The Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Molotschna

Bullertime has been quiet for the past two years, though I have continued to read and research and reflect on all things Buller and Mennonite as often as possible. My current reading is Orlando Figes’s A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891–1924, which offers a detailed and fair account of the forces that led first to the February 1917 revolution and then, in October, to the Bolshevik coup d’état that resulted in the eventual formation of the Soviet Union.

Fascinating as that history may be, current events demand even greater attention. As everyone knows by now, Russian forces have invaded and taken possession of certain areas of the Ukraine, the country in which two large colonies of Mennonites—Chortitza and Molotschna—lived throughout the nineteenth and first decades of the twentieth centuries. Of course, the larger Ukrainian region was part of the Russian Empire at that time, having been added to Russia’s holdings during the reign of Catherine.

Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes reading this blog knows that our family came from the Molotschna colony, which was located in the steppe region north of the Sea of Azov. Watching the news tonight, I wondered: Have Russian forces taken control of our family’s former home, or is it still under Ukrainian control?

The map immediately below outlines in red the rough (!) boundaries of the former Molotschna colony. Note particularly that the city of Tokmak was just outside of the colony, toward the northwest corner; the town of Chernihivka was on the northeastern boundary.

Major cities in the general region include Zaporizhia (site of the nuclear power plant where fighting took place), which is approximately 47 miles north-northwest of Alexanderwohl/Svitle, where some of our family settled. Mariupol' is 77 miles east of Alexanderwohl/Svitle, and Berdyans'k is 49 miles to the southwest; both cities have featured in reports of the invasion. Finally, Melitopol' is a mere 28 miles to the southwest of Alexanderwohl/Svitle.

A map published by USA Today indicates that the area of Molotschna colony could be under Russian control. The pink area around Melitopol' (indicating Russian-controlled territory) appears to extend far enough north and east to include Molotschna.

The Institute for the Study of War’s 26 February update lends further credence to this conclusion, as it reports that “ Russian forces in Crimea are advancing directly north towards Zaprozhia, entering Velyka Bilozerka and Tokmak—approximately 80km south of Zaprozhia—as of 3pm local time on February 26.” The fact that Russian forces had entered (and presumably occupied) Tokmak would strongly imply that they likely control the surrounding territory, which would include the area of the Molotschna colony.

I do not mean to suggest that Russian soldiers are present within the boundaries of the former Mennonite colony, only that the area of is presently under Russian control as Putin’s forces push north.