Mennonites in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union

A new account that for the first time covers the Tsarist and Soviet periods across the entire Mennonite experience in Russia and Ukraine. An original approach written in an enlightening manner that features both the triumphs and sufferings of Mennonites including an original examination of issues of faith. A major contribution of interest to a wide number of readers, academic and non-academic. - James Urry, Author of None but Saints and Mennonites, Politics, and Peoplehood Friesen has written the most thorough 200+ year story of growth and transformation of Russian Mennonites. Relying on the most lasting and up-to-date research, it surpasses anything written in the past 50 years. Using rich archival source and oral histories in Russian, German, and English, Friesen demonstrates how a minority church tradition found strategies for survival, while helping shape modernity.. - Walter Sawatsky, Professor Emeritus of Church History and Mission, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary This is a welcome new study of so-called Russian Mennonites from their early Dutch origins through to the end of the Soviet period. Through a masterful narrative that draws on an evolving historiography, Friesen considers how this particular branch of Mennonites was transformed by the political, economic, and religious contexts in which they lived over four centuries. This will be the definitive reference for years to come. - Marlene Epp, Professor Emeritus, Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo