Showing posts with label Burning Guns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burning Guns. Show all posts

Thursday, 22 April 2021

Review: Our Backs Warmed by the Sun

Book: Vera Maloff. Our Backs Warmed by the Sun: Memories of a Doukhobor Life (Halfmoon Bay, BC: Caitlin Press, 2020), 263 pp. ISBN 9781773860398.

Peter N. Maloff, 1939; and book cover.

The main hero, Peter Nikolaevich Maloff (1900-1971), was a Canadian Independent Doukhobor, a free thinker, an enthralling emotional speaker, a devout vegetarian, and one who was deeply concerned with humanity’s problems of exploitation, militarism and wars. He shared the Doukhobor historic mission of stopping wars and working to create a good society.

The author Vera Maloff (left) of Shoreacres, British Columbia, Canada, is Peter’s granddaughter. After retiring from a career in teaching, Vera began to record family stories passed down from generation to generation. Through Peter’s self-published book, interviews with her mother Elizabeth (daughter of Peter), historic photos, and news clippings, Vera recreates some of the life of her grandfather Peter whom she adores.

Peter Maloff was born in Saskatchewan to parents who witnessed the 1895 Arms Burning event in Tsarist Russia, which marked the Doukhobor community for life as a group that proclaimed to the world that humanity needs to get rid of militarism and wars once and for all.

In 1913, young Peter moved with his parents to establish the communal koloniya svobody (sovereign, or freedom colony) near Peoria, Oregon,* USA for three years. (Kolony svobody,* The Doukhboor Gazetteer). There he entered high school and developed a keen interest in working towards a war-less world where equality reigns, behaviour would be nonviolent, and caring for neighbours would be the Golden Rule that was taught by Jesus Christ and other religious figures in history.

The commune dissolved in 3 years and the Maloff family went to San Francisco, California, for 9 months where they mingled with Molokane and other sectarians from Russia. Peter learned journalism and Russian grammar by assisting Russian publisher Anton P. Cherbak (Щербаков), and meeting many educated Orthodox Russian immigrants in the city.

In 1919 Maloff returned to Canada and settled among like-minded pacifist relatives in the Thrums area of British Columbia along the Kootenay River north of Castlegar. The community was independent in thinking with a few zealot Freedomite families living nearby that did not easily fit into the orthodoxy of the Community Doukhobors, who were known up to 1938 as the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood (C.C.U.B.).

The book title describes their field work in the hot sun tending to their vegetables and fruit trees. They sold their produce at markets in Nelson and Trail. They also had a horse or two, a cow, a goat and chickens. Most were vegetarians.

In the 1920s Peter became very sympathetic to the zealot cause of striving for equality, in being against private property and some public education. He joined the cause and was arrested in 1929, 1932 and 1937. However, when the zealots began to burn and bomb homes and public property and used nudity as a way to gain public attention, Peter opposed this terrorism. His own home was threatened with arson and some of his books were burnt. By 1940 he abandoned the zealot movement. [Paragraph edited July 27, 2023.]

The biggest impact on Peter’s life as well as on the livelihood of the Doukhobor community was during World War II when Peter spoke out against militarism and wars. He refused to register for the Draft and was arrested, jailed, tortured, and threatened to be sent to a mental asylum and exiled in Canada in the early 1940s to an isolated two-room primitive isolated cottage near Blewett, about 23 km northeast of Thrums. His health was broken and it took several years to regain his strength.

In 1948, Peter published a collection of Russian articles some he wrote, many he collected that he thought would be of interest to Doukhobors. The 600+ page book, often cited in literature about Doukhobors, was never published in English, except for three articles listed below, bottom.

Author Vera wrote about this neglected eyesore in Canadian history through the voice of Peter’s daughter Elizabeth (Vera's mother) who was given the task of periodically visiting her father in exile bringing him essential food for his survival. The book reads well. Vera acknowledges the professional help of editor Anne DeGrace, who generously and skillfully prepared the manuscript for the final publishing form. Teamwork worked!

The book provides a good view of life among a close community group of pacifists with perspectives on values for survival, a passion for truth and justice, peace activism, conscientious objections, upbringing in the family, marriage traditions, land ownership, market gardening, visits to Dr. Bernard Jensen’s ranch in Escondido, California, and more. Vera’s mother Elizabeth (or Leeza) is a centenarian who with probing by Vera reveals the many facets of life of a struggling family showing what it means to be an active Doukhobor in the 20th century and beyond.

I was annoyed by the folksy English spelling of several Russian words, two of which were repeated by book reviewer Ron Verzuh. In my opinion these Russian words should have been properly transliterated according to the Library of Congress, or Oxford University Press standards — borshch (soup : not borsh, or borscht), pirogi (pierogi, filled tarts, turnovers, knish : not peerahee), and lekharka (female healer : not lyeekarka). (See more examples in: New Doukhobor Song Book, with CDs, May 28, 2013.)

Overall, this is a good read on the Doukhobors illustrated by excellent historic images, with special attention to Peter N. Maloff, the brave soul who has suffered for the cause of humanity. His truth was welcomed, but long overlooked by the general public. His granddaughter Vera has done a good turn by giving a voice to a nonkilling hero. Bolshoe spasibo, Vera. Many thanks!

If Peter Maloff was alive today, he would no doubt extend his anti-militarism call to include climate change, universal health care and drug programs for all, as well as urging all of us to make war a crime against humanity. Bolshoe spasibo (A big thank you), Peter! You were a visionary.

Fun fact: Maloff Spring*, Thrums, B.C. was named after Peter N. Malloff who first filed for a permit to use the water in 1956.

* 3 links to the Doukhobor Heritage website by Jonathan Kalmakoff.

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Tuesday, 14 July 2020

Q85 : Doukhobors and Racism

Alexander Kalesnikoff, Calgary, Alberta, asked on June 6, 2020:

 Q85 : Do Black Lives Matter to Doukhobors?

How should we as Doukhobors look upon the current protests about police brutality and ‘Black Lives Matter’?

I believe there is too much racism of Black people, Muslims, Indigenous, Hispanics, Chinese due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and others.

Let us not forget, we Doukhobors were also the target of racism. We had many protests in the past, has any change come from that? I think not much.

It seems that we Doukhobors are beating and continually beating on the same drum, over and over again, about pacifism, war, etc. I think it is time that we start to beat another drum about domestic social problems, racism, hatred, prejudice, and a misunderstanding of others.

Most other faiths and religions, such as Mennonites, Quakers, Brethren, Catholic, Jewish, Sikh, etc., have programs addressing anti-racism. What is the Doukhobor anti-racism program?

I as President of the Calgary Folk Arts Council from 1998 to 2019, during our annual Heritage Day Festival, I presented a version of this message to the vast crowd:
It is a time to preserve, to celebrate, to promote and bring about an awareness of the cultural diversity that exists, so that we can have a better understanding of others, so that we can improve our communications with others, support the concept of mutual acceptance, which helps us to erase the racism, the prejudice, the hatred towards other cultures and religions, which hopefully will make life on Earth better, so we can live in peace and harmony, and be extremely proud of our heritage. The festival is also a time when we can reflect on our past, relive those moments in our lives that are so dear to us, and share the experience. We may have a unified identity in the countries we have lived in, but, we are all indeed proud of the uniqueness of our individual heritage.
I believe this time, change will come, as the world wakes up from their deep sleep. It is a time that we must walk with others and continue to believe we are one, we are all ‘brothers and sisters”’ as we continually repeat those words when we pray. We must unite to overcome!
Kalesnikoff sent his question the day after the Canadian media extensively showed and discussed protests, riots, police brutality, and Prime Minister Trudeau and a Black RCMP simultaneously kneeling in silence for nearly 9 minutes.

Left: Trudeau takes a knee at anti-racism protest on Parliament Hill, CBC, June 5, 2020.
Right: Thousands fill the streets of downtown Toronto for an anti-racism rally,
CP24 News, June 5, 2020.

Answer

Canadian Doukhobors ‘should look upon the current protests about police brutality and Black Lives Matter’ as a plea for revitalizing and completing the long overdue Civil Rights Movement and War on Poverty, and reversing systemic racism and economic inequity.The nonkilling Doukhobor movement forbids war and police brutality. ‘All lives matter!’

To Tarasoff’s 2020 Peace Day message — ‘I believe that today we can extend the [Doukhobor] movement to universal access to food, housing, health care, education, and a clean environment’ — let’s add: ‘economic and social equality.’

While Kalesnikoff’s city of Calgary has made progress in reducing the wage gap, much is lacking. One in 7 Canadians (5 million) live in poverty. White supremacy and racism in Canada is still ‘enforced through the law’. What to do?

Lev N. Tolstoy asked nearly the same question more than 140 years ago.

In 1886 after four years of research and interviews among the poor in Moscow, Tolstoy wrote Так что же нам делать? (So what should we do?) His advice, in short, was for us to personally meet and treat the poor and abused as we want to be treated.
(See: Reviews. Lvyonok Yasnopolyanskiy 10/07/2016; and 3 translations: Isabel Hapgood 1887, Leo Wiener 1904, and Aylmer Maude 1925.)
It seems that Tolstoy recommended a best solution. Instead of spending time and money supporting a protest organization, marching in the street, or writing letters or blogs about events far away, one should find and help a few local people in need, as your brothers/sisters. Work with them to escape exploitation by the elites, or else a ‘labor revolution’ will explode.

To help each other one-to-one is everyone's personal responsibility. Personalism was the life's work of Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. She was motivated by Tolstoy and her own "promptings of conscience" to help anyone in need.

Doukhobors do not have a formal anti-racism program, but we have a belief in a 'light/God within' which should work like an autopilot to guide us to not be racist. In fact, ‘Human Races’ Do Not Exist! in nature, people created them.

Doukhobors have donated to charities. Since 2015, the Doukhobor Society of Saskatoon supported the Kinsmen Foundation Telemiracle', and the USCC has donated to many causes. We cannot tell if the charities are racist.

To follow Tolstoy you will need to find people to help. Check with Calgary Social programs and services. Don’t donate money, donate your time.

The larger social-political problems are very difficult to solve (yet we need to also deal with the evil of poverty and the evil of war). There is still a lot to learn from Tolstoy's emphasis on personal responsibility in dealing with immediate issues of human needs:
Your question about whether any change has come from racism against Doukhobors, can be answered in part. The 1895 burning of arms protests by our ancestors resulted in one-third of all Doukhobors migrating to Canada, including your family. In Canada, Doukhobors assimilated unevenly, divided, with some factions protesting and suffering more than others. Many, like yourself, prospered. Others did not. Some died. We are still protesting for peace and working to be understood.

Our Movement evolved during the past century and is continuing to change. It is up to us to continuously form and reform the Doukhobor legacy, while trying to understand and treat others as we wish to be known and treated.

Update 3 October 2020

The BLM logo previously shown was from Wikipedia. The current logo is now shown above.

On 19 July 2020, Stephen Jmaeff tried to post a link which I corrected to: Candace Owens: "I DO NOT support George Floyd!" Here's Why! 18 min. Youtube video by Candice Owens, June 4, 2020. 7.3 million views, 65,000+ comments — A rant against BLM.

Alex Kalesnikoff then emailed and phoned to explain that Candace Owens is a far-right agitator not appropriate for this discussion. Upon checking Alex's complaint, I agreed. Miss Owens is a lobbying pro-Trump young Black woman based in Washington DC. Therefore, the original Jmaeff post was deleted with the above explanation.

Many opinions of BLM are being tossed around in the media, and seriously discussed by some Christians. Connor Fledman of The Atlantic explained: "It is a large, free-wheeling movement without clear leaders, and individual participants have no doubt acted badly on many occasions, as is true of [other] groups ...."

One extensive article series explains that a need for 'police' in America was controversial until it focused on persecution of slaves, a prejudice that continues today: Duret, Daphne. The legend of Bras-Coupé: How police turned a Black man into a villain to save themselves, USA Today, Oct. 1, 2020. 

But, how do Doukhobors feel? What should you do, if anything?
Update 24 November 2020 (Sent Nov 22, by Laura Savinkoff, Grand Forks, BC)

Racism and Doukhobors

A list of great questions to consider, Alex. Thank you.

I needed to think about how to respond sensitively and honestly, for if we wish to address ‘racism’ in all its manifestations, then we must be honest and consider the feelings and experiences of others.

So first I’d like to share my perspective on racism. To me it holds within its mighty grasp prejudice, discrimination, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, colonialism, imperialism  and all those other labels that excuse treating people with disrespect and dishonour, excluding sectors of our global family, ensuring social and economic disparity, giving rise to superiority and self-serving actions.

Do Doukhobors practice racism?  Sadly, I must say that some do and have. But, we’ve also suffered from the attitudes that put people down, hurt people physically, emotionally, psychologically.  Our history is full of incidences of our ancestors being treated with disdain because they dared to stand firm on their belief, their life concept, their understanding of how we, children of God the Creator, need to live by.  This history occurred in my lifetime when children were housed in a Residential School and made to build the fence that jailed them, made to march with wooden guns, not allowed family visits for speaking a word in Russian, etc. But, even now the snide remarks, racist jokes, disparaging remarks hurt children.  But we don’t discuss or truly acknowledge the hurt we lobbed at each other — Community, Independent, Sons of Freedom.  Oh yes, let’s not forget the askance looks if you are poor, disabled, challenged in some way, live in one community rather than another, wear certain clothing, don’t speak Russian, did or did not do this or that or the other thing.  And of course the attitude towards non-Doukhobors was alive and lingers.

And yet, contained in our teachings we consider all equal and part of one global family with no enemies with all that exists on Mother Earth. We oppose violence but somehow didn’t understand that verbal abuse is violence, that disparaging remarks are violent and that allowing someone to live in poverty is violent.  War is not the only form of violence just as attacking someone for the colour of their skin is not the only form of racism.

I agree we need to address the issues that you listed and more. But we must also address the issues that cause poverty, hunger, homelessness, addiction, and yes war.  We must look below the surface of the actions of police brutality, racism and social injustice and address why do humanity and Doukhobors still not live up to the ideals we espouse? Why is it we treat others as lesser? Why do we excuse violent and abusive behaviour whether in protest or in our homes, our schools, work places, hospitals, on our streets?

I understand why the mantra 'Black Lives Matter' is so resonant with people of colour.  I support peaceful protest and creative resistance because 'the vital powers that be’ can institute the laws to ensure all are treated with respect by police, hospitals, on our streets, etc.  But, I cannot and will not support the off shot of the movement that throw fire bombs, raid and steal from stores, riot, verbally and physically attack others in person or on social media.

You ask if protests actually do any good. They did and still do -- when Doukhobors or others work for peace and justice, there are improvements.  Women protested and won the vote.  Unions protested and we have our Labour Code.  The Indigenous stood up and said 'enough' and the Residential Schools were finally closed.  All the codes and regulations we take for granted did not come because some politician or corporate head thought it is was good to treat people with dignity.  Our Medical System happened because people made a lot of noise.  And the same is true with all systems that need improvement.

Without a whole bunch of us making noise, change won’t happen. Nor will it happen only by nicely asking in a letter or petition. It will take a concerted effort. But before that concerted effort turns into an organized wellspring of action there is much work. We must understand the issues by talking, meeting and yes, protesting on the streets peacefully chanting 'an end to war, violence, racism and disregard for our planet'. We must educate and work as a team to improve our world through creative, supportive, innovative, kind, respectful, honourable, loving actions.

It’s vital we begin this dialogue, not as USCC, Independent or Sons of Freedom but as humans, people that value what our ancestors were willing to die for. We must be willing to work not just talk, willing to stand firm and not fold when the going gets a bit tough, willing to extend our hand of loving kinship to our neighbours, community, the global family.

I try to do this and am not always successful. I work with my Doukhobor family, my local community and globally to understand, support, educate, inspire and enlighten each other to improve the world we leave for our future global family. I ask all to take Alex’s queries to heart, and have an open mind for the vital needs today. And I ask you not to condemn my opinion; if you don’t agree that is fine, but do think about what I’ve said and about getting involved with changing the world so that Black Lives Matter does not exist, that violence out of frustration and pain does not exist, and that violence of war will not exist.

In Universal Kinship and Loving Peace,
Readers: Maybe you have a different answer. Anyone can comment below.
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Friday, 10 January 2020

Stop wars! Stop the killings!
— A Poem for Our Times


My ancestors the Spirit Wrestlers / Doukhobors
in 1895 burnt their guns calling on humanity
to stop wars once and for all —
or face the fate of dying together as fools.

We were inspired by the Russian writer Lev N. Tolstoy
who influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
in the use of nonviolence and love in solving human problems.

Yet wars have continued with hundreds of millions killed
slaughtered on the battlefields of hell.
When will we ever learn?
The stench of mass murders
affects us all — mothers, fathers, young and old.

It robs us of the human potential for
creating peace on earth
with free healthcare, free education,
housing, clean environment, and more.
Our heritage as human beings is at stake,.

Have we not heard of the wisdom of
‘Thou shalt not kill’?
Have we not known that pointing a gun at another person
is not a friendly act?

Why are we making millions
from perpetual wars
through the manufacture of
weapons of mass destruction?
Humanity Wake Up!

Are we deaf to the wisdom of our ancestors to
‘Stop Wars! Stop the killings!’
‘Do we not know that we are our brothers and sisters keepers?’.
How many ears will it take to hear
the cry of children orphaned by war?
When will we ever learn?

At the forthcoming arms show in Ottawa of 12,000 people
gathered to see the latest free market killers,
a few brave souls will gather at the gates with signs
‘Stop the murders’.’Stop the killings’.
‘Stop manufacturing killer weapons’.
Close down CANSEC.

When will we discover
peaceful alternatives to violence and wars?
When will we stop becoming rich from wars?
Or have we been hijacked by the almighty dollar,
killing our competition, grabbing oilfields or whatever?

Statesmen and women of the world
stand up and be counted.
Stop playing chess with our lives.
And media workers, cease being pawns
of the military industrial complex — your job
is to seek the truth and share it with the world.

The sacred choice is in our hands, my dear friends:
Life, love, beauty and humanity;
or the Stone Age of human extinction?
That is the question of the new decade.
Is anyone listening to the current words of wisdom:
NEVER AGAIN. STOP NATO.
DIVEST, DISARM, DEMILITARIZE.
OUTLAW WARS. STOP THE KILLINGS! LET’S BECOME NONKILLING HUMANS— RESPECT LIFE, LOVE and HUMANITY.
This poem was written for the 5th World Beyond War Conference in Ottawa, May 26-30, 2020.


Peace groups will oppose the 2020 CANSEC weapons show in Ottawa on May 30-31, 2020. Please come out and support the movement to save humanity from the scourge of war.
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Tuesday, 3 December 2019

Get the Veregin Centennial Video for $25

One Hundred Years of the Veregin Doukhobor Prayer Home
Iskra, issue 2144, November 2019, page 17.

The National Doukhobor Heritage Village is pleased to announce that a six-CD recording of the historic 100th anniversary celebration of the Prayer Home, held in 2017, is complete and ready for distribution.

The production was guided by Dr. Veronika Makarova, an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Linguistics and the Interdisciplinary Linguistics Program Chair at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Makarova also supported the funding of this project through her research funds and the NDHV is exceedingly grateful for her leadership in this initiative.

The six CD documentary includes choir performances, the prayer service, bus tours to surrounding historic sites and other program highlights.

Those who attended this celebration will enjoy re-living the remarkable celebration of toil and peaceful life, experienced through prayer, fellowship, song and food.

The collection is available for only $25.00 for the set to cover handling costs. However, donations are always welcome to continue supporting the work of the Village.

To order this exceptional documentary series, you may: contact the Village at 306-542-4441; write to Box 99, Veregin, SK SOA 4H0; or email ndhv@yourlink.ca.
See event program, history and news:
Heritage Day – 2017 Celebration
Canada 150 / Historic Prayer Home 100 year
National Doukhobor Heritage Village Inc., Veregin, Saskatchewan
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Wednesday, 6 November 2019

A Quaker Summary of Fighting

Book review.
  • Are you worried about increasing hate crimes?
  • Does it feel like our world is becoming more divided?
  • Do you care about peace?
In 2017 the Peace Program Coordinator and Communications Coordinator for the Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers) proposed to answer these questions scientifically by conducting a peace literature review and bibliography. He originally planned to compile a 50-page report to summarize:
  • What does science reveal about achieving interpersonal peace, avoiding conflict and hatred?
  • Do we really need to fight?
The short project continued for 2 years, and grew to 327 pages. To include as much as possible into the book, the font size was reduced, yet much had to be omitted. Perhaps a second volume will be published to compile the rest of their research.


Matthew Legge. Are We Done Fighting? Building Understanding in a World of Hate and Division (New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, 2019): 327 pp. Copyright by Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC, Facebook).
I read the book with much interest and then attended a book launch by the author on October 23th, 2019 at the Friends’ Meeting House, Ottawa, Ontario. Some 30 people attended. A question-answer period followed.

The event was audio recorded by Ken ‘Kensky’ Billings, and posted for you on pCloud, linked from his Digileak Canada website:
Matthew Legge (pronounced: ‘Le-ZHAY’) has been on a book tour across Canada, speaking on radio, at universities, bookstores, and Friends Meeting Houses; and teaching a few workshops. See schedule at bottom of AreWeDoneFighting.com. This is his first presentation fully recorded and posted online.


My Review

 This book is a 2-year cooperative effort of many people: the author Matthew Legge — an anthropology graduate from the University of Toronto — and his staff at the Quaker Centre in Toronto.

Matthew emailed to me:
‘The book has about 750 end notes that made it into the final copy. I can't say how many hundreds of books and studies I read, many hundreds did not make it into the book. I didn't do 100% of the research myself. 2 other staff and volunteers did parts and sent me things.’
The book is mostly a literature review of many sources related to avoiding violence — 'Evidence and techniques you can use right now'. The research team examined publications in psychology, anthropology and sociology of peace, mostly focusing on cultural ‘interpersonal peace issues’, not inter-government politics.

The author presents many tips for avoiding personal conflict and misunderstandings in daily living, but little about preventing WW3. The intent was to examine what is known about ‘hate and division’ in society. A very challenging aspect of war prevention!

In 24 short chapters, each ending with helpful tips, the author attempts to reach people with different educational, political, religious and cultural backgrounds. The result is a comprehensive text with many insights into the fundamental issues of hate and division, without a guarantee of what will work or not work. Although very useful as an academic study, in my opinion it fails to be a practical guide to action.


Positives

Gems I found especially useful and noteworthy:
  1. Equality is a useful ingredient in respecting people and countries. Trying to be overly superior to others will not lead us to a peaceful world. We need to acknowledge that we are all part of one world community and need to work together to survive.
  2. The understanding of ‘power over’ and ‘power-from-within’ are useful concepts in avoiding exploitation and violence (pages 23-24). Working together for a ‘win-win’ outcome would also help. 
  3. ‘....The peace virus can demand patience and perseverance, and the way we live it out makes a difference to the results we get’ (page 49). Peace virus is transmitted to children through modelling (page 126). Parents and teachers, please take note and be a model for living.
  4. The ‘creative power of silence’ can be used to begin a meeting (page 44), as is done effectively in many Quaker meetings. This is mindfulness at work.
  5. Among the communication skills, try communication instead of changing someone’s beliefs by shooting down our opponent (page. 56). Recognize, acknowledge, and even respect other views. Work together on common ground issues such as climate change, disarmament, etc.
  6. Emotions are contagious — treat them with care (p. 84). We can all be manipulated towards goodness or violence. Psychologists tell us that our interdependence and malleability shapes what we think and do. Beware of psychological warfare (page 79).
  7. Effective communication involves shared values of rapport building, careful listening and observing, and seeking truths (page 94). Take note of body language. Use humour when appropriate, but avoid humiliation (page 90).
  8. War ‘is not natural’ (page 124), but is a learned behaviour. It follows that we can learn to create a peaceful world.
  9. There is a problem today with mainstream media where the bias is towards sensationalism, such as the bomb. How about seeking good news stories?
  10. Establishing Ministries of Peace around the world is ‘an intriguing idea for improving the capacity and will to engage in prevention’ (page 228).

Negatives

The 327 pages of fine print, of which 52 pages are end-notes and index with even finer print makes it very difficult to read.

Though over 1,000 books and articles are listed, many important items for peacemaking familiar to me were not listed. It appears that the author and his team did not look at my website and blog which are full of valuable aides for peacemaking. I suggest adding these 7 missing items/topics.
  1. The Center for Citizen Initiatives in California has escorted groups of “citizen diplomats” (mostly Americans) to Russia since 1984 to engage in personal dialog. President Sharon Tennison has visited Russia for 35 years and rejects the war propaganda. “Misunderstandings, fallacious accusations, flare ups and demonizing ... we see the need and possibility for changing this situation. When real people in large numbers get involved, amazing things begin to happen. Join us!” Next trip: June 2020.
  2. In June 1895 my ancestors burnt their guns as a public resolve to get rid of wars. The war / peace issue is very much part of the Doukhobor movement, and I continue to be part of that movement to create a world without wars. Since the 1950s, I have been working steadily on a study of Spirit Wrestlers / Doukhobors with connections to the wider peace movement. A dozen books have been published and countless articles are in print and many more are steadily being produced in my Spirit-Wrestlers website and blog.
  3. 'A Study of Russian Organizations in the Greater Vancouver Area', 1963, my MA thesis in anthropology and sociology. During the first Cold War, I attended the University of British Columbia and studied the issues of what brings people together and what splits them apart. I found that both hot and cold wars split societies apart and cause undue suffering to humanity. If   we are to achieve a sustainable nonkilling society, this means we urgently need to get rid of the ‘scourge of war’ and make war a crime against humanity!
  4. ‘Opening Doors For Survival: A Handbook on Soviet-West Initiatives’, 1986. I produced this unpublished practical manuscript which was expanded and published in very limited numbers in 1991 by Peace Train Foundation in Ottawa, Canada as Discovering Soviet-West Cooperation. A Handbook on Soviet-West Bridge-Building Initiatives. The insights into peace-making are as valid today as they were in the 1980s.
  5. 'Doukhobor — Quaker Connections : Talk with Young Friends in Ottawa', December 6, 2009 Presentation Outline, Comments (updated 2019). Includes useful suggestions of what young Friends can do to make a contribution to society. The article also includes the story of effective peace manifestations  in Western Canada in the 1960s involving Doukhobors, Quakers, Mennonites, Fellowship of Reconciliation, and other groups. 
  6. Dr. Glenn D. Paige’s book Nonkilling Global Political Science, (2002), advanced the thesis that it is possible for humans to stop killing each other. The thesis supports the conclusion of the World Report on Violence and Health (Geneva, 2002) that human violence is a ‘preventable disease’. In November 2007, Dr. Page organized the First Global Nonkilling Leadership Forum, Hawaii, at which I presented my paper: ‘Tolstoy and the Doukhobors’. Wisdom people from around the world united to create a Nonkilling Society. The forum launched the Centre for Global Nonkilling ‘to promote change for a killing-free society’. While killing is deeply entrenched in world culture, it is not universal. Nonkilling is a new paradigm for a brave new world. The wider peace community should take note.
  7. 150 Canadian Stories for Peace — An Anthology, 2017. One of my contributions here was 'Opening Doors for Survival during the Cold War' (pages 101-102). In 1984-1985 I held 17 living room discussions on East-West bridge-building. My article concludes: ’With fake news in today’s Cold War world, are we not repeating again the dangerous lies about our northern Russian neighbours and others? When will we ever learn?’

Contact the author Matthew Legge at Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC, Quakers), 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 1C7, Canada. Phone: 416-920-5213 Web: quakerservice.ca. Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @CFSCQuakers. Get a free chapter of CFSC's book at: AreWeDoneFighting.com


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Monday, 1 July 2019

Peace Trek from India to Switzerland

A year-long trek for 'Justice and Peace' begins October 2, 2019, in New Delhi, India. Participants will march about 6,214 miles for 370 Days, crossing 16 countries, to Geneva, Switzerland, arriving on the 22nd of September, 2020. A part of the trek is happening in Canada.

In the Hindi language, Jai Jagat means 'victory to the world', 'victory to the planet', 'victory to all'. It also names a series of grass-root marches — 2007, 2012, and Jai Jagat 2020 — to address poverty, discrimination, climate crisis, and healing conflict and violence — the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.


Details of the Jai Jagat 2020 trek were presented at a slide-lecture hosted by the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council, held at Carleton University on June 15th. About 30 attended. I took photos.

Trekkers will pass near Doukhobors in the South Caucasus, and board a ship at Batumi, Georgia, the same port where many Doukhobors left Russia beginning in 1898, eventually arriving in Canada. Most Canadian Doukhobors still use the pre-1920 Russian name Batum for Batum Oblast (province) and city. The original plan was to walk around the Black Sea through Russia and Ukraine, but Russian officials are 'not interested' in allowing this march through their territory.

Dr. Jill Carr-Harris is Canadian with Ph.D. studies from the University of Toronto, who lived for 30+ years in India. She teaches peace and Gandhian nonviolence, and is married to a like-minded Indian peace activist who is the leader of Jai Jagat 2020. She came to Canada to promote the events, raise funds, and meet with family and friends before she begins the year-long walk.

Dr. Jill Carr-Harris
Dr. Carr-Harris opened her 1-hour lecture exclaiming Jai Jaget!, a greeting used in India 'to recognize each person as a member of the universal family' — 'an act of peace'. In her first lecture slide, she labeled the trek 'A Global March for Peace'.

In 2017 she introduced the Jai Jagat 'campaign' in Ottawa, and has returned to 'update' the news and 'get some people engaged' — 'grassroots ... action'.

In 2014, I met her husband Rajagopal P. V. in Ottawa, Canada when he and Jill came to introduce their early plans for these treks.

Both husband and wife view human behaviour as basically good, but we need to support ways to assure global survival for all living things — ‘not just making money’ for ourselves. In our most difficult moments, nonviolence training teaches us to be compassionate, must be used to 'organize society', and be integrated into all the higher academic fields (sciences and humanities). 'A Gandhian perspective ... educating young people ... to get them to think about peace and nonviolence'.

Jill Carr-Harris stated that the late Murray Thomson and UN Ambassador Doug Roche are the 'grandfathers of peace' in Canada. Roche 'said we are moving from a culture of violence, a culture of war, ... into to a culture of peace ... but, there are small ups and downs'.

Her slides are not shown on the web except in this video, and are included here.

      4 Phases of the Jai Jagat Campaign
  • PHASE 1: Nonviolent training, local action and youth engagement.
  • PHASE 2: Global Peace March: from Raj Ghat, New Deli India to Geneva Switzerland with Peace Conferences along the way.
  • PHASE 3: GENEVA Action Forum & Dialogue with UN & Financial Institutions.
  • PHASE 4: Follow up Advocacy County/Local Level Action and Advocacy.

Dr. Carr-Harris reported that 50 people have committed to walk the entire 10,000 kilometers. Everyone is welcome to join and leave at any place and time. Many peace groups along the route are organizing partial marches, joining the permanent marchers for a few kilometers. Many not on the main route from India are planning local marches. some to join the movement in Geneva. European countries are accommodating marchers with special visas. Peace organizations around the world can recognize and join in the global effort. First Nations are now marching from New Brunswick to Maine, USA, before winter.

There are social media campaigns in 4 countries, including Canada. In addition to Dr. Carr-Harris, the Canadian event advisor is Dr. Anne Pearson, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (Alberta), Global Peace Centre Canada (Ontario).

     What Can People In Canada Do?
  • Working to Galvanize:
    • Social Media Unit in Atlantic Canada
    • Communication Group in Southern Ontario
    • Teachers Group in Western Canada
  • Connecting with Mahatma Gandhi Foundations in Edmonton, Hamilton and Ottawa to Raise Jai Jagat in 2nd October Program
  • Small Fundraising Efforts (For marchers)
  • Working on Marches in Canada
  • Join the March (Either the Long March of Other European Marches)
  • Sending Journalist Students to Join Marches.

Her final announcement was that a 'Peace and Non-Violence Department' is being planned in Rajasthan, India. It precedes our Canadian Peace Initiative for a similar government department.

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Saturday, 29 June 2019

Doukhobor Peace Day Message 2019

My Message to the Celebration Today in Verigin, Saskatchewan

Location: National Doukhobor Heritage Village, Veregin, Saskatchewan.
Date: Saturday, June 29, 2019.
Time: 11 am, followed by a Potluck lunch with speeches.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Spirit,

It was on the midnight of June 28-29 (New Style July 11-12), 1895, that 7,000 Russian Doukhobors in Transcaucasia, Russia (and now Turkey) set ablaze piles of their own and government-issued rifles, pistols and swords in the first mass protest in history against militarism and war. (Historic 1895 Burning of Guns descriptions, selections and translations)

This year 2019 marks the 124th anniversary of this momentous pioneering happening calling for hope in creating a world without wars. Stopping or starving the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction is still the way for peace in our world. Or, as we now know, Nonkilling is the way to Peace!

Today with the escalating arms race and climate crisis, the Doomsday Clock of Atomic Scientists is almost one minute to midnight. We are on the brink of destruction unless we change course, bring our troops home, close down military bases abroad, get rid of NATO, and use the tools of listening and diplomacy in finding a way to get to know the stranger, and then work cooperatively to solve our common problems.

That is the urgent message today as we celebrate Petrov Den, or the annual Doukhobor Peace Day. Speak to your family, your neighbours, your friends, the media, as well as your Member of Parliament. We need to wake up the people at home and abroad. For our children’s sake and our grandchildren, let us act now.
This message with 2 images is copied at Transcend Media Service, 1 July 2019. So far 6 of my articles are copied at TMS.
All My Peace Day Messages
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Saturday, 5 January 2019

Gubanov, Russian Doukhobor Artist Dies

Губанов Владимир Петрович (1951-2018)

Vladimir (‘Volodia’) Petrovich Gubanov will long be remembered as an talented Russian Doukhobor sculptor and artist. He died December 17, 2018 at his home in the town of Nebug, Tuapsinsky district, Krasnodar krai, on the Black Sea, 130 km. (80 mi.) north of Sochi. He was 67 years old.

Gubanov: in USSR c. 1970, Canada 1995, and Georgia 2014.

Canadian Doukhobors met him in 1995 during his 4-month expedition across Canada. He produced nearly 40 portrait sketches of Doukhobors, many of which were published in Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers’ Strategies for Living (2002).

In an August 1995 interview, Volodia said:
I believe the Doukhobor movement has a future. As a Doukhobor I believe that people must preserve planet earth. If people are quiet about wars, then there is no future for our civilization. (Spirit Wrestlers ..., page 223).
Vladimir was invited to Canada to commemorate the 1995 Centennial of the 1895 arms burning by Doukhobors in Russia. He came with sketches of Russian Doukhobors, several oil paintings, and a huge mural: "The Doukhobors' Destruction of Weapons", oil on canvas, 100 x 200 cm. The mural was promoted on this poster-calendar 'Spirit of '95'.

Click here to enlarge poster.

Vladimir Gubanov was born in the Doukhobor village of Orlovka (map by Johnathan Kalmakoff), Bogdanovskoy district, Georgian S.S.R. — near the site of the 1895 arms burning. His father herded cattle on the kolhoz (collective farm), but later in the 1970s left for Nalchik, in northern Caucasus. The Gubanovs resided across the entire former Soviet Union and Vladimir’s grandfather was exiled to a Koylma gulag labor camp in Siberia for 10 years because he owned 11 cows instead of the allotted one per family and was charged under Stalin with the crime of being a kulak.

In 1974 Vladimir left home to study art in Rostov-on-Don, Moscow and the Far East. In 1989 he completed studies at the Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry. He eventually landed a job at the large health-spa hotel resort "Molniya Yamal" in Nebug, where he continued to paint, do interior design and sculptures on commission.

He soon acquired a plot of land less than a kilometer uphill from the resort to build his own art studio and home. Slowly it became a modern three-story motel apartment designed in the shape of a ship (from above), with studio (muzei-masterskaya) and gallery (kartinnaya galereya) where he made and displayed his art. In 1993 he dedicated part of the gallery as a Doukhobor Cultural Centre to promote the world-wide Doukhobor movement, where he hoped to host international conferences. The Gallery was incorporated in 2006.


For the Doukhobors, Vladimir had planned a renaissance in the development of culture with a balance between individual and social needs. He said: ‘If we lose our culture and our social charter, we will lose our soul.’ In his studies, he discovered that the first Doukhobors were not vegetarians, they were not against dancing and song, and bowing to the ground was not essential. He urged Canadian Doukhobors to embrace the use of all the creative resources to attract youth to their social movement. Vladimir Gubanov was indeed a renaissance man with deep respect for culture and the future of humanity.

More
  1. ‘A Russian Artist’s Odyssey to Preserve the Future’. In Koozma J. Tarasoff, Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers’ Strategies for Living (2002), pages 223-225.
  2. Koozma J. Tarasoff. ‘The Events that Shook the World in 1895’. In Ahimsa Nonviolence, Vol. II, No 3, May-June 2006: 244-246.
  3. ‘Tolstoy & Doukhobors — 42 image CD’. Spirit Wrestlers Blog, Sept. 8, 2011.
  4. Владимир Губанов (Vladimir Gubanov), Odnoklasniki, last updated 31 May 2014. — Similar to U.S.A. Facebook.
  5. ‘International Doukhobor Meeting-Exhibit. Proposal to Build Bridges between East and West'. November 11, 2016.
  6. Koozma J. Tarasoff and Andrei Conovaloff. Images — paintings and drawings depicting the event (see image 6) in ‘Historic 1895 Burning of Guns: descriptions, selections and translations’. See image 6. Updated May 21, 2018.
  7. ‘Leo Tolstoy and the Doukhobors: Conscientious Objection’. Gandhi Information Centre, 2019.
  8. ‘Visual Arts and Nonkilling. A mural commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Arms Burning in Russia.’ #3 in 'Nonkilling Arts Research Committee Letter: Vol. 3, N. 1 (January - February 2019)'.
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Sunday, 24 June 2018

Suggestions for 'World Beyond War' Conference in Toronto Sept. 21 - 22, 2018

The forthcoming peace conference in Toronto, Canada in September 2018 appears like the ultimate in world peace conferences. Its organizer is David Swanson, founder and Director of World BEYOND War.


The confirmed speakers are impressive, including retired Canadian anthropologist Dr. Saul Arbess, who is currently the Director of the Canadian Peace Initiative (formerly known as the Canadian Dept. of Peace Initiative) that I have been associated with since its birth in 2006.

The conference shows much promise, and these additions would make it more effective.

The Doukhobors should be included under 'War Abolishers' (right column). In 1895, 7,000 Russian pacifists in Russia burned their guns — a public declaration to the world that violence and wars are wrong and that non killing is the way of the future. As a Doukhobor, I have been taught that it is wrong to kill another human being because there is a spark of god/love/beauty in each of us, and war is a crime.

At least three speakers from important organizations should be included in the Speaker's List:
  • Prof. Johan Galtung, Transcend Media Service, a peace journalist for over 65 years. He is founder of Transcend International and rector of Transcend Peace University.
  • A representative for The Center for Global Nonkilling founded in 2007 by the late Dr. Glenn D. Paige in Hawaii. Its goal: 'to promote change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world'.
  • Sharon Tennison of The Center For Citizen Initiatives, California, builds bridges of peace through citizen diplomacy between Russia and the USA.
World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, activists, and allied organizations advocating for the abolition of the very institution of war. Its success is described as being driven by a people-powered movement. Support their work for a culture of peace. World BEYOND War PO Box 1484 Charlottesville, VA 22902 USA
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Thursday, 12 April 2018

What borshch means to me

As a comfort dish of many local culinary Slavic peoples, this soup dish is commonly made in a big pot to feed everybody for several days, and is often more delicious the next day.


Many Doukhobor and Mennonite websites talk about borshch (borsht, borshcht) as a popular dish amongst their population.

As I see it, borshch has become a world wide common dish with almost institutional qualities.

Because of their pacifist nonkilling stance, Doukhobor borshch was traditionally vegetarian, with dill, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, beets and butter being its most prominent ingredients. Today, 2018, only a small minority of Doukhobors are vegetarian, although those who make borshch make it without meat.

Most other non-Doukhobor borshch recipes often include meat as part of it although in the pioneering era, less than 10 percent of the population ate meat because it was largely not available and was expensive.

Borshch is utilitarian in that you could include almost any available vegetable that you have around and add meat if that is your preference. It’s cheap, available, communal and healthy. A universal dish! A similar soup was made in Roman times.

During the Soviet Union, borshch was the most common dish enjoyed at home and in restaurants. It was even used by Russian cosmonauts in freeze-dried form.

Borshch is a ritual dish for Orthodox, Greek, Roman Catholic and Jewish peoples in Eastern Europe. For Doukhobors, it is the first food served (without meat) at funerals.

In brief, for Doukhobors, borshch is a universal dish with Slavic heritage and communal roots, and is largely known for its association with hospitality, nonkilling and good health.

Thanks to our Russian ancestors who have for centuries made this delicacy a contribution to world culture, these are outstanding human qualities that society dearly needs today. Enjoy!

Bolshoe spasibo! [A Big thank you!]
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Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Doukhobors and Tolstoy Inspire Novel



Book review of a "futuristic novel"
New Planet, New World, 
by Ian Prattis, 2016. 288 pages.

How can we build a sustainable community from scratch on a new planet? Dr. Prattis shows 'the demise of modern civilization' via climate change, violence, inequality, and wars on earth, and attempts to provide an innovative architecture for its resurrection on another planet.

This is Prattis’ third book of a trilogy titled:
Chronicles of Awakening
  • Book One: Redemption
  • Book Two: Trailing Sky Six Feathers
  • Book Three: New Planet, New World
Ian Prattis is a friend and retired Professor of Anthropology and Religion from Carleton University in Ottawa, Buddhist teacher, and author. His fictional novel New Planet New World was partially inspired with my help by the teachings of Lev N. Tolstoy and the Doukhobors. It offers hopeful solutions for our addiction to fossil fuels.

We got to know each other working on the annual Ottawa Peace Festivals for 10 years. Prattis, through his organization Friends of Peace hosted the largest gathering of musical performances at City Hall. I am glad he asked me about the Doukhobor Movement and Tolstoy and integrated the wisdom into his book.

In the book, the teachings of Doukhobors and Tolstoy relate to the central value of love, the willingness to cooperate and share, as well as compassion for humanity — values of gentleness, nonkilling and respect which provide hope for the creation of a society without wars.

In short, Earth is destroyed and rebuilt from scratch by '... protagonists ... from different centuries and cultures.' The hero Sian the Celtic seer works with Catriona, blood sisters, Four Hopi Sacred Keepers, Doukhobors, Tolstoy, and others. The survivors conquer the problems of individualism and greed that destroyed Earth, connect as human beings, reject self-centeredness and self-absorption, and take care of Nature.

After two stages of space flight, Prime 3 on Jupiter One Station had a change of crew of Americans replaced by a Chinese and Russian co-pilot from their respective Space Agencies. The Russian co-pilot was Nikolai Chutskov, with wife Elena and son Igor. In the attempted landing on a new planet there was an explosion and the parents were separated from their children, and some pioneers were killed. Two children Andrew and George who lost their parents were adopted by the Chutskovs.

At a meeting of the new settlement, Elk Village, Nikolai addressed the pioneers including Igor and his adopted children, saying they were descendants of the Russian Doukhobors who 'followed a path of peace' (pages 215-216):
The Doukhobors created a movement for peace ethics and community in nineteenth century Russia. They rejected both state militarism and the clergy. In 1895 they sent a strong message of protest by burning three piles of government-issued guns and swords to emphasize their ethics of non-killing and community. This immediately brought state persecution and exile. An initial migration of seven thousand five hundred Doukhobors to Canada soon followed with the help of Tolstoy....
Elena picked up the story. 'Tolstoy was an incredible philosopher and is regarded to this day as the conscience of humanity. He articulated the beliefs of the Doukhobor Movement in his prolific writings, referring to them as "people of the twenty fifth century," which is quite a statement about how they were ahead of their times. They had ethics, values, education and community-living bound up in a new paradigm that re-visits us today with the establishment of Oasis and the the two new settlements to be created at Crossroads and Black Elk Village. We are just hearing about them....'
Elena continued. 'Our ancestors did not migrate to Canada. They settled with other communities in Georgia and at the same time stayed true to their Doukhobor beliefs. This was passed down from generation to generation and came to rest with Nikolai and me. We chose to make a career as astronauts [cosmoauts] with the Russian Space Program rather than serve in the military....The Wisdom of the Elders fits the creed we were born into love, caring, ecology, community and peace....'
Prattis explained his inclusion of Tolstoy:
Ethical settlements grow as a mirror for Tolstoy's vision of 'people of the 25th century' – ahead of their time. ...The inclusiveness of science combines with Tolstoy's vision, ... The underlying message is from Tolstoy, the 'Conscience of Humanity.' He described humanity's bottom line as the cultivation of love, the mainspring for authentic and responsible living. I do not present this as idealism, rather as down to earth wisdom.
The narration is well-crafted, technologically knowledgeable, fast-paced, with twists and turns suitable for a movie. The characters are historically international. The problems to be solved are real — poverty, rape, jihadists, PTSD, hate, revenge, youth involvement, and more.

Mysticism combines with hi-tech. The power of extra sensory perception, dreams and creative breathing are explained. The previous 2 books provide Guidelines for organization, work, ceremony for people to mature, protocols for justice and relations with other people and all creatures and the land are discussed by Rising Moon, mother of Trailing Sky and others.

This is a book for our times which addresses Climate Change, violence, and mass murder wars; and is really about love.

Get it as a gift for your children whose future will depend upon how we handle our problems wisely in the spirit of knowledgeable and friendly humanity. Order from Amazon for Hardcover, Paperback or Kindle E-book editions. Soft cover $25 Canadian, plus S&H. If you order directly from Prattis you will receive a FREE copy of Redemption and Trailing Sky Six Feathers with your purchase!

Thank you Ian Prattis for writing your muse. I was glad to share my knowledge of Doukhobors and Tolstoy with you. My ancestors are honoured you heeded their wisdom.
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