"History of the Tilebukhi" by Kirill Serebrenitskiy
[in Russian] Another insightful article by K. Serebrenitskiy regarding a Khlyst group in Samara Province.
Add comment June 22nd, 2006
Russian Mormons
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This section of the site houses research on the so-called "Russian Mormons" or "Samara Mormons", a small 19th century Christian sect originating in the Volga region of the Russian Empire. Although they are unrelated to the more well-known American Mormon movement, the name "Mormon" has survived in folk Russian religion and been applied to various groups throughout time.
Publications
Primary Sources
"Mormon" Cross
Maps
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"The Dubovo-Umyotskay Kingdom" by Kirill Serebrenitskiy
[in Russian] A detailed account of the Khlyst movement in Duboviy-Umyot, a village near Samara identified as containing Mormons in the 1800's. Mr. Serebrenitskiy's articles (published online in the "Ethnicity and Culture" journal) are a major source for ethnographic knowledge in Samara Province.
Add comment June 22nd, 2006
"Russian Religious Beliefs in the Samara Region" by Kirill Serebrenitskiy
[in Russian] An overview of the history and development of various faiths in the Samara region. Kirill Serebrenitskiy is a leading ethnographer of Samara Province.
Add comment June 22nd, 2006
Molokan Home Page
This excellent resource documents the Molokans, a native Russian religious movement that contributed to groups that were later called Russian Mormons. Maintained by A. J. Conovaloff. Click here to visit his site.
Add comment June 22nd, 2006
"Among the Heretics" by Donald Mackenzie Wallace
Donald Mackenzie Wallace travelled among the sectarians of the Samara Region during the 1870's. He documented the rise of Ivan Grigoriev's sect, a group later known to Orthodox priests as Mormons. Chapter 27 of his book Russia provides information and opinions about other related groups as well. Online book.
Add comment June 22nd, 2006
"Russian Saints" by Paul Rolly
Story of Lyubov Korol, daughter of a Russian Mormon who joined the LDS Church in 1996. Korol knew little of the Mormon faith of her parents and joined the LDS Church believing them to be one and the same. The author of the article also makes this assumption, but Korol's parents were likely Mormon refugees from Samara Oblast. Korol was originally from Omsk, not Minsk as the article states....
Continue Reading Add comment June 22nd, 2006
The Samara Eparchial Bulletin
The Bulletin represents the single most important primary source in analyzing the history and practices of the Russian Mormons. Published beginning in 1866 and discontinued with the onset of Bolshevik power after the 1918 issue, the Bulletin contains articles, news, and advertisements written by Orthodox priests from many parts of the Samara Eparchy (geographically equivalent to Samara Province)....
Continue Reading Add comment June 21st, 2006
"Misnamed Mormons" by Sara Noelle On
This Newsnet (BYU student newspaper) article describes the popular interest in the Russian sect. The article is available online.
Add comment June 21st, 2006
"Russia's Other 'Mormons'" by Gary Browning and Eric Eliason
Professors Eliason and Browning incorporate their findings from research conducted in Russia in May 2000, comparing various accounts and making the first conclusions regarding the origin of Russian Mormonism. Published in BYU Studies, Volume 40, No. 1, 2001, pages 6-34. This journal is available online from BYU (Adobe PDF).
Add comment June 21st, 2006
"The Discovery of Native 'Mormon' Communities in Russia" by Tania Rands Lyon
Ms. Lyon's article recounts the rediscovery of Russian Mormonism by American Mormon missionaries and takes an insightful look into the earliest evidence of their existence. Article published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Volume 33, No. 1, Spring 2000, pages 1-24. Copies can be ordered online.
Add comment June 21st, 2006