If you get a chance to read Jacob Dietz's history that AHSGR recently published you will find his viewpoint:" The colonists, in spite of frequently expressed viewpoints, were not at all invited to Russia because of the German Empress Catherine's II's sympathy toward them. They were not in favorable conditions and their favor was not the goal of their invitation. Such an accusation is historically unreliable and politically unscrupulous. As we know from what the many manifestoes, circulars, and secret communications have shown us, the real reasons for the invitations of the Volga colonists were the settlement of empty lands, the drive to establish a natural buffer for the safety of Russia between the Kalmyk, Kirghiz and other wild tribes and to assert Russia's power over these areas. There was also the desire to raise the level of agriculture and industry by means of the immigration of enlightened Western Europeans. The Russian government did not favor the immigrants, but awaited favors from them to benefit the country. And this expectation was glowingly fulfilled." Further he comments, "Because of their colonies' destruction and their unhappiness, the colonists gave great service...through their blood and destruction the colonists purchased the peace of the Russian state." Our last AHSGR dinner speaker was the newly hired Coordinator of the German Russian International Program at Colorado State University, Dr. Alexi Kuraev-Maxah who is a Russian/German scholar here to participate in the exchange between CSU and Saratov State University. He indicated that Russian peasants had no brick churches, no schools, ate maybe 2 meals a year with meat in them, and lived really hard lives and had to serve in the military for many years. In their eyes, GR's had a lot more to eat, didn't have to serve in the military, could work their way up in life, etc. So naturally there was resentment that these "foreigners" had a better life, clean villages, educational opportunities etc. When asked about Catherine's motives in bringing in Germans, Maxah commented that above all Catherine was a very astute politician and that bringing in the Germans solved problems for her. If you look at her manifesto it asks for foreigners not Germans, he commented. If you look at the conditions in Europe when Germans left - they were facing really hard times because of all the wars that devastated the countryside. So --- not a pretty picture all the way around. If you look as a whole at the colonies - Germans kept their language, their culture, their religious practices intact. For there to be a large amount of interaction with the locals, someone had to learn another language. Lauren Brantner --------------------------------- It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar.