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I have just returned from Russia – a mind altering trip. I stood in places I have known only through the letters. I saw the places of exile in Siberia where the innocent died. I travelled along railroad tracks where cattle cars once transported millions to their deaths. I stood at the Irtysh River where prisoners were loaded onto the lower decks of barges and shipped to prison camps, stopping only to throw out the dead (mostly children). I saw a memorial dedicated to 300 men and women who died in the Trudarme during WW II – so many victims in just one small Russian village. I saw the Red Square, the Kremlin and the Russian Duma where so much of the terror was initiated. I wept for the suffering. Yet I was enthralled by the fertile land, rich culture and beautiful children – a visceral hope for the future.
Memorial to 300 victims of the Trudarme (forced work army during WWII)
in the village of Friedensruhe, Siberia
I also presented a paper at the Dostoevsky Omsk State University in Omsk, Siberia. Titled “Germans from Russia: History and Culture”, the conference included 13 papers from CIS countries (former Soviet Republics), one from Europe and 12 from North America. As anthropologists, historians, ethnographers and linguists, we were not interested in ivory-tower theories. We wanted to recount the experiences of the people. We were interested in archival documents, letters, memoirs and diaries. We also wanted to know the fate of the people – How many died? How many survived? Where were they exiled and imprisoned? Where did the survivors settle?
We also submitted a petition. The days of democracy in Russia are short-lived. The archives in the Federation of Russia are now much more limited than they have been since Glasnost and Perestroika (1990s). Russia is again moving toward a totalitarian system. Dr. Tatyana Smirnova, chair of Ethnography at the Dosteovsky Omsk State University, warned us about imminent changes. The media is perpetuating the changes. This is especially chilling since not one independent TV, radio station or press is operative in Russia.
So many more images and reflections churn in my mind. Future newsletters will describe:
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the story of a father who died in prison in 1985 for attending an “unregistered” church;
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an interview and photo of an 87 year old man who survived 25 years in Soviet prisons (only released in 1987);
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the story of the children who were taken from their mothers as they left to serve in the Trudarme;
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a report on the current political climate in Russia;
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reflections on the rituals and lifestyles of the survivors.
Thank you for continuing to remember the victims of Stalin's terror.
Ruth Derksen Siemens
Letters from Stalin's Russia
“Life must be lived looking forward, but can only be understood looking backward”
(S. Kierkegaard).
Remembering
As an act of remembering, I recommend the following:
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Listen to family members and friends who fled Russia.
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Share these stories with the online community and anyone else who will listen.
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Read Jasch and Maria's pleas to remember here.
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Forward this newsletter to a friend.
Purchase
Visit the Online Store to view the following items available for purchase:
Book: Remember Us: Letters from Stalin's Gulag (1930-37)
Documentary: Through the Red Gate
Upcoming Events
October 2, 2010, 1-4pm
Chapters Book Store
Author reading, film preveiw and book signing
Note: Chapters (Langley) is now selling the book and DVD.
See a complete listing of events and details.
Invite Ruth for a public or private function.
Forward this email to a friend
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