Maps of Samara Mormonism

June 29th, 2001

Click on the map thumbnails to view full-screen versions.

A note about geography: Some place names in Russia changed during the Soviet era. Samara was renamed Kuybyshev in 1935 and reverted back to Samara in 1991. Other changes included Stavropol (became Tolyatti), Nikolaevsk (became Pugachev), and Simbirsk (became Ulyanovsk), all of which retain their Soviet-era names. The original Samara Province has been divided among the Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, and Orenburg oblasts, and the Republic of Tatarstan.

These maps show the location of "Mormon" villages according to contemporary Russian Orthodox observers. No doubt some villages were included in their lists on the basis of having mystical sectarians of any sort, but visits by Browning and Eliason and myself confirm that villagers can still readily identify the nickname "Mormon" as belonging to their cultural past.