Figure 1.--The photo shows the school of a German speaking community during the early-20th century. Probably they belonged to an Anabaptist congregation. The HBC reader who found this image tells that it was taken in the region of Khiva in modern Uzbekistan during 1917 or a bit later.

The first Germans to settle in Russia occurred in during the reign of Vasili III, Grand Prince of Moscow (1505-33). Vasili allowed a small number of German and Dutch craftsmen and traders establish a German Quarter (Немецкая слобода, or Nemetskaya sloboda) in Moscow. This evolved into a foreign quarter, but the Germans were the dominant freign elrment. At the time, Russia was a kind of terra incognita in Europe. And the Russians werre very suspious of foreigners, perhaps in part because oo the long history of Mongul/Tartar dominance. The Germans and Dutch brought a range of important skills which were developing in Europe since the Renaissance--an historical experience that Russia never shared. Interestingly, early technological change in Europe was trongly related to adopting Chinese innovations. While Eussiaas clser to China, it proved less amenable to technological change. Several other cities in Russia followed suit establishing foreign quarters. These foreign quarters became very important both for technology, trade, and banking. Moscow had a population of some 200,000 people and 18,000 of that were Nemtsy--meaning variously German or western foreigner. that was nearly 10 percent of the urban population. That was only the beginning of the German presence in the Tsarist Empire which would eventually amount to nearly 3 million people. This included both Germans who settled in Tsarist lands and Germans who had settled in Eastern European areas that were conquered by the Tsarist armies (Poland and the Baltic principlities). This includes both Urban Germans (the Baltics) and communities that included both cradftsmen and farmers in other areas. We note German communities throughout the Tsarist Empire. This includes the Baltics, Vistula, Volga, Black Sea, Ukraine Crimea, Causasus, and even Central Asia (figure 1). These communities for several centuries pursued a separate existence, rather like the Amish in America. Here a mix of ethnicity, language, and religion was involved. With the advent of the 20th century the situation changed fundamentally. Those who left Tsarist Russia/Soviet Union survived. Many who did not leave did not survive.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Bibliographies] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Contributions] [FAQs] [German glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 5:47 AM 9/19/2017
Last updated: 5:47 AM 9/19/2017