Old Believers in Latin America. The village of Russian Old Believers Toborochi in Bolivia (27 photos) Russian Old Believer diaspora in Bolivia

He lives in a special dimension, where the connection between man and nature is unusually strong. In the vast list of amazing phenomena that travelers encounter in this incomprehensible, mysterious country, a significant position is occupied by Russian Old Believer settlements. The village of Old Believers in the middle of the South American selva is a real paradox, which does not prevent Russian “bearded men” from living, working and raising children here. It should be noted that they managed to arrange their lives much better than most of the indigenous Bolivian peasants who have lived in these parts for many centuries.

Historical reference

Russians are one of the ethnic communities of the South American Republic. In addition to family members of Russian embassy employees living in Bolivia, it includes about 2,000 descendants of Russian Old Believers.

Old Believers or Old Believers is the common name for several Orthodox religious movements that arose in Russia as a result of the rejection of church reforms by believers (XVII century). Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, the "Great Sovereign of All Rus'" from 1652 to 1666, started church reforms aimed at changing the ritual tradition of the Russian Church in order to unify it with the Greek Church. "Antichrist" transformations caused a split in the first, which led to the emergence of the Old Believers or Old Orthodoxy. Those dissatisfied with "Nikon's reforms" and innovations were united and headed by Archpriest Avvakum.

The Old Believers, who did not recognize the corrected theological books and did not accept changes in church rites, were subjected to severe persecution by the church and persecution by state authorities. Already in the XVIII century. many fled from Russia, at first they fled to Siberia and the Far East. Stubborn people irritated Nicholas II, and later the Bolsheviks.

The Bolivian Old Believer community was formed in stages, since Russian settlers arrived in the New World in “waves”.

The Old Believers began to move to Bolivia as early as the 2nd half of the 19th century, arriving in separate groups, but their massive influx occurred in the period 1920-1940. - in the era of post-revolutionary collectivization.

If the first wave of immigrants, attracted by fertile lands and the liberal policies of local authorities, came to Bolivia directly, then the second wave was much more difficult. First, during the years of the civil war, the Old Believers fled to neighboring Manchuria, where a new generation had time to be born. In China, the Old Believers lived until the early 1960s, until the “Great Cultural Revolution” broke out there, led by the “great pilot”, Mao Zedong. The Russians again had to run away from the construction of communism and the mass drive to the collective farms.

Some of the Old Believers moved to and. However, exotic countries, full of temptations, seemed to the orthodox Old Believers unsuitable for a righteous life. In addition, the authorities gave them lands covered with wild jungle, which had to be uprooted by hand. In addition, the soil had a very thin fertile layer. As a result, after several years of hellish labor, the Old Believers set off in search of new territories. Many settled in, someone left for the USA, someone went to Australia and Alaska.

Several families made their way to Bolivia, which was considered the wildest and most backward country on the continent. The authorities gave the Russian wanderers a warm welcome and also gave them plots overgrown with jungle. But the Bolivian soil was quite fertile. Since then, the Old Believer community in Bolivia has become one of the largest and strongest in Latin America.

Russians quickly adapted to South American living conditions. The Old Believers endure even the exhausting tropical heat with firmness, despite the fact that it is not permissible for them to open their bodies excessively. The Bolivian selva has become a small homeland for the Russian "bearded men", and the fertile land provides everything necessary.

The country's government willingly meets the needs of the Old Believers, allocating land for their large families and providing soft loans for the development of agriculture. The settlements of the Old Believers are located far from large cities on the territory of the tropical departments (Spanish LaPaz), (Spanish SantaCruz), (Spanish Cochabamba) and (Spanish Beni).

It is curious that, unlike communities living in other countries, Old Believers in Bolivia practically did not assimilate.

Moreover, being citizens of the republic, they still consider Russia to be their real homeland.

Lifestyle of the Old Believers in Bolivia

The Old Believers live in remote quiet villages, carefully preserving their way of life, but not rejecting the life rules of the world around them.

They traditionally do what their ancestors lived in Russia - agriculture and animal husbandry. Old Believers also plant corn, wheat, potatoes, sunflowers. Only in contrast to their distant cold homeland, here they still grow rice, soybeans, oranges, papayas, watermelons, mangoes, pineapples and bananas. Labor on the ground gives them a good income, so basically all the Old Believers are wealthy people.

As a rule, men are excellent entrepreneurs, who combine a peasant acumen with an incredible ability to capture and perceive everything new. So, in the fields of the Bolivian Old Believers, modern agricultural equipment with a GPS control system works (that is, the machines are controlled by an operator transmitting commands from a single center). But at the same time, the Old Believers are opponents of television and the Internet, they are afraid of banking operations, preferring to make all payments in cash.

A strict patriarchy prevails in the community of Bolivian Old Believers. The woman here knows her place. According to the laws of the Old Believers, the main purpose of the mother of the family is to preserve the hearth. It is unsuitable for a woman to flaunt herself, they wear dresses and sundresses to the toes, cover their heads, never use cosmetics. Some indulgence is allowed for young girls - they are allowed not to tie their heads with a scarf. All clothes are sewn and embroidered by the female part of the community.

Married women are forbidden to protect themselves from pregnancy, so Old Believer families traditionally have many children. Children are born at home, with the help of a midwife. Old Believers go to the hospital only in extreme cases.

But one should not think that Old Believer men are despots who tyrannize their wives. They also have to follow many unwritten rules. As soon as the first fluff appears on the young man’s face, he becomes a real man who, along with his father, is responsible for his family. Old Believers are usually not allowed to shave their beards, hence their nickname - "bearded men".

The Old Believer way of life does not provide for any secular life, reading "obscene" literature, cinema and entertainment events. Parents are very reluctant to let their children go to big cities, where, according to adults, there are a lot of “demonic temptations”.

Strict rules forbid the Old Believers to eat food bought in the store, and, moreover, visit public eating establishments. They usually only eat what they have grown and produced themselves. This setting does not apply only to those products that are difficult or simply impossible to obtain on your farm (salt, sugar, vegetable oil, etc.). Being invited to visit by local Bolivians, the Old Believers eat only food brought with them.

They do not smoke, do not chew coca, do not drink alcohol (the only exception is home-made mash, which they drink with pleasure on occasion).

Despite the external dissimilarity with the locals and the strict observance of traditions that are very different from Latin American culture, the Russian Old Believers never had conflicts with the Bolivians. They live amicably with their neighbors and understand each other perfectly, because all the Old Believers are fluent in Spanish.

Toborochi

How the life of the Old Believers in the country developed can be found by visiting the Bolivian village Toborochi(Spanish: Toborochi).

In the eastern part of Bolivia, 17 km from the city, there is a colorful village founded in the 1980s. Russian Old Believers who arrived here. In this village you can feel the real Russian spirit; here you can relax your soul from the bustle of the city, learn an ancient craft or just have a wonderful time among amazing people.

As a matter of fact, the Old Believer settlement in the open spaces of Bolivia is an unrealistic sight: a traditional Russian village of the late 19th century, which is surrounded not by birch groves, but by the Bolivian selva with palm trees. Against the backdrop of exotic tropical nature, a sort of fair-haired, blue-eyed, bearded Mikuly Selyaninovichs in embroidered shirts-kosovorotkas and in bast shoes are walking around their well-groomed possessions. And ruddy girls with wheaten braids below the waist, dressed in long-sleeved colorful sundresses, sing heartfelt Russian songs at work. Meanwhile, this is not a fairy tale, but a real phenomenon.

This is Russia, which we have lost, but which has been preserved far beyond the ocean, in South America.

Even today, this small village is not on the maps, and in the 1970s there was only impassable jungle. Toborochi consists of 2 dozen courtyards, quite distant from each other. Houses are not log, but solid, brick.

The families of the Anufrievs, Anfilofievs, Zaitsevs, Revtovs, Murachevs, Kalugins, Kulikovs live in the village. Men wear belted embroidered shirts; women - cotton skirts and dresses to the floor, and their hair is removed under the "shashmura" - a special headdress. The girls in the community are great fashionistas, each of them has up to 20-30 dresses and sundresses in her wardrobe. They themselves come up with styles, cut and sew new clothes for themselves. Seniors buy fabrics in the cities - Santa Cruz or La Paz.

Women are traditionally engaged in needlework and housekeeping, raising children and grandchildren. Once a week, women go to the nearest city fair, where they sell milk, cheese, pastries.

Most Old Believer families have many children - 10 children are not uncommon here. As in the old days, newborns are named according to the Psalms according to the date of birth. The names of the Toborochins, which are unusual for the Bolivian ear, sound too archaic for a Russian: Agapit, Agripena, Abraham, Anikey, Elizar, Zinovy, Zosim, Inafa, Cyprian, Lukiyan, Mamelfa, Matrena, Marimiya, Pinarita, Palageya, Ratibor, Salamania, Selyvestre, Fedosya, Filaret, Fotinya.

Young people strive to keep up with the times and master smartphones with might and main. Although many electronic devices are formally banned in the countryside, today even in the most remote wilderness one cannot hide from progress. Almost all houses have air conditioners, washing machines, microwave ovens, and some have TVs.

The main occupation of the inhabitants of Toboroch is agriculture. Around the settlement are well-groomed agricultural lands. Of the crops grown by the Old Believers in vast fields, the first place is occupied by corn, wheat, soybeans and rice. Moreover, the Old Believers succeed in this better than the Bolivians who have been living in these parts for centuries.

To work in the fields, the “bearded men” hire local peasants, whom they call Kolya. At the village factory, the harvest is processed, packed and sold to wholesalers. From the fruits that grow here all year round, they make kvass, mash, make jams and jams.

In artificial reservoirs, the Toborians breed Amazonian freshwater pacu fish, whose meat is famous for its amazing softness and delicate taste. Adult pacu weigh more than 30 kg.

They feed the fish 2 times a day - at dawn and at sunset. The food is produced right there, at the village mini-factory.

Here everyone is busy with their own business - both adults and children, who are taught to work from an early age. The only day off is Sunday. On this day, members of the community have a rest, go to visit each other and attend church. Men and women come to the Temple in elegant light clothes, over which something dark is thrown over. The black cape is a symbol of the fact that everyone is equal before God.

Also on Sunday, men go fishing, boys play football and volleyball. Football is the most popular game in Toborochi. The local football team has won amateur school tournaments more than once.

Education

The Old Believers have their own education system. The very first and main book is the alphabet of the Church Slavonic language, according to which children are taught from an early age. Older children study ancient psalms, only then - the lessons of modern literacy. Old Russian is closer to them, even the smallest fluently read the Old Testament prayers.

Children in the community receive a comprehensive education. More than 10 years ago, the Bolivian authorities financed the construction of a school in the village. It is divided into 3 classes: children 5-8 years old, 8-11 and 12-14 years old. Bolivian teachers regularly come to the village to teach Spanish, reading, mathematics, biology, and drawing.

Children learn Russian at home. In the village, only Russian is spoken everywhere, with the exception of the school.

Culture, religion

Being far from their historical homeland, the Russian Old Believers in Bolivia have preserved their unique cultural and religious customs better than their co-religionists living in Russia. Although, perhaps, it was the remoteness from their native land that caused these people to protect their values ​​​​and ardently defend the traditions of their ancestors. The Bolivian Old Believers are a self-sufficient community, but they do not oppose the outside world. The Russians were able to perfectly organize not only their way of life, but also their cultural life. Boredom is unknown to them, they always know what to do in their free time. They celebrate their holidays very solemnly, with traditional feasts, dances and songs.

Bolivian Old Believers strictly observe strict commandments regarding religion. They pray at least 2 times a day, morning and evening. Every Sunday and on religious holidays, the service lasts for several hours. Generally speaking, the religiosity of the South American Old Believers is characterized by zeal and steadfastness. Absolutely in each of their villages there is a prayer house.

Language

Unaware of the existence of such a science as sociolinguistics, Russian Old Believers in Bolivia intuitively act in such a way as to preserve their native language for posterity: they live apart, honor centuries-old traditions, at home they speak only Russian.

In Bolivia, the Old Believers who arrived from Russia and settled far from large cities practically do not marry the local population. This allowed them to preserve the Russian culture and language of Pushkin much better than other Old Believer communities in Latin America.

“Our blood is truly Russian, we have never mixed it, and we have always preserved our culture. Our children under the age of 13-14 do not learn Spanish, so as not to forget their native language, ”the Old Believers say.

The language of ancestors is kept and instilled by the family, passing it on from the older generation to the younger. Children must be taught to read in Russian and Old Slavonic, because in every family the main book is the Bible.

It is surprising that all the Old Believers living in Bolivia speak Russian without the slightest accent, although their fathers and even grandfathers were born in South America and have never been to Russia. Moreover, the speech of the Old Believers still bears shades of the characteristic Siberian dialect.

Linguists know that in the case of emigration, people lose their native language already in the 3rd generation, that is, the grandchildren of those who left, as a rule, do not speak the language of their grandparents. But in Bolivia, the 4th generation of Old Believers is already fluent in Russian. This is a surprisingly pure, dialectal language that was spoken in Russia in the 19th century. At the same time, it is important that the language of the Old Believers is alive, it is constantly developing and enriching itself. Today it is a unique combination of archaism and neologisms. When the Old Believers need to designate a new phenomenon, they easily and simply invent new words. For example, Toboro residents call cartoons "jumping", and lamp garlands - "blinks". They call tangerines "mimosa" (probably because of the shape and bright color of the fruit). The word “lover” is alien to them, but “boyfriend” is quite familiar and understandable.

Over the years of living in a foreign land, many words borrowed from Spanish have entered the oral speech of the Old Believers. For example, they call the fair "feria" (Spanish Feria - "show, exhibition, show"), and the market - "mercado" (Spanish Mercado). Some Spanish words among the Old Believers have become “Russified”, and a number of obsolete Russian words used by the inhabitants of Toborochi are now not heard even in the most remote corners of Russia. So, instead of “very”, the Old Believers say “very much”, the tree is called “forest”, and the sweater is called “kufayka”. They don't have television, the bearded men believe that television leads people to hell, but still they occasionally watch Russian films.

Although at home the Old Believers communicate exclusively in Russian, everyone speaks Spanish to a sufficient degree for a trouble-free living in the country. As a rule, men know Spanish better, because the responsibility to earn money and provide for the family lies entirely with them. The task of women is to run the household and raise children. So women are not only housekeepers, but also keepers of their native language.

Interestingly, this situation is typical for Old Believers living in South America. While in the USA and Australia, the second generation of Old Believers has completely switched to English.

marriages

Closed communities are usually characterized by closely related unions and, as a result, an increase in genetic problems. But this does not apply to the Old Believers. Even the ancestors established the immutable "rule of the eighth tribe", when marriages between relatives up to the 8th tribe are prohibited.

The Old Believers are well aware of their ancestry and communicate with all relatives.

Mixed marriages are not encouraged by the Old Believers, but young people are not categorically prohibited from creating families with local residents. But only a non-believer must certainly accept the Orthodox faith, learn the Russian language (it is obligatory to read the sacred books in the Old Slavonic language), observe all the traditions of the Old Believers and earn the respect of the community. It is easy to guess that such weddings occur infrequently. However, adults rarely ask the opinion of children about marriage - most often, parents themselves choose a spouse for their child from other communities.

By the age of 16, young men acquire the necessary experience in the field and can already get married. Girls can get married at the age of 13. The daughter's first "adult" birthday present is a collection of old Russian songs painstakingly handwritten by her mother.

Back to Russia

In the early 2010s For the first time in many years, Russian Old Believers had friction with the authorities when the leftist government (Spanish: Juan Evo Morales Ayma; President of Bolivia since January 22, 2006) began to show increased interest in the Indian lands where Russian Old Believers settled. Many families are seriously thinking about moving to their historical homeland, especially since the Russian government has been actively supporting the return of compatriots in recent years.

Most of the South American Old Believers have never been to Russia, but they remember their history and say that they have always felt homesickness. Even the Old Believers dream of seeing real snow. The Russian authorities allocated land to the newcomers in those regions from which they fled to China 90 years ago, i.e. in Primorye and Siberia.

The eternal misfortune of Russia - roads and officials

Today only in Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia lives approx. 3 thousand Russian Old Believers.

As part of the program for the resettlement of compatriots to their homeland in 2011-2012. several Old Believer families moved from Bolivia to Primorsky Krai. In 2016, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church reported that those who had moved were deceived by local officials and were on the verge of starvation.

Each Old Believer family is capable of cultivating up to 2 thousand hectares of land, as well as raising livestock. The earth is the most important thing in the life of these hardworking people. They themselves call themselves in the Spanish manner - agricultors (Spanish Agricultor - "farmer"). And the local authorities, taking advantage of the settlers' poor knowledge of Russian legislation, allocated them plots intended only for haymaking - nothing else can be done on these lands. In addition, some time later, the administration raised the land tax rate for the Old Believers several times. Approximately 1,500 families left in South America who are ready to move to Russia fear that they will not be welcomed “with open arms” in their historical homeland either.

“In South America, we are strangers, because we are Russians, but nobody needs us in Russia either. Here is paradise, the nature is so beautiful that it takes your breath away. But officials are a real nightmare, ”the Old Believers are upset.

The Old Believers make sure that over time all barbudos (from Spanish - “bearded men”) move to Primorye. They themselves see the solution to the problem in the control by the administration of the President of Russia over the implementation of the federal program.

In June 2016, Moscow hosted the 1st International Conference “Old Believers, the State and Society in the Modern World”, which brought together representatives of the largest Orthodox Old Believer concords (Consent is a group of associations of believers in the Old Believers - ed.) from Russia, near and far abroad. The participants of the conference discussed "the difficult situation of the families of the Old Believers who moved to Primorye from Bolivia."

Problems, of course, abound. For example, attending school by children is not included in the age-old traditions of the Old Believers. Their usual way of life is to work in the field and pray. “It is important for us to preserve traditions, faith and rituals, and it will be very disappointing that we have saved this in a foreign country, but we will lose it in our own country”, - says the head of the seaside Old Believer community.

Education officials are confused. On the one hand, I do not want to put pressure on the original migrants. But under the law on universal education, all citizens of Russia, regardless of their religion, are required to send their children to school.

The Old Believers cannot be forced to violate their principles, for the sake of preserving traditions they will be ready to break away again and look for another haven.

"Far Eastern hectare" - bearded men

The Russian authorities are well aware that the Old Believers, who managed to preserve the culture and traditions of their ancestors far from their homeland, are the Golden Fund of the Russian nation. Especially against the background of the unfavorable demographic situation in the country.

The plan for the demographic policy of the Far East for the period up to 2025, approved by the government of the Russian Federation, provides for the creation of additional incentives for the resettlement of fellow Old Believers living abroad to the regions of the Far East. Now they will be able to get their “Far Eastern hectare” at the initial stage of obtaining citizenship.

Today, about 150 families of Old Believer settlers who arrived from South America live in the Amur Region and Primorsky Territory. Several more families of South American Old Believers are ready to move to the Far East; land plots have already been selected for them.

In March 2017, Kornily, Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, became the first Old Believer primate in 350 years to be officially received by the President of Russia. During a lengthy conversation, Putin assured Kornily that the state would be more attentive to compatriots wishing to return to their native lands and look for ways to best resolve emerging problems.

“People who come to these regions ... with a desire to work on the land, create strong families with many children, of course, need to be supported,” Vladimir Putin emphasized.

Soon, a group of representatives of the Russian Agency for the Development of Human Capital took a working trip to South America. And already in the summer of 2018, representatives of the Old Believer communities from Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil came to the Far East to get acquainted with the conditions for a possible resettlement of people on the spot.

Primorsky Old Believers are very much looking forward to moving to Russia for their relatives who have remained overseas. They dream that long-term wanderings around the world will finally end and they want to finally settle here - albeit on the edge of the earth, but in their beloved homeland.

Curious facts

• The traditional Old Believer family is based on respect and love, about which the apostle Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians: “Love endures for a long time, is merciful, love does not envy, does not exalt itself, ... does not behave violently, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; love covers everything, believes everything, ... endures everything "(1 Cor. 13:4-7).
• There is a popular proverb among the Old Believers: “In Bolivia, only what is not planted does not grow”.
• When it comes to driving, men and women have equal rights. In the Old Believer community, a woman driving is quite commonplace.
• The generous Bolivian land yields up to 3 crops per year.
• It was in Toborochi that a unique variety of Bolivian beans was bred, which is now grown throughout the country.
• In 1999, the city authorities decided to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pushkin's birth, and a street named after the great Russian poet appeared in the administrative capital of Bolivia.
• The Bolivian Old Believers even have their own newspaper - "Russkoebarrio" (Spanish "barrio" - "neighborhood"; La Paz, 2005-2006).
• Old Believers have a negative attitude towards any barcodes. They are sure that any barcode is a "devil's mark".
• The brown pacu is "famous" for its creepy teeth, which are strikingly similar to human ones. However, human teeth are not capable of inflicting such terrible wounds on the victim as the jaws of a predatory fish.
• In their bulk, Toboro residents are descendants of the Old Believers from the Nizhny Novgorod province, who fled to Siberia under Peter I. Therefore, the old Nizhny Novgorod dialect can be traced in their speech today.
• When asked who they consider themselves to be, the Russian Old Believers confidently answer: "We are Europeans".

In the 20th century, the Russian Old Believers, who reached the eastern borders of Russia after 400 years of persecution, had to finally become emigrants. Circumstances scattered them across the continents, forcing them to establish a life in an exotic foreign land. Photographer Maria Plotnikova visited one of these settlements - the Bolivian village of Toborochi.

Old Believers, or Old Believers, is a common name for religious movements in Russia that arose as a result of the rejection of church reforms in the 17th century. It all started after the Moscow Patriarch Nikon undertook a number of innovations (correction of liturgical books, change of rites). Archpriest Avvakum united those dissatisfied with the "antichrist" reforms. The Old Believers were subjected to severe persecution by both ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Already in the 18th century, many fled outside Russia, fleeing persecution. Both Nicholas II and, subsequently, the Bolsheviks did not like the stubborn ones. In Bolivia, a three-hour drive from the city of Santa Cruz, in the town of Toborochi, 40 years ago, the first Russian Old Believers settled. Even now, this settlement cannot be found on maps, but in the 1970s there were absolutely uninhabited lands surrounded by dense jungle.

Fedor and Tatyana Anufriev were born in China, and went to Bolivia among the first settlers from Brazil. In addition to the Anufrievs, the Revtovs, the Murachevs, the Kaluginovs, the Kulikovs, the Anfilofievs, and the Zaitsevs live in Toborochi.

The village of Toborochi consists of two dozen households located at a decent distance from each other. Most of the houses are brick.

There are thousands of hectares of agricultural land around the settlement. The roads are only dirt roads.

Santa Cruz has a very hot and humid climate, and mosquitoes pester all year round. Mosquito nets, so familiar and familiar in Russia, are placed on windows and in the Bolivian wilderness.

Old Believers carefully preserve their traditions. Men wear shirts with belts. They sew them themselves, but they buy trousers in the city.

Women prefer sundresses and dresses to the floor. Hair grows from birth and is braided.

Most Old Believers do not allow strangers to photograph themselves, but there are family albums in every home.

Young people keep up with the times and master smartphones with might and main. Many electronic devices are formally banned in the village, but progress cannot be hidden even in such a wilderness. Almost all houses have air conditioners, washing machines, microwave ovens and TVs, adults communicate with distant relatives via mobile Internet. (in the video below, Martyan says that they do not use the Internet).

The main occupation in Toborochi is agriculture, as well as the breeding of Amazonian pacu fish in artificial reservoirs. Fish are fed twice a day - at dawn and in the evening. The feed is produced right there, in a mini-factory.

In the vast fields, the Old Believers grow beans, corn, wheat, in the forests - eucalyptus. It was in Toborochi that the only variety of Bolivian beans that is now popular throughout the country was bred. The rest of the legumes are imported from Brazil.

At the village factory, the harvest is processed, bagged and sold to wholesalers. Bolivian land bears fruit up to three times a year, and fertilization began only a couple of years ago.

Coconut plantations grow several varieties of coconut.

Women are engaged in needlework and housekeeping, raise children and grandchildren. Most Old Believer families have many children. Names for children are chosen according to the Psalter, according to the birthday. A newborn is named on the eighth day of his life. The names of the Toboroch people are unusual not only for the Bolivian ear: Lukiyan, Kipriyan, Zasim, Fedosya, Kuzma, Agripena, Pinarita, Abraham, Agapit, Palageya, Mamelfa, Stefan, Anin, Vasilisa, Marimiya, Elizar, Inafa, Salamania, Selivestre.

Watermelon, mango, papaya, pineapple grow all year round. Kvass, mash, jam are made from fruits.

Villagers often encounter wildlife: rhea, poisonous snakes, and even small alligators that love to eat fish in the lagoons. For such cases, the Old Believers always have a gun ready.

Once a week, women go to the nearest city fair, where they sell cheese, milk, pastries. Cottage cheese and sour cream did not take root in Bolivia.

To work in the fields, the Russians hire Bolivian peasants, who are called Kolya.

There is no language barrier, since the Old Believers, in addition to Russian, also speak Spanish, and the older generation has not yet forgotten Portuguese and Chinese.

Residents move around the village on mopeds and motorcycles. In the rainy season, the roads become very limp and a pedestrian can get stuck in the mud.

By the age of 16, boys gain the necessary experience in the field and can get married. The Old Believers strictly forbid marriages between relatives up to the seventh generation, so they are looking for brides in other villages of South and North America. Rarely get to Russia.

Girls can get married at the age of 13.

The first "adult" gift for a girl is a collection of Russian songs, from which the mother takes another copy and gives it to her daughter for her birthday.

All girls are big fashionistas. They design their own style and sew their own dresses. Fabrics are purchased in large cities - Santa Cruz or La Paz. The average wardrobe has 20-30 dresses and sundresses. Girls change outfits almost every day.

Ten years ago, the Bolivian authorities financed the construction of the school. It consists of two buildings and is divided into three classes: children 5-8 years old, 8-11 and 12-14 years old. Boys and girls study together.

The school is taught by two Bolivian teachers. The main subjects are Spanish, reading, mathematics, biology, drawing. Russian is taught at home. In oral speech, Toborochintsy are accustomed to mixing two languages, and some Spanish words have completely replaced Russian ones. So, gasoline in the village is called nothing more than "gasolina", the fair - "feria", the market - "mercado", garbage - "basura". Spanish words have long been Russified and are inclined according to the rules of their native language. There are also neologisms: for example, instead of the expression “download from the Internet”, the word “descargar” is used from the Spanish descargar. Some Russian words commonly used in Toborochi have long gone out of use in modern Russia. Instead of “very”, the Old Believers say “very much”, the tree is called “forest”. The older generation mixes Portuguese words of the Brazilian spill with all this diversity. In general, there is a whole book of material for dialectologists in Toborochi.

Primary education is not compulsory, but the Bolivian government encourages all students in public schools: once a year, the military comes and pays each student 200 bolivianos (about $30).

It is not clear what to do with the money: there is not a single store in Toborochi, and no one will let children go to the city. You have to give back what you earn to your parents.

Old Believers attend church twice a week, not counting Orthodox holidays: services are held on Saturday from 17:00 to 19:00 and on Sunday from 4:00 to 7:00.

Men and women come to church in all clean clothes, wearing dark clothes over them. The black cape symbolizes the equality of all before God.

Most of the South American Old Believers have never been to Russia, but they remember their history, reflecting its main moments in artistic creativity.

The Old Believers carefully keep the memories of their ancestors, who also lived far from their historical homeland.

Sunday is the only day off. Everyone visits each other, men go fishing.

The boys play football and volleyball. Football is the most popular game in Toborochi. The local team won the school amateur tournaments more than once.

It gets dark early in the village, they go to bed by 10 pm.

The Bolivian selva became a small homeland for the Russian Old Believers, the fertile land provided everything they needed, and if it were not for the heat, they could not have wished for a better place to live.

(Copy-paste from lenta.ru)

For several centuries, Russian Old Believers could not find peace in their native land, and in the 20th century many of them finally moved abroad. It was far from always possible to settle down somewhere close to the Motherland, and therefore today Old Believers can also be found in a distant foreign land, for example, in Latin America. In this article, you will learn about the life of Russian farmers from the village of Toborochi, Bolivia. Old Believers, or Old Believers, is a common name for religious movements in Russia that arose as a result of the rejection of church reforms in 1605-1681. It all started after the Moscow Patriarch Nikon undertook a number of innovations (correction of liturgical books, change of rites). Archpriest Avvakum united those dissatisfied with the "antichrist" reforms. The Old Believers were subjected to severe persecution by both ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Already in the 18th century, many fled outside Russia, fleeing persecution. Both Nicholas II and, subsequently, the Bolsheviks did not like the stubborn ones. In Bolivia, a three-hour drive from the city of Santa Cruz, in the town of Toborochi, 40 years ago, the first Russian Old Believers settled. Even now, this settlement cannot be found on maps, but in the 1970s there were absolutely uninhabited lands surrounded by dense jungle. Fedor and Tatyana Anufriev were born in China, and went to Bolivia among the first settlers from Brazil. In addition to the Anufrievs, the Revtovs, the Murachevs, the Kaluginovs, the Kulikovs, the Anfilofievs, and the Zaitsevs live in Toborochi. The village of Toborochi consists of two dozen households located at a decent distance from each other. Most of the houses are brick. Santa Cruz has a very hot and humid climate, and mosquitoes pester all year round. Mosquito nets, so familiar and familiar in Russia, are placed on windows and in the Bolivian wilderness. Old Believers carefully preserve their traditions. Men wear shirts with belts. They sew them themselves, but they buy trousers in the city. Women prefer sundresses and dresses to the floor. Hair grows from birth and is braided. Most Old Believers do not allow strangers to photograph themselves, but there are family albums in every home. Young people keep up with the times and master smartphones with might and main. Many electronic devices are formally banned in the village, but progress cannot be hidden even in such a wilderness. Almost all houses have air conditioners, washing machines, microwave ovens and TVs, adults communicate with distant relatives via mobile Internet. The main occupation in Toborochi is agriculture, as well as the breeding of Amazonian pacu fish in artificial reservoirs. Fish are fed twice a day - at dawn and in the evening. The feed is produced right there, in a mini-factory. In the vast fields, the Old Believers grow beans, corn, wheat, in the forests - eucalyptus. It was in Toborochi that the only variety of Bolivian beans that is now popular throughout the country was bred. The rest of the legumes are imported from Brazil. At the village factory, the harvest is processed, bagged and sold to wholesalers. Bolivian land bears fruit up to three times a year, and fertilization began only a couple of years ago. Women are engaged in needlework and housekeeping, raise children and grandchildren. Most Old Believer families have many children. Names for children are chosen according to the Psalter, according to the birthday. A newborn is named on the eighth day of his life. The names of the Toboroch people are unusual not only for the Bolivian ear: Lukiyan, Kipriyan, Zasim, Fedosya, Kuzma, Agripena, Pinarita, Abraham, Agapit, Palageya, Mamelfa, Stefan, Anin, Vasilisa, Marimiya, Elizar, Inafa, Salamania, Selivestre. Villagers often encounter wildlife: monkeys, ostriches, poisonous snakes and even small crocodiles that love to eat fish in the lagoons. For such cases, the Old Believers always have a gun ready. Once a week, women go to the nearest city fair, where they sell cheese, milk, pastries. Cottage cheese and sour cream did not take root in Bolivia. To work in the fields, the Russians hire Bolivian peasants, who are called Kolya. There is no language barrier, since the Old Believers, in addition to Russian, also speak Spanish, and the older generation has not yet forgotten Portuguese and Chinese. By the age of 16, boys gain the necessary experience in the field and can get married. The Old Believers strictly forbid marriages between relatives up to the seventh generation, so they are looking for brides in other villages of South and North America. Rarely get to Russia. Girls can get married at the age of 13. The first "adult" gift for a girl is a collection of Russian songs, from which the mother takes another copy and gives it to her daughter for her birthday. Ten years ago, the Bolivian authorities financed the construction of the school. It consists of two buildings and is divided into three classes: children 5-8 years old, 8-11 and 12-14 years old. Boys and girls study together. The school is taught by two Bolivian teachers. The main subjects are Spanish, reading, mathematics, biology, drawing. Russian is taught at home. In oral speech, Toborochintsy are accustomed to mixing two languages, and some Spanish words have completely replaced Russian ones. So, gasoline in the village is called nothing more than "gasolina", the fair - "feria", the market - "mercado", garbage - "basura". Spanish words have long been Russified and are inclined according to the rules of their native language. There are also neologisms: for example, instead of the expression “download from the Internet”, the word “descargar” is used from the Spanish descargar. Some Russian words commonly used in Toborochi have long gone out of use in modern Russia. Instead of “very”, the Old Believers say “very much”, the tree is called “forest”. The older generation mixes Portuguese words of the Brazilian spill with all this diversity. In general, there is a whole book of material for dialectologists in Toborochi. Primary education is not compulsory, but the Bolivian government encourages all students in public schools: once a year, the military comes and pays each student 200 bolivianos (about $30). Old Believers attend church twice a week, not counting Orthodox holidays: services are held on Saturday from 17:00 to 19:00 and on Sunday from 4:00 to 7:00. Men and women come to church in all clean clothes, wearing dark clothes over them. The black cape symbolizes the equality of all before God. Most of the South American Old Believers have never been to Russia, but they remember their history, reflecting its main moments in artistic creativity. Sunday is the only day off. Everyone visits each other, men go fishing. It gets dark early in the village, they go to bed by 10 pm.

In the 20th century, the Russian Old Believers, who reached the eastern borders of Russia after 400 years of persecution, had to finally become emigrants. Circumstances scattered them across the continents, forcing them to establish a life in an exotic foreign land.
Old Believers, or Old Believers, is a common name for religious movements in Russia that arose as a result of the rejection of church reforms in the 17th century. It all started after the Moscow Patriarch Nikon undertook a number of innovations (correction of liturgical books, change of rites). Archpriest Avvakum united those dissatisfied with the "antichrist" reforms. The Old Believers were subjected to severe persecution by both ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Already in the 18th century, many fled outside Russia, fleeing persecution. Both Nicholas II and, subsequently, the Bolsheviks did not like the stubborn ones. In Bolivia, a three-hour drive from the city of Santa Cruz, in the town of Toborochi, 40 years ago, the first Russian Old Believers settled. Even now, this settlement cannot be found on maps, but in the 1970s there were absolutely uninhabited lands surrounded by dense jungle

Old Believer village in the jungles of Bolivia. There, women wear woven sundresses and embroider shirts for their husbands. They weed gardens that grow pineapples, not radishes or potatoes. They are exceptionally well adapted to local conditions.
Many men are millionaires, brilliant entrepreneurs who combine a farmer's acumen with an incredible sense of the new. So, the Old Believers in Bolivia have modern equipment with a GPS-based control system in their fields - that is, cars drive without a driver, receiving commands from a single center. At the same time, the Old Believers do not use the Internet, do not watch TV, are afraid of banking transactions, preferring cash...+

These are the descendants of those few surviving strong peasant families who were massively destroyed after the Jewish revolution of 1917.

A version of this film, which also contains an interview with a priest and a brief official history of the Old Believers in Russia:

Recently, the Russian government has begun to actively support the return to their homeland of compatriots and their descendants who emigrated abroad. Within the framework of this policy, several years ago, the resettlement of Old Believers from Bolivia and Uruguay to Russia began. Publications and stories dedicated to these unusual people periodically appear in the domestic media. They look like either from Latin America, or from our pre-revolutionary past, but at the same time they have retained the Russian language and ethnic identity.

The Russian diaspora in the Americas: large numbers, brilliance and rapid assimilation

The successful preservation of one's own language and culture on foreign Latin American soil is a very rare occurrence for the Russian diaspora. In the first half of the 20th century, hundreds of thousands of Russian refugees and settlers moved to the New World - white emigrants, religious sectarians, seekers of a better life and refugees of the Second World War, fleeing from the return of Soviet power to the territories occupied by the Germans.

Among them were the most famous technical specialists who made a huge contribution to the development of the new homeland, for example, Igor Sikorsky, Vladimir Zworykin or Andrey Chelishchev. There were famous politicians like Alexander Kerensky or Anton Denikin, famous cultural figures like Sergei Rachmaninov or Vladimir Nabokov. Even military leaders were present, such as the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Paraguay, General Ivan Belyaev, or Wehrmacht General Boris Smyslovsky, an adviser to the famous President of Argentina, Juan Peron, on anti-guerrilla operations and the fight against terrorism. On the soil of North America, there turned out to be a center of Russian Orthodoxy, independent of communism, devoutly preserving the pre-revolutionary tradition.

Not so long ago in San Francisco or Buenos Aires Russian speech was common. Today, however, the situation has changed radically. The task of preserving national identity proved overwhelming for the overwhelming majority of Russian emigrants to the New World. Their descendants in the second, maximum, in the third generation assimilated. At best, they have managed to preserve the memory of their ethnic roots, culture, and religious affiliation, resulting in figures like the well-known Canadian political scientist and politician Michael Ignatiev. This rule is also true for the Old Believers from European Russia (merchants and townspeople), who also quickly disappeared among the population of the New World. Against the background of the common fate of the Russian emigration, the situation of the Siberian Old Believer communities in Latin America, who are now returning to Russia, seems unusual and surprising.

From Russia to Latin America: the path of the Old Believers

Latin American Old Believers are the descendants of those who fled toXVIII - XIXcenturies from the religious persecution of the Russian state in Siberia and later in the Far East. In these regions, many Old Believer settlements were created, in which ancient religious traditions were preserved. Most of the local Old Believers belonged to a special kind in the Old Believers - the so-called "chapel". This is a special compromise direction, dogmatically equidistant from both priests and non-priests.

At the chapels, the functions of spiritual leaders are performed by elected lay mentors (“until the true Orthodox clergy appear”). The conditions of life in the expanses of Siberia hardened them, forced them to live exclusively on their own farm and made them more closed and conservative than the rest of the Old Believers. If in cinema or fiction Old Believers are portrayed as some kind of forest hermits, then their prototype is precisely the chapels.

The revolution and mainly collectivization led to the flight of the Old Believers-chapels from Russia. In the 1920s and early 1930s, some of them moved from Altai to Chinese Xinjiang, and the other part moved from the Russian Amur to Manchuria, where the Old Believers settled mainly in the Harbin region and created strong peasant farms. The arrival of the Soviet army in 1945 turned out to be a new tragedy for the Old Believers: most of the adult men were arrested and sent to camps for "illegally crossing the border", and the farms of their families who remained in Manchuria were "dispossessed", that is, actually plundered.

After the victory of the Communists in China in 1949, the new authorities began to unambiguously squeeze the Old Believers out of the country as an undesirable element. In search of a new refuge, the Old Believers ended up in Hong Kong for a while, but in 1958, with the help of the UN, one part of them left for the United States, and the other for Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil. In the last of these countries, with the help of the World Council of Churches, the Old Believers received 6,000 acres of land 200 miles from São Paulo.

Exploration of South America

Ultimately, separate communities of Old Believers were founded in a number of Latin American countries. Many families of Old Believers managed to live in more than one country until, in the 1980s, most of them finally settled in Bolivia. The reason for this was the warm welcome from the government of this country, which allocated land to the Old Believers. Since then, the Old Believer community in Bolivia has become one of the strongest in all of Latin America.

These Russians adapted to South American reality very quickly, and now they treat them with unflappable calmness. The Old Believers steadfastly endure the heat, despite the fact that they are not allowed to open the body. They are already used to jaguars, they are not particularly afraid of them, they only protect domestic animals from them. With snakes, the conversation is short - with a boot on the head, and cats are brought in not to hunt mice, but to catch lizards.

In Bolivia, the Old Believers are mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Of the most popular crops grown by them, corn, soybeans and rice occupy the first place. At the same time, it should be noted that the Old Believers succeed better than many Bolivian peasants who have lived on these lands for several centuries.

Unlike Uruguay, where the descendants of Russian sectarians live in the settlement of San Javier, the Bolivian Old Believers were able to preserve not only their religion and the way of life that had developed several centuries ago, but also the Russian language. Although some of them have gone to large cities such as La Paz, most Old Believers prefer to live in quiet villages. Children are reluctantly allowed to go to big cities, because there, according to parents, whom it is customary to listen to, there are a lot of demonic temptations.

It is noteworthy that being at such a distance from their historical homeland, the Bolivian Old Believers have preserved their cultural and religious customs even better than their co-religionists living in Russia. Although, perhaps, the remoteness from the Russian land was the reason that these people are fighting so fiercely for their values ​​and traditions.

The preservation of traditional values ​​is greatly facilitated by the fact that Latin American Old Believers do not allow their children to marry people of a different religion. And since there are currently about 300 Russian Old Believer families living there, in which at least 5 children each, the choice of the younger generation is quite large. At the same time, it is not forbidden to marry or marry a native Latin American, but he must definitely learn Russian, accept the faith of his spouse and become a worthy member of the community.

Old Believers in Bolivia are self-sufficient communities, but they are not cut off from the outside world. They were able to perfectly establish not only their way of life, but also cultural life. For example, holidays are celebrated there very solemnly with dances and songs, but with songs that do not contradict their religion. Despite the fact that TV, for example, is banned, they never get bored and always know what to do in their free time. Along with studying at a local school, where all classes are held in Spanish and where they communicate with the local population, they also study with their teachers, who teach them Old Church Slavonic and Russian, because the sacred books are written in them. Interestingly, all the Old Believers living in Bolivia speak without a Spanish accent, although their fathers and even grandfathers were born in Latin America. Moreover, their speech still bears clear features of the Siberian dialect.

Leaving Latin America

During the stay of the Old Believers in Bolivia, many presidents were replaced in this country, but the Old Believers never had difficulties in relations with the authorities. Serious problems for the Bolivian Old Believers began with the coming to power of President Evo Morales, one of the main figures of the "left turn" in Latin America and the first leader of Bolivia to visit Russia. This politician acts as a champion of the ideas of socialism, anti-imperialism and a defender of communities in which many Indian tribes continue to maintain their way of life since ancient times.

At the same time, Morales is an Indian nationalist, striving to expropriate and squeeze out all “foreign elements” from the purely Indian state he is creating, including foreigners and white Bolivians, which include Russian Old Believers. It is not surprising that under Morales "problems" suddenly appeared with the land of the Old Believers.

It was after this that the process of the return resettlement of the Old Believers to Russia intensified, first from Bolivia, and then, following their example, from other Latin American states, primarily those where left-wing populists who are members of the Bolivarian Alliance or sympathize with it are in power. Today, the Russian Foreign Ministry is helping the process of repatriation of Old Believers, although many of them prefer not to go to Russia, but to join their fellow believers in the United States.

Poorly representing the realities of Siberia and naively taking the word of domestic officials, many Latin American Old Believers found themselves in a very difficult situation at the first stage of resettlement in 2008-2011. As a result, not all repatriates remained in Russia. Nevertheless, the process of repatriation gradually improved, and today we can hope that for the majority of these Old Believers their odyssey will sooner or later end in their historical homeland.

There are polar opinions about the chapel Old Believers living in both Americas, and in Russia itself. Someone considers them archaic Russian Amish, someone sees in their communities a fragment of the departed "Holy Rus'" and therefore chooses their way of life as an object to follow.

Of course, comparing the descendants of the Siberian Old Believers in Latin America with the Amish is incorrect.. Absolutely all Russian Old Believers use technology, electricity and even the Internet as needed. In the same Bolivia, none of the chapel Old Believers would have thought of abandoning tractors and combines, perhaps the only forbidden piece of equipment is the TV.

The idealization of this group of Old Believers is also not justified. The opinion of the author of this article, based on personal communication with the Latin American Old Believers, is that these people are just a cast of peasant Russia that has survived to this day.XXcentury with all its good and bad qualities. If the positive features include diligence, an attitude to preserve one's identity and adherence to family values, the negative features are a low level of education and a narrow outlook, which very often prevents the Old Believers of Latin America from making adequate decisions in the modern world.