The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites to Central Asia, 1880-1884, Fred Richard Belk, 1976

Oklahoma, and the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. These Central Asian Mennonites joined large and successful colonies in Harvey, Marion, and McPherson counties in Kansas, settled in and near Beatrice, Ne- braska, and established farms around Bessie, Oklahoma. Since then, many new communities have been established by people going out from these “‘parent’’ colonies. Consequently, the small bands of Central Asian Mennonites have influence in Mennonite circles that exceeds their numerical strength. In fact, of the 350,000 Mennonites living in North America today, a substantial minority are descendants of the Central Asian pioneers. Unique Significance of the Great Trek The significance of the Great Trek, however, does not reside primarily in the subsequent fate of its participants in Central Asia or America but in the light it casts upon the unique nature of 194 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites Mennonite society and religious convictions. In Central Asia, this group of sincere Christians endured great sacrifices for their con- victions and the truth as they saw it. These truths and convictions, they believed, could not be comprehended within the materialistic context of the world around them. They were completely otherworldly in outlook. If this had not been the case, the dangers, hardships, and turmoil would have ended their pilgrimage far sooner than they did. Keeping in mind this otherworldly emphasis in their lives, one can identify three minor and two major aspects of this stirring episode which explain its ultimate failure. The first minor aspect is the fact that the Mennonites were root- ed in the soil; they believed that God had made them to be an agrarian people. Not only did they believe this out of faith, they also thoroughly enjoyed the cultivation of good land as a source of liveli- hood. But Central Asia was a poor choice for the realization of this goal. Time and time again they found the region sterile and unpro- ductive. The very heart of their agrarian way of life was continually threatened no matter where they wandered. Second, in seeking a place where they could live unrestricted in a closed community, they also wanted independence in the areas of education, religion, politics, and economics. Gradually but decisively, they began to realize that they would never gain a satisfactory de- gree of autonomy in any of these important areas. Wherever they were, whether in Turkestan, Bukhara, or Khiva, they were re- stricted in one or more of these areas. In fact, the education of their children became even more inadequate and their faith diluted, poli- ticians used them for personal gain, and the life savings of most of the participants were exhausted in the struggle to survive. Third, an element that so capriciously worked against them was the fact that they always considered themselves to be German for- eigners. Unfortunate for them was the fact that Germany was co