THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

finished product, especially in terms of organization. It is thus not surprising that the translators were often forced to make choices between Friesen’s style and organization, and currently preferred usage. In most cases it was decided to retain the flavor and form of the original. It is the fervent hope of the Commission that the translation and publication of this, the most exhaustive study ever written on the Mennonite brotherhood in Russia, will stimulate and sustain a sense of historical awareness of the "acts and monuments" which have shaped the life of our people. Fresno, California On the 118th anniversary of the founding of the Mennonite Brethren Church Peter J. Klassen, Chairman Historical Commission of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches FOREWORD The nearly 200 year history of the Mennonites in Russia is still relatively unknown to historians today, including Mennonite historians who are not in that ethnic tradition. Because of linguistic, political, and geographical barriers it is hardly known even among the first generation descendants of the Mennonites from Russia now in the West. At the moment the field seems to belong primarily to those who emigrated from Russia, among whom interest in personal and group historical experi- ences has always been strong, and to a few Mennonite and other scholars. It seems to me, however, that we are on the threshold of a new era of both scholarly and lay interest in this field. A substantial number of monographs on specific settlements have appeared during the past five years, as have memoirs, biographies, and reminiscences, usually in modest publications or serialized in the German language Mennonite press. Tours to the USSR are stimulating renewed interest in the heritage. A number of younger Mennonite scholars have mastered the German and Russian languages and are engaged in promising research and writing. And now, particularly, the translation of this landmark work by a group of competent scholars working under the direction of Dr. J. B. Toews of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies at Fresno, has made available an abundance of documentary and interpretive material which will without doubt stimulate the research and writing of many others for years to come. For this, and simply for making the story available to those who do not read German or Russian, the translators of this volume have placed Mennonites, and others, deeply in their debt. P. M. Friesen was a remarkable man. His knowledge of Russian Mennonite history was phenomenal, as was his skill and patience in research. Small wonder then that the volume took twenty-five years to complete instead of two weeks as one of the brethren predicted, and that VI Friesen let it go to press very reluctantly even then, and immediately, though in ill health, began work on a supplement. How impoverished we would be in the loss of documents caused by war and revol