Germans in Kazakhstan’s Virgin Lands: Religious Assimilation and Segregation in the Atheistic Soviet Society (1950s –1960s)

Abstract

The article examines the issues of religious assimilation and/or attempted segregation of the German population in the context of the intensified anti-religious policies of the Khrushchev era. The German population arrived in Kazakhstan in an organized manner in the 19th century. Having settled in the region, Germans established strong economic and cultural communities with their own cultural affiliation, ethnic identity, and religious institutions. During that period, as well as in the early Soviet era, the German population managed to preserve its religious identity, which served as a powerful unifying force under the conditions of “militant atheism”. However, in the 1950s-1960s, northern Kazakhstan became not only a region where, as a result of the Virgin and Fallow Lands campaign, a multi-ethnic society was formed but also a place where strict anti-religious state policies were implemented. The decisive and prohibitive stance of the Soviet authorities toward religious institutions significantly hindered Germans from fully adhering to their religious principles and national cultural values. This was particularly true for smaller religious communities such as Baptists, Mennonites, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Jehovists, who faced pressure not only from the Soviet authorities but also from larger religious groups, including German Catholics. As a result, we are observing a latent process of assimilation of certain communities (such as the Molokans and Sabbatarian Pentecostals) into larger religious associations. In some regions, this process was irreversible. At the same time, the examination of confidential reports from commissioners of the Council for Religious Affairs in northern Kazakhstan reveals the diverse adaptations of religious practices among the German population. Religious conflicts, resistance to assimilation, segregation, compromises with official authorities, and various other forms of internal and external interactions not only helped Germans retain their religious identity but also demonstrated the resilience of their religious traditions and rituals.