs.
"In Russia, Judaism, or some semblance of it, made its appeal not only to a few individuals, but to whole groups, and today there are all over the world hundreds of thousands of former Russian Orthodox Christians who are strict observers of the religion of Israel. .... The number of these Yudistvuyuschy, as they called themselves, was estimated at no less than one hundred thousand while that of the Molokani and Subbotniki, who in most instances were on their way to complete Judaization, was assumed to be as high as two million. The reaction which soon set in drove many of them under cover again, but many more left their possessions, which were sometimes considerable and with their families sought refuge in Canada, the United States, South America, and Palestine. Of those who emigrated to America, over a hundred families settled at Boyle Heights near Los Angeles, California."

Click here to open a PDF containing a scan of some sample pages.

Judaism and "Jewishness" as Other in 19th Century Russia: The Conscription/Conversion Policy of Nicholas I
Thesis by Joey Bacal, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Lexis & Clark College — July 27, 1997
(Copies of Senior Theses can be found archived in Watzek library and in the department office.

Highlanders - A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory Book by Yo'av Karny, New York, 2000   Item added September 6, 2011

HighlandersIn Highlanders, Yo'av Karny offers a better understanding of a region described as a "museum of civilizations," where breathtaking landscapes join with an astounding human diversity. Karny has spent many months among members of some of the smallest ethnic groups on earth, all of them living in the grim shadow of an unhappy empire.
"… the gist of my story. It is not so much their {Subbotniks} choice of God that intrigues me, as their doing so on their own terms. The Subbotniks broke new ground in modern Jewish history: they demonstrated the possibility of accepting Judaism without assuming Jewishness, changing faith without changing nation. Many Jews, possibly a majority, perceive themselves not merely ad coreligionists but as people ….. The Subbotniks offered an alternative. Their switch to the God of the Old Testament was entirely self-induced – no rabbis or “conversion courts" … were involved. … They stepped out of the church they were repudiating and into the temple for one reason: the Israelite creed appealed to them."

This journey included a 1992 and 1995 visit with the the Subbotniki communities in Yelenovka (Sevan), Armenia and Privolnoye, Azerbaijan which are documented in his book. Click on the links to see excepts on Subbotniki.net

Субботники (Иудействующие) by Abraham Shmulivich and Mark Kipnia as it appear online in Notes of Jewish History, Number 1 (50), January 2005
Subbotniki (Judaizers) - rough, unofficial English translation (PDF)

This article presents a concise history of the Subbotniki movement on Russia and concludes with a classification of the various factions or branches of Subbotniki
"....There were various and often incompatible Subbotniki factions (sub-sects).... {which} can be categorized into two groups: 
  1. Actual Subbotniki (i.e. those who converted to Judaism) and
  2. Christian sects complying with certain requirements and rituals of Judaism.

The first group includes:
  • Subbotniki in the Kuban also known as Psaltirschikami ....
  • Geres, also called Talmudistami or Shapochnikami  ....
  • Subbotniki-Karaimity .
The Christian factions include:
  • Subbotnik-Molokans .....
  • Christian Subbotniki ...."

Heretics and Colonizers: Forging Russia's Empire in the South Caucasus  by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Professor of History, Ohio State University 2005 book

Breyfogle bookFrom his 1998 PhD thesis examining how the “harmful sects” (Molokans, Doukhobors, Sabbatarians) were resettled to the Caucasus and their interaction with each other, often changing membership for privileges.
"In Heretics and Colonizers, Dr. Breyfogle explores the dynamic intersection of Russian borderland colonization and popular religious culture. He reconstructs the story of the religious sectarians (Doukhobors, Molokans, and Subbotniks) who settled, either voluntarily or by force, in the newly conquered lands of Transcaucasia in the nineteenth century. By ordering this migration in 1830, Nicholas I attempted at once to cleanse Russian Orthodoxy of heresies and to populate the newly annexed lands with ethnic Slavs who would shoulder the burden of imperial construction."
 

The Subbotniks (PDF) by Velvl Chernin published by The Rappaport Center for Assimilation Research and Strengthening Jewish Vitality, Bar Ilan University - Faculty of Jewish Studies, 2007 
"The following survey is based on fieldwork conducted between the years 2003–2005. It relates only to Subbotnik converts to Rabbinic Judaism. Karaite Subbotniks {including Molokan Subbotniki}will be referred to only when in contact with Subbotnik converts.
 

Subbotnik Jews as a sub-ethnic group  by Velvl Chernin published on the Euro-Asian Congress web site on February 18, 2011 - The Israeli  researcher Velvl Chernin reviews the 
current state of the communities  that still exist in the post-Soviet space.  Item added July 25, 2011
This article provides an update to the current status of Subbotniks following the five-part regional breakdown of the preceding article by the same author. This article contains a very extensive bibliography that should be useful to any one studying this religious sect.
Research by the Russian Scholar Aleksandr L'vov

E-mail from Dr. L'vov, June 1, 2005
Alexander L'vov specializes in research about the religion of Jews and Subbotniki at the Center for Jewish Studies, European University, St. Petersburg, Russia. Alexander’s web site: Researching the Russian Jew
“Dear Bill,“Thank you very much for your letter and your excellent web site. Recently I've found and downloaded a newspaper article about the village of Iudino (Siberia) and a short but interesting record about Privolnoe in the published letters (in the letter of 13.10.1985) of Galina Starovoytova, a famous Russian ethnologist and public figure (see attachments) [listed below]. They are from the database www.integrum.ru. And have you seen my paper Emigration of Judaizers to Palestine?“ All the best, Alexander”
  1. Iudino article: "Chosen place on a creek bank" 
  2. Galina Starovoytova letters (PDF, Russian)

A Wooden Plow and Pentateuch. The Russian Judaizers as the Textual Community, by Alexander Lvov, Publishing house of the European University at St. Petersburg, Russia 2011. Items added August 22, 2011

A review of this book appeared on booknik.ru

Lvov Book Cover"The sects of Russian Subbotniks (Judaizers, spiritual Molokans, Talmudic and others) emerged in the mid-18th century, and from the very start, they were a real nightmare for bureaucrats in the Synod, and governmental agencies that took care of religious sects. Later, the Russian sects researchers had a lot of pain with them, too. Despite common religious practices of the Judaizers, this movement was devoid of any center, and management, and it quickly dissolved into many trends with their peculiar rites, and dogmas. Bureaucrats and researchers could not make sense of those weird sect members. Were they Russian with their Old Testament religion, or were they Jewish outside of the Judaic mainstream? Booknik reviewer Yevgeny Levin reads the monograph by Alexander Lvov, and tries to sort it out."

There are many versions about the origin of Russian Judaizers. ..... L'vov come to the conclusion that all of these hypotheses seems to be wrong. The new religious movement arose spontaneously as a result of "talking about the divine" that the Russian peasants of the eighteenth century practiced in private homes. As a result of these discussions, some participants came to the denial of the New Testament and icons, and began to consider the Old Testament, the only divine "law,"

".... according to L'vov, there was another another important factor to encourage Russian Subbotniks to get closer to normative Judaism: Being a predominantly merchants and burghers, the Russian Jews had a higher social status than the Russian peasants. Moreover, Judaism, as opposed to "sects", admitted the State as a legitimate religion. So, in wanting to be "real Jews", Subbotniki, among other things, sought to improve their social status. "


Different, but not Quite Items added August 22, 2011

L'vov"Among the numerous cultural theories, there is this: In order to come closer to understanding the essence of culture is much more important to study its marginal manifestations, rather than mainstream. That is why the Eshkolot project with the support of AVI CHAI Foundation, studied three groups, at the fringes of Judaism (Spanish Marranos, Sabbatarians and Subbotniki). Alexandr L'vov discussed his experience and theories about the Subbotniki with this projects. His comments are summarized in this report on booknik.ru
"The Subbotnik movement emerged in the XVIII century, and, like many religious movements in Russia, owes its appearance to Peter I and Catherine II. It all started with an attempt of the religious education of the people.....So he launched mass production of religious and educational literature.... "


Strategies of Constructing a Group Identity:
the Sectarian Community of the Subbotniki in the Staniza Novoprivolnaia
Article by Sergey Shtyrkov, Folklore, Vol 28, Dec. 2004, page 91
STAVROPOL, RUSSIA — L'vov and Panchenko assist Shtyrkov with 14 hours of interviews with Subbotnik elders taped in September 2000. 300 Subbotniki resettled from Azerbaijan to this village where Molokans also live. They call themselves: "Subbotniki", "Russians of the Mosaic Law" or "people of the Mosaic Law", not Jews.

Jews and Subbotniks: History of impact and stereotypes of perception
 Paper by A. L'vov, presented July 24, 2002, at the 7th EAJS 2002 Congress:
"Jewish Studies and the European Academic World"
Abstract — My paper deals with a religious sect appeared in Russia at the end of the 18th — beginning of the 19th c.. Soon this sect was widespread among Russian peasantry. The sectarians were called ‘zhidovstvuyushchiye’ (Judaizers) or Subbotniks in different official documents. They identify themselves with Jews, seek to be in touch with Jews and to read the Jewish religious literature in Russian and in Hebrew. A few of the sectarians have been adopted by Jews, and a few of the sectarian congregations have preserved a specific ethno-religious identity: neither Russian nor Jewish. They consider themselves as pupils of Jews and many Jews came to Subbotniks’ communities as teachers. This sort of inter-ethnic relations looks like a Jewish messianic ideal, but in reality there are many difference between them. In particular the teachers of Subbotniks were those Jews who happened to come to Central Russia, not only Rabbis and devotees. The ideal model and real contact experience interaction have been reflected in some folklore texts collected during several expeditions in recent years. My investigation considers these texts in historical and ethnological perspectives.

Иудействовать и молоканить недозволено
или об особенностях народной герменевтики
Страница Александра Львова
“Judaizers and Molokans are Unlawful”
or, About the Features of the National Germenevtiki
Article by Alexander L’L'vov — (To be translated from Russian.)

Геры и субботники — «талмудисты» и «караимы»  
Страница Александра Львова
Gery and Subbotniks — “Talmudists and Karaimy” (DOC)
Article by Alexandr L’vov — (Translated from Russian.)

Русские иудействующие: проблемы, источники и методы исследования
  Страница Александра Львова
Russian Judaizers: Problems, sources and methods of research
Article by Alexander L’vov — (To be translated from Russian.)
Subbotniki Beliefs and Religious Practices in 19th Century Russia

Personal Reminiscences and Impressions of historian N. Kostomarov while exile in Saratov as published in  The Russian Peasantry: Their Agrarian Condition, Social Life and Religion by S Stepniak, 1905
(See section starting on bottom of page 324}
" ... At last I was introduced ... to a Sabbatarian teacher ...In his religious views {he} was a strict Unitarian. He recognized in Jesus Christ a great prophet, a man inspired by God, as Isaiah and others had been. He believed in his miracles, and even in his resurrection, but emphatically rejected the dogma of his divinity. .... Of the Jewish law he recognized only the written one. The posterior superstructure of Judaism was exceedingly distasteful to him. He called the Talmud 'a collection of foolish ravings.' .... "

Miscellaneous References to Origins of the Subbotniki

The Ukrainian Stundists and Russian Jews: a collaboration of evangelical peasants with Jewish intellectuals in late imperial Russia
Paper by Sergei Zhuk (Ball State University) presented by at the 5th International Postgraduate Conference held at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, 2008
“A return to the Hebraic origins of the Christian faith and an emphasis on the Jewish roots of Christian theology was a prominent feature of the entire European Reformation. From medieval times Russian religious radicals shared the same interest in the Judaic religious background of the first Christian communities described in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. So-called ‘Judaizers’ (‘Zhidovstvuiushchie’) of medieval Russia emphasized the Judaic traditions of their Christian beliefs, including the celebration of the Sabbath rather than Christian Sunday. Later on, during the eighteenth century in central provinces of European Russia, their ideas and religious practices laid a foundation to the religious movement of ‘Subbotniki’ (‘Sabbatarians’), who changed their holiday from Sunday to Saturday, introduced circumcision and denied the universal authority of the Orthodox Church hierarchy.. ... ”

Sekstanstvo (Sectarian) Bodies: Judaizing Sects 
A classification of sectarian bodies that appears on the The Byzantine Forum - Discussing the Christian East sponsored by the Byzantine Catholic Church in America.  posted on July 13, 2008.
“Judaizing Sects describes the bodies that rejected trinitarianism and looked to the Old Testament for inspiration in formulating their dogma, doctrine, and praxis. .... While the labels attached to these sects suggest influence by Jews or an effort to turn their adherents toward Judaism, most adherents had little or no real-life exposure to the religious observances of the Jews, and, instead, relied on the Bible as a guidebook to craft a religious (and sometimes secular) lifestyle that was reminiscent of such. ... ”

A Crash Course on the Subbotniki
Article by Anne Herschman in Kulanu, Volume 9, Number 3, Autumn 2002, page 13. (PDF)
“...there are now about 10,000 to 15,000 Subbotniki left in the Former Soviet Union. Most of them are elderly and they are unfortunately a dying breed. There is a community that lives in Yitav, the Jordan valley (Israel), which has about 30 families. ... ”

Where Is the True Church? Information on Churches and Sectarianism
Part II: Sects and Heresies in Russia, by Bishop Alexander (Mileant)
"Another secret sect was 'Jewish-like.' ... The preaching of Skaria attracted many people ... this sect was outlawed and its followers were scattered into various prisons. From surviving members of this sect grew a new sect under the name of "Saturday People." [who]... appeared in the 18th century; they celebrated Saturday, instead of Sunday and acknowledged only the Old Testament. Some even practiced circumcision according to Jewish tradition. Emperor Nicholas I banished them all to the Caucasus [sic] Mountain region."

Subbotniki
 By Herman Rosenthal, S. Hurwitz in
The Jewish Encyclopedia.com		 Judaizing Heresy (zhidovstvu-yushchaya yeres)
By Kaufmann Kohler, and Herman Rosenthal in
The Jewish Encyclopedia.com
Judaizers
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology		 Subbotniks
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judaizers
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia

The Sabbatarian Context

General Background Information on Sabbatarianism
The term Sabbatarian generally refers Christians who observe the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday rather than Sunday and/or those who follow of the Mosaic laws and traditions as a dominant part of the group's religious practices and observances. This section of the Subbotniki Information Exchange web site is dedicated to exploring and understanding general information relating to Sabbatarianism in order to place the Subbotniki within this context.

The weekly Sabbath: is it to be Saturday or Sunday? From the ReligiousTolerance.org website managed by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance

Since the name or label given to the Subbotniki is derived from the Russian word for Saturday to highlight the difference in their observance of the Sabbath from the Russian Orthodox Church, this web article provides a useful background perspective on this distinguishing issue of religious observance.
" ...There appears to be no consensus on whether Jesus, his disciples, or apostles celebrated the Lord's Day on Sunday. There seems to be no internal evidence that would justify the Christian church changing the day from that commanded in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).  However, in later centuries, moving from Saturday to Sunday certainly was beneficial if for no other reason than to improve the security of Christians by distancing Christianity from Judaism in the eyes of the government..."



5. Subbotniki Around the World
Armenia
  
  • Sevan (formerly know as Yelenovka)  [north shore of Lake Sevan, population 23 in 2001]

Highlanders - A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory
Book by Yo'av Karny, New York, 2000  Item added September 6, 2011

In Highlanders, Yo'av Karny offers a better understanding of a region described as a "museum of civilizations," where breathtaking landscapes join with an astounding human diversity. Karny has spent many months among members of some of the smallest ethnic groups on earth, all of them living in the grim shadow of an unhappy empire.

This journey included visits in 1992 and 1994 with the the Subbotniki community living in Yelenovka (now called Sevan), Armenia.

"They were all ethnic Russians, with Russian looks and Russian names, they spoke only Russian, and their prayer books were exclusively in Russian. The entire scene would have been indistinguishable from that of any other group of peasants gathered in a Russian Orthodox church on a Sunday – but not for the fact that the day was Saturday, and no crucifix or icons of Russian saints were to be seen, and the man and women prayed only to the father, never to the son."


The Last of the Saturday People
Article by Frank Brown, The Jerusalem Report. Nov. 19, 2001. pg. 72
SEVAN, Armenia — "After 200 years, ...remaining in Sevan are 23 elderly Subbotniks"

Jews in Armenia:The Hidden Diaspora (PDF)
Thesis/article by Vartan Akchyan
Summary of page 83: “The People of the Sabbath” relocated in the 1730s from central Russia (Tambov, Saratov, and Voronezh) to build their own town of Yelenovka, now Sevan, on Lake Sevan. This was 100 years before Molokans and Doukhobors came. Their beliefs are based only on the Torah though they are ethnically and linguistically Russian. Ancestors had their own synagogue, rabbi, and prayer books which were translated from Hebrew to Russian. Their song melodies are similar to Molokan-Jumpers.”

Jews in Armenia: The Hidden Diaspora (link to film site with purchase information)
Thesis/film by Vartan Akchyan 2002, DVD/video, 25 minutes, $46
History and existence of the Jewish community in Armenia.Made in the summer of 2001 in Armenia, Israel, and the US. — Includes 3.5 minutes of interviews and services with the Subbotnik congregation and leaders in Sevan, Armenia (formerly: Yelenovka village). Subtitles: English, Russian, Hebrew, Armenian, English
Small community in Armenia strives to preserve its heritage
"Round the Jewish World" article by Yasha Levine, JTA.  Sept 7, 2006.
SEVAN, Armenia — "Mikhail Zharkov, the 76-year-old leader of Armenia’s tiny Subbotnik community, says only 13* of the 30,000 people living in his small alpine town of Sevan are Subbotniks. There are three men and 10 women, and all are nearing the age of 80." [*Down from 23 in 2001, see above.]
Australia

Researching Family History in Subbotniki Communities of Kemerovo or Bolotnoy, Russia
 
Brisbane, Queensland Australia — "My name is Olga Savina-Taylor.... I would love to ask anyone who knows any ... details about the Subbotniki community in Kemerovo, or in Bolotnoye please to let me know. Also any personal accounts on travelling through Kirghiz Steppes to reach Siberia would be much appreciated......" See full article for more details


Azerbaijan

  • Privolnoe & Navtlug [south], Kuba [north]

Expedition to Azerbaijan in June 1997
Article by V.A.Dymshits — Petersburg Judica.  Analysis of 2 Jewish-like villages in Azerbaijan — 1997

Improtex Travel - a private group tour operator in Azerbaijan offering ethnographic excursion in settlements of former Russian immigrants-sectarians: Chukhur Yurd, Hilmilli and Astrakhanovka / Gizmeydan / - Molokans, and also in Nagarakhana / Maryevka, Kirovka / - Subbotniks and baptists. 


Highlanders - A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory
Book by Yo'av Karny, New York, 2000   Item added September 6, 2011

In Highlanders, Yo'av Karny offers a better understanding of a region described as a "museum of civilizations," where breathtaking landscapes join with an astounding human diversity. Karny has spent many months among members of some of the smallest ethnic groups on earth, all of them living in the grim shadow of an unhappy empire.

This journey included a 1995 visit with the the Subbotniki community living in Privvonoye, Azerbaijan.

"The Subbotniks of the Caucasus were by no means a cohesive group. Having come to life spontaneously, they often evolved independently of each other, at times entirely unaware of each other’s existence. Accordingly, their degree of immersion in the new faith, or renunciation of the old varied. The Subbotniks of Yelenovka {Armenia – see above} remained staunchly Russian, and as a result were often confused with the Molokans or even referred to as a Molokan subgroup. Those of Privolnoye moved farther:  there the division was not between Subbotniks and Molokans but between Subbotniks and geyrim (Hebrew for “coverts’) – that is, Subbotniks who decided to go all the way to Judaism. Their embrace of Jewish law went beyond the Bible to include Talmudic law, and in some cases it led to emigration to Palestine. The geyrim I met, however, were Jewish only in a religious sense." 



Село Привольное в нашей памяти (in Russian) Web site Links:  Items added July 25, 2011
Privolnoye village as we remember it (Rough translation into English)
Includes personal video of a walk through the village of Privolnoye in 2007 including a visit to the cemetery/
 

Improtex Travel - a private group tour operator in Azerbaijan offering ethnographic excursion in settlements of former Russian immigrants-sectarians: Chukhur Yurd, Hilmilli and Astrakhanovka / Gizmeydan / - Molokans, and also in Nagarakhana / Maryevka, Kirovka / - Subbotniks and baptists. 

Belarus

  • Kosachevka, Rodion and Kostyukovka, Yekaterina: Two villages that were once in Belarus, Mogilovskaya Oblast, Klimovicheskiye Rayon. Now in Russia, Smolenskaya Oblast Roslavl Rayon.

The Ageyev Family
Web link contributed site by Ilan Guy (Ageyev), Ashdod, Israel
"I am a descendant of a Russian family who converted to Judaism in 1921 and moved to Palestine together with a few more families. I am very much interested to investigate the reasons and the events which made my grandfather Rodion Trafimovich Ageyev decide to make such a change in his life. I have created this Internet site which tells the story of my Russian family."
Iran (Persia)

  • Rahmatabad (to 1950)

Light Through the Shadows: The True Life Story of Michael Simonivitch Beitzakhar
Excerpts about Subbotniki and Molokans in Persia/Iran
Translated and Edited by Daniel V. Kubrock [from Beitzakhar's Russian manuscript] — 1953.
Israel
  • Beit Shemesh [20 miles west of Jerusalem]
  • Hula Valley (to 1980s) [south end, 10 miles north of Sea of Galilee, 2 miles west of Golan Heights]
  • Tel Adashim
  • Yesod Hama'alah (early 1900s) [Galilee]
  • Yitav [6 miles north of Jericho]

Russian Jews who don't drop out (PDF)  
Article by Carl Alpert in The New Jersey Jewish Standard— July 31, 1987
"In recent years only two out of every ten Jews leaving the Soviet Union have been coming to Israel. The remainder drop out at Vienna and proceed for the most part to the US. There is one exception to this. The descendants of Russian converts to Juda­ism, some of them third- or fourth- generation Jews, who succeed in getting out of Russia come straight to Israel - all of them. There has not been a single case drop-out, among the dozens who have reached this country, and all of them appear to have been absorbed and integrated successfully."

Cheese to Please
Article by Ava Carmel in The Jerusalem Post — Jerusalem, Aug 9, 1991
"Ten years ago the second generation moshavniks would never have imagined that one day they would be producing authentic French cheeses. Avi's grandparents, who came from Russia and Yemen, had the honor of being among the first "mixed" marriages in Israel. [Michal Brakin] is a physiotherapist, whose Sobotnik grandparents walked to the Holy Land from their native Russia, then converted to Judaism."

A time to remember: The Subbotniki of Russia (PDF)
Article by David C Gross in The Jewish Week — NY, Aug. 23-29, 1991
"Among the hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews who have immigrated to Israel in recent years are a purportedly tiny number of descendants of the Subbotniki, a sect of Russians dating back to the 18th century....Some Subbotniki a century ago joined the early Zionist pioneers in Galilee colonies; over time they were completely absorbed by the Jewish  population. Probably the same thing will happen to the new Subbotniki arrivals in modem Israel."

An Early Russian Immigrants' Farm: Sobotniks Brave Malaria in Hila Swamp
Article by Aviva Bar-Am in The Jerusalem Post — Jerusalem, Sept. 26, 1991

Rejected
Article by Yossi Klein Halevi in The Jerusalem Report — Aug. 21, 1997
Subbotniks were hated and beaten in Russia, but after moving to Israel their Jewishness was questioned.

Abandoned in the Jordan Valley
Article by Ari Ben Goldberg in The Jerusalem Report.— Nov. 19, 2001
Subbotniki were moved from Russia to Israel and placed in the West Bank where the Palestinians hate them and they get no help from the Israeli government.

The Dubrovin Farm: The Sobotniks
Gems in Israel: Spotlighting Israel's Lesser Known Tourist Attractions and Travel Sites, the Gems. Map. April/May 2002
SOHULA VALLEY — “The Dubrovin family came .. from the Astrakhan region of Russia in the early 1900's. They were Sobotniks (Hebrew: sobotnikim) ... After their conversion, they took Hebrew names; ...Yo'av and his wife, Rachel. They dug a well, began farming the land and were quite successful, ... most of their children succumbed to malaria from the nearby Hula swamps. ... Yo av, was 104 at the time of his death — and the family never left the site. The last family member to live on the farm, Yitzhak, gave the farm to the Jewish National Fund, which restored the site and opened it as a tourist attraction [in 1986]. There is a reconstruction of the Dubrovin's living rooms, kitchen, ... An audiovisual program in English. ... a working potter, a blacksmith display and a non-kosher restaurant, ...”
Joyce Bivin, a Molokan-Armenian who lives in Israel reports:
“Around the 1920's, a group of Subbotnikim came to Israel [from Russia] and settled in the Hula Valley.” This is the farm of one family.
She also says:
“Years ago when I shopped at a certain supermarket, nearly all the cashiers were Russian and lived in Beit Shemesh (...30 minutes west of Jerusalem). I asked one of the girls if they knew about the Molokans (some have vague ideas) and after I described who they were, she said there were a group of Subbotnikim living in Beit Shemesh and described them having blond hair (why that was unusual, I don't know as most of the Russian immigrants are blond anyway). I was very excited to hear this but never followed up not knowing which section of Beit Shemesh they lived. ... I'll start asking again.”

Saving Russia’s Subbotnik Jews
Jewish World — May 22, 2005:
"Over a dozen Subbotnik Jews from [Vysoki, Voronezh] moved to Israel last month and settled in the Beit Shemesh area outside of Jerusalem."

Panel: Bring in 10,000 Subbotniks
Article by Nina Gilbert in The Jerusalem Post — June 21, 2005
Members of the Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee called on Interior Minister Ophir Paz-Pines on Monday to use his authority to allow into the country some 10,000 "Subbotniks"

From Astrakhan to Galilee, by Yoav Regev, published in Hebrew by Ahiasaf, 2009  Items added August 22, 2011

KurakinA review of this book appeared on booknik.ru

"One day in September 1997, Israeli news began with a terrible message. During the operation, Marines in Lebanon, IDF, Israeli commandos approached the subject of terrorists, "Hezbollah", hit a minefield. In the explosion and died in a shootout twelve men, including commander of the operation, Colonel Yossi Kurakin. The unusual name of the officer who had displayed in his last fight exceptional heroism, has attracted worldwide attention. It quickly became clear that Kurakin - comes from a family of Russian subbotniks who joined the Jewish people, and moved to Eretz Yisrael more than a hundred years ago."

"Of the 29 first families in Galilee, four were Gere families (among them part of the family Kurakins) in Beit-Gan lived thirteen representatives of Russian families (the other branch Kurakins, Nekrasov, Egorova, Filippova, Sazonova, Grodnyanskie, Dubrovin and others); .... They were known as hardworking, stubborn in a good and brave people. ..... But the main thing - to realize the dream of the old Kurakin: he and his descendants have become part of the Jewish people.."
 
Poland

The Jewish Community in Subbotniki
by Kazimierz Niechwiadowicz translated by Jan Sekta
Russia
  • Astrakhan', Golossow (1918)
  • Astrakhan', Liman [north shore of Caspian Sea]
  • Bondarevo / Iudino [Khakasiia, 1800s]
    Borisogleb Raion     [Voronezh, 1964]
  • Essentuki and Prohlodnensk [Caucasus before WWII]
  • Il'inka [population 100, Voronezh province, 1991]
  • Staniza Novoprivolnaia [population: 300, Stavropol' territory]
  • Rasskazovo and Michurinsk [Tambov, 1959]
  • Staraia Zima [Siberia before WWII]
  • Volgograd Region [Leninsk, Tsarev, Zaplavnoye]
  • Vysokii [population: 800, Voronezh province, 2007]

History of Religious Sectarianism in Russia (1860s-1917),
A. I. Klibanov. 1966. (translated 1979)
"The population of was primarily sectarian — Molokan, Subbotnik, and Kristovover — and this village had a reputation of being 'the sectarian capitol'." (pages 397-8) "My encounter with Subbotniki in Rasskazovo Raion of Tambov Oblast during 1959 and in Borisogleb Raion of Voronezh Oblast during 1964 confirmed my opinion that we are dealing with followers of Judaism who give primary importance to its rituals and customary side." (page 46)

Hebrews of the Russian Steppes   
Article by Eliezer Schindler in the United Israel World Bulletin, Union, NY Mar-Apr, 1947. The writer of this article, Eliezer Schindler, while a prisoner­ of war during the first World War, came in close con­tact with many converts to Judaism of the Kirghiz Steppes in whose midst he spent the greater part of his forty months in Russia.
"The majority ... reside in the Kirghiz-Steppes along the banks of the Volga and the Caspian Sea. ... steppes of the Saratow-Astrakhan provinces. ... the Caucasus and in Siberia. Nearly all ... are agriculturists, smiths, carpenters and plumbers. Only a few are merchants and traders."

The Last Jews of Il'inka
The Jerusalem Report — Feb. 14, 1991
VORONEZH, RUSSIA — "...about 100 mostly elderly Jewish residents; within a decade, only the graves will remain of this unusual Jewish community." Maps added


Daas Torah - an online forum to clarify some of the issues of Jewish Identity.
Subbotnik Jews of Ilyinka are Jews   The particular forum thread started on February 11, 2009 explores pro and counter arguments to the principle that all Russian Subbotniki are Jewish and therefore deserve to right to emigrate to Israel. Some sample comments:
"......I humbly suggest that in light of this, your headline to the effect that "Subbotniks are not Jewish" warrants correction."
......If some Subbotnik's aren't Jewish, such as those in Vysoky, and some Subbotnik's might be Jewish, such as the Jews of Ilyinka, then clearly Subbotnik is not a term that implies Jewishness."
.... Subbotniks is to general a term, since there are different groups of Subbotniks. So the title should read "Some/most/many Subbotniks are not Jewish" or something along those lines..."

Субботники (Иудействующие)  Added Sept. 27, 2005
Авраам Шмулевич, Марк Кипнис — КЕЭ, том 8, колонка 635-639
(To be translated from Russian.)

Современное Состояние Сектантства в Советской России,
English: A modern Condition of Sectarianism in the Soviet Russia,
Н.А. Струве. ("Вестник РСХД", 1960 г.)  (To be translated from Russian.) by N.A.Struve. (Bulletin RSHD, 1960); translated in Religion in the USSR, Munich, July 1960, Series 1, No. 59
Before WWII Subbotnik worship was marked in Siberia (Staraia Zima), in the Caucasus (Essentuki, Prohlodnensk) and in the Western Kazakhstan. Subbotniki exist in a small numbers in Tambovshchin (30 in the city of Rasskazov, 15 in Michurinsk). The number of Subbotniki was not great before the Revolution (37,173 in 1900).

Jewish community of Astrakhan
FJC—The Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
ASTRAKHAN, RUSSIA — “... a large group of Gers ... Molokan Subbotniks... who .. came to adopt Jewish practices ...converted to Judaism. ... The Gers owned a mill and lived prosperously ... By 1880, there were ... about 2000 Gers. In 1905, Gers established a prayer house and a mikvah. ... In the late 1940s, many Gers suffered from the state repression and their prayer house was closed in the 1950s. The Gers reside in the village of Liman until this very day and sometimes visit the Ashkenazi Synagogue. Despite their relative poverty, they always bring gifts for the synagogue. ..”

Субботний исход: В начале прошлого века жители Заплавного, Царева и Ленинска уходили в Палестину, недела городa, 16 декабря 2004
(Link contributed by Sergey Petrov — Dept. of Religious Studies, Univ. of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in Mar. 2006. Annotated map site contributed by Ilan Guy (Ageyev), Ashdod, Israel)
(Original site no longer available; Translation in-progress)
The Saturday Outcome:  Article in Nedelya-Gorodo Newspaper, Dec. 14, 2004
In the beginning of the last century inhabitants Zaplavnogo, Tsareva and Leninsk in the Volgograd region emigrated to Palestine where the Mesiah was expected soon.

What is happening in Misrad ha Pnim (again)? 
Blog by Paul about previous article, Feb. 17, 2005
"..the Ministry's attitude on this issue puzzling. It raises, of course, the philosophical-ideological question of the attitude of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel to not-quite-Jews who really, really, want to be part of our nation, our people and our religion ..."

"This team of academics, educators and rabbinical figures "reaches out to 'lost Jews' and assists them in coming to terms with their heritage and identity in a spirit of tolerance and understanding."
The Shavei content is presented on this separate page so that the organizations work
can all be viewed in context.
Much of the content on this sub-page highlights the groups advocacy work
with the Subbotniki living in  VYSOKII, RUSSIA

Russia's Subbotnik Jews get rabbi

 
Article appearing on Ynetnews.com on December 9, 2010
"Rabbi Shlomo Zelig Avrasin 's mission to focus primarily on community of Vysoky in southern Russia, to include teaching Hebrew and Judaism, organizing prayer services and conducting range of diverse educational activities for Jewish youth"


Click here to go to major sub-page containing multiple articles concerning Subbotniki in this region of Russia (including the Russian Far East)
Subbotniki founded Iudino village (now Bondarev), Khakassi territory. Maps, 3 translated articles, 1 book excerpt about 1800s settlers from Voronezh, including the most famous Subbotnik: Timofei M. Bondarev who wrote a book, corresponded with Tolstoy, and was honored with the village name and in 2005 with a monument.



Ukraine

The Ukrainian Stundists and Russian Jews: a collaboration of evangelical peasants with Jewish intellectuals in late imperial Russia
Paper by Sergei Zhuk (Ball State University) presented by at the 5th International Postgraduate Conference held at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, 2008
“...At the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, the Subbotniki movement spread to the south, to the new regions of Russian colonisation in southern Ukraine and northern Caucasus, where their ideas of ‘Moses law’ and ‘Hebrew rituals’ affected local Molokans and other religious dissenters. .....Some Molokans in Ukraine accepted Sabbatarian religious practices, which transformed the entire Molokan movement..."

Uruguay


Russians in Uruguay
Since 1900 hundreds of thousands of Russians fled their homeland and resettled around the world. Many were members of religious groups that rejected the official Orthodox faith and were harassed and punished. This is a summary index of the ethno-religious groups that relocated to Uruguay from Russia — New Israel, Molokans, Jumpers (Maksimists), Sabbatarians, Sons of Freedom, Old Believers, and German Mennonite Brethren. Each has separate villages and religions.
Uzbekistan

  • Kibrai district, Tashkent region

UZBEKISTAN: Believers are not even allowed to visit each other 
Article by Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service — Oct. 27, 2005
"The Subbotniki live in the Kibrai district of Tashkent region [capital of Uzbekistan], 15 kilometers (10 miles) north-east of the capital, and every week police come to community members and warn them that it is illegal to hold meetings in private apartments. On 9 August [2005] the police even forbade the Subbotniki from holding a religious ritual for one of the community's members who had just died."
Note from John Kinahan, Assistant Editor, Oslo, Norway:
"We are a Christian web and e-mail initiative to report on threats and actions against the religious freedom of all people, whatever their religious affiliation, in an objective, truthful and timely manner. The name Forum 18 comes from Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we are based in Oslo, Norway. We have been mainly concentrating up to now on the states of the former Soviet Union... I would be happy to arrange for you to receive our weekly e-mail news summary every Friday."

6. Other Subbotniki-related Reference Web Sites


Subbotniks on English version of Wikipedia.com

Subbotniks on French version of Wikipedia.com

Russian History Encyclopedia: Judaizers on Answers.com

7. Contact

NOTE: The views represented by the content of external links contained or referenced on this web site are not necessarily those of the Subbotniki.net web site coordinators but are included only to present the wide range of views surrounding the Subbotniki so that all this information can be viewed in context.
William A. Aldacushion
Fairfax County, Virginia  USA
E-mail: billald@attglobal.net