Molokans in Armenia

Tsarist authorities began resettling Russian sectarians to the Caucasus in 1802, and by the mid 19th century there was a significant Molokan presence in Armenia.

The Molokans, founded by Semeon Uklein,[1] originated with the Doukhobor sect in the 18th century, and rejected the ritualism and hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church and the feudal system of Imperial Russia.

[2] In 1802 Tsar Alexander I ordered the resettlement of Russian sectarians to the Caucasus; regions like Lori, Lake Sevan, Dilijan, and Zangezur were chosen for their similar climate to Russia.

[3] Molokans and other sectarians were deemed particularly harmful by Nicholas I, and the goal of resettlement was to isolate them from the Orthodox Christians and to populate new areas of the Empire.

Transcaucasia was declared a viceregency and led from 1844 by Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, who focused efforts on resettling Molokans in Eastern Armenia.

[3] While the Molokans were viewed as heretics by the Tsarist authorities, they perpetuated Russification policy in the Caucasus by aiding the Russian army in building hospitals, delivering supplies, and housing troops.

Advocacy for relocating to Persia was centered in Nikitino, and representatives unsuccessfully attempted to gain permission from the Persian consulate and Soviet authorities.

Some resisted this program, and preferred to migrate to urban areas; in Armenia, some Molokans resentful of the Soviet government formed a schismatic group called the Maksimisty.

[20] Compared to other groups of Russian religious dissidents in the Caucasus, the Molokan community in Armenia is likely the only one with youth who practice their faith actively.

The Doukhobors and Subbotniks in Georgia and Azerbaijan are few in number, in large part due to emigration to Russia, Israel, the United States, and elsewhere.