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Archiver > GER-VOLGA > 2002-02 > 1012599943


From: "Horst W. Gutsche" <>
Subject: [GV] Historical information on the Lutheran parishes in East Siberia
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 13:45:43 -0800


Dear Folks,

The following information is given to serve as an historical introduction
for everyone and especially for those people who requested the paper
"History of the Germans in Vladivostok" (about 30 people requested it). I
have a further report for the year 2001 from the 8 German Russian Lutheran
congregations in the Far East of Russia. If you would like a copy of this
report, please send me a note at and I will send it
to you.

This Far East area of Russia is very significant for our people because of
the fact that so many of our young men served in the Russo-Japanese War. My
grandfather, Rudolf Gutsche, was one of them. We have an old photo of him
in uniform before he went off to the war. These photos were often taken
because the family did not know if they would see their son/brother again.
Years ago, when I lived in Vancouver, BC, I bought an old book in English
called: "A Photographic Record of the Russo-Japanese War". Pages 1-11 are
missing, but the entire book has 252 pages. It is a great record of the
war. According to this book: "On a peace footing, the Russian army had
1,000,000 officers and men; on a war footing the Russian army had 4,600,000
officers and men. At that time, Russia's population was 144,000,000".

The following data is taken from Joseph Schnurr's (in German) book: "The
Churches and the Religious Life of the German Russian." It is available in
German from the "Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland",
Raitelsbergstrasse 49, 70188 Stuttgart, Germany. The Catholic section costs
36 marks (I don't know what it would be in euros now) and the Evangelical
(Lutheran and Reformed) section costs 45 marks. Sometimes there are
"specials" on these books. Last year it was before April or during April or
something like that. All of the Heimatbuecher from 1954 onward are
available for purchase.

Translation by Horst W. Gutsche, Feb. 1. 2002

(A) Parish of Irkutsk

In 1905 the following numbers of people/nationality were members of the pari
sh:

485 Germans, 180 Estonians, 150 Latvians, 60 Finns, 6 Swedes, 15 Slovaks, 10
Danes, 1 Black Man, 1 Dutchman and 1 Lithuanian.

1) 1768-1769 - Johann Karl Wilhelm Gabriel - He also served in Ekaterinburg
1769-1774 and in Tomsk-Barnaul 1774-1780
2) 1769-1773 - Johann Emanuel Steffens, ordained in Dorpat, Estonia, Russian
Empire Dec. 20, 1881 - He also served in Ekaterinburg 1774-1784, Omsk
1783-1784 and in Irkutsk 1784- (note below)
3) 1774-1779 - Otto Bernhard Lange (or Johann Heinrich?) - also served in
St. John, Narva near St. Petersburg 1759-1788
4) 1779-1783 - Johann Benjamin Richter
5) 1784- - Johann Emanuel Steffens
6) 1791-1794 - Friedrich Benjamin Boretius
7) 1794-1826 - Johann Gottfried Becker, born 1758 in Kambach (burg?) on the
Saale River in Germany - He also served in Zhitomir, Volhynia 1826-1841
8) 1827-1835 - Karl Friedrich Rosenthal, born Nov. 17, 1789 in
Baerenwalde/Neumark - He also served in Orenburg 1819-1823, St. Michaelis
(Moscow?) 1823-1827, and Pleskau (Pskov) 1837-1851
9) 1836-1839 - Karl Friedrich Frueauf - (my note: probably from the Baltic
area)
10) 1841-1845 - Friedrich Wilhelm Viereck - He also served in the Belovezh
congregations 1845-1848
12) 1849-1852 - Konstantin Ferdinand Butzke, born Mar. 11, 1818 - He was a
dean. He also served in Tobolsk 1854- , in Saratov on the Volga 1855-1865,
and in Rosenberg on the Volga 1865-1891
13) 1856-1862 - Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Kossmann, General Superintendent -
born April 17,1826 - He also served St. Petri in Moscow 1862-1866 and
Saratov on the Volga 1866-1888; He was the Vice-president of the area
consistory fo the Lutheran Church 1888-1892
14) 1863-1872 - Johann David Rossini
15) 1869-1873 - Martin Kurtz, vicar - He also served in Vladivostok
1866-1873 and in Simbirsk 1874-1892
16) 1876-1888 - Theodor Johann Gerhard Rathke, born July 27, 1844 in Poland.
17) 1894-1899 - Eduard Beckmann, born 1868 in Livonia in the Baltic area of
the Russian Empire, died Nov. 26, 1939 in Weissenstein (my note - Germany?).
He also served in Tbilisi, Georgia, Russian Empire 1888-1897, Oranienbaum
1897-1916, Strelna 1897-1916 and St. Petri in St. Petersburg 1916-1920
18) 1901-1920 - Woldemar Sibbul (an Estonian by nationality), born August
25, 1869 in Dorpat, Estonia, ordained Feb. 9, 1897 in Norka on the Volga,
division chaplain in Eastern and Middle Asia, took care of the German
prisoners-of-war as well. He died in Berlin, Germany Feb. 16, 1947. He also
served in Norka on the Volga 1897-1901 and later in Estonia

(2) Parish of Nishnaya and Verchnaya Bulanka - mostly deported people (Does
anyone know where these places are?)

1) 1884-1895 - Jakob Hermann Sahlit - born Dec. 3, 1853, ordained July 22,
1884
2) 1909-1917 - Theodor Rueblis, vicar - born November 22, 1872, ordained
Feb. 26, 1906 in Toflis (sp? - Tibilisi?) He also served in Tbilisi,
Georgia 1906-1909 as assistant pastor
3) 1913-1923 Woldemar Reichwald, born Nov. 4, 1877 in Zelmenecken, Courland,
Russian Empire; student pastor in Moscow, ordained Oct. 28, 1913 in Moscow -
He died an unnatural death (by murder or starvation) He served in Krassnoyar
1913-1934, deported to Tashkent, then arrested on Dec. 27, 1935 and
condemned to 7 years in prison, his wife to 3 years in prison; in 1939 he
died as a deportee.

(3) Parish of Vladivostok together with Nikolayevsk

In 1905 there were: 1,715 Germans, 693 Latvians, 673 Estonians, 36 Finns, 26
Swedes and 11 Armenians in the parish.

1) H. Roschier, from Minusinsk - in the summer of 1877 he moved to Finland
2) Theodor Johann Gerhard Rathke, born July 27, 1844 in Poland, vicar from
Irkutsk - He also served in Irkutsk 1876-1888
3) 1866-1873 - Martin Kurtz, born Jan. 21, 1840 - He also served in Irkutsk
1869-1873 and in Simbirsk 1874-1892
4) 1873-1877 - August Roschier, from Minusinsk, a vicar - He moved to
Finland in the summer of 1879.
5) 1880-1912 - Karl August Rumpeter, division chaplain in the Amur and
coastal region, born Nov. 18, 1849
6) 1914-1922 - Adalbert Gustav Michael Lesta, born Nov. 20, (or Dec. 2?)
1869 in Dorpat, Estonia, Russian Empire, died Oct. 21, 1941 in Bruetz,
Mecklenburg, Germany. He also served in Yagodnaya Polyana 1896-1897, Samara
1897-1904, Tobolsk 1904-1909, Tomsk 1909-1914; he moved to Germany in
October 1922
7) 1923-1936 - Woldemar Reichwald (see the information above on the parish
of Nishnaya and Verchnaya Bulanka for details of his life and ministry.




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