Tolstoy and the Doukhobors:

Letter to II Khudiakov

by Eli Popoff

Year of 1895 – October 15-23 Y.P.

I thank you for your letter, in which you are informing me about the present situation of our persecuted brethren. I receive soul contentment in receiving every form of detailed news about them. I am totally with them in my soul and my greatest regret is that I am not able to be with them in my physical body as well.

May God grant them the strength to serve Him with their dedicated firmness and humbleness in this persecution.

I have already mailed out to foreign newspapers the document formulated by Pavel Ivanovitch (Birukov) of what has already happened to our persecuted brethren. With this material I had included a letter from myself, to which I have received a reply that the material will be published in foremost leading newspapers. To my knowledge this has not yet appeared anywhere (1).

A detailed write-up as to how Christian people are enduring their persecution, and how faithful they are to the eternal and unquestionable truth may open the eyes of many. This is why I believe that publishing all the facts of what really has happened will prove to be of immense value.

Do you have any communication with those that are presently in prison, and is there any way that their situation could be helped?

Presently, I have received a letter from Austria, from a doctor in their armed forces. He has refused to continue in his military duties and for this he is now in prison (2). From his prison cell he is professing his stand for the eternal and unquestionable truth with even greater efforts than people in their outside freedom.

Pass on my love to all our brethren.

L Tolstoy.

***
This has been printed from a handwritten copy from the Archives of Vladimir D Bonch-Bruevitch: the whereabouts of the original is not known. It is dated on the basis of his later written words: “Presently I have received from Austria a letter from an army doctor.” The receipt of the letter from A. Shkarvan is mentioned in Tolstoy’s Diary under the date of October 24th 1895 (a former note stated that this was October 14th).

Tolstoy was answering the letter from a Doukhobor, Ivan Ivanovitch Khudiakov, sent from Tiflis dated October 1st 1895, in which he was informing Tolstoy about what was taking place in the Tsarist persecution of the Doukhobors.
(1) Pavel Ivanovitch Birukov, having paid a visit to the Caucasus area, wrote an article about the persecution of the Doukhobors under the title of “Persecution of Christians in Russia in the year 1895.”

Tolstoy, from his own self, wrote an addendum to Birukov’s article, which he dated September 19th 1895, and then mailed the article, together with a letter of his own, to his English friend and fellow believer John Kenworthy, for publication. The article appeared in the newspaper “Times” on the 23rd of October, 1895.

(2)Albert Shkarvan (1869-1926), a Slovak doctor, was a fellow believer of Tolstoy.

In an answering letter of October 28th, 1895 Khudiakov informed Tolstoy of other details in the continuing persecution of the Doukhobors.
~EP

 

"Unique, Unrecorded Connections"

The year 2010 brought about a lot of research on the above material because it was the 100th year anniversary of Tolstoy’s passing. In writing several articles on this subject, I had to do a considerable amount of research among my own, stored away files. Among these was the book by Professor Donskov entitled “Leo Tolstoy and the Canadian Doukhobors”. On Page 398 of the book, among the list of people that Tolstoy corresponded with, there was noted – a letter to I I Khudjakov, dated October 15th 1895. I made a note to myself – that I must make an attempt to get a copy of this letter, as I had a file on I I Khudjakov, who had been in exile for his Doukhobor conscientious objection to military service, with about 110-120 other Doukhobors, names of which are recorded in my father’s “Autobiography of a Siberian Exile”. I had interviewed this Doukhobor elder, Vanya Hoodiakov, in May of 1953, for an article for ISKRA on Doukhobor exiles to Siberia.

Several attempts of my own to get a copy of this letter, in the past year did not prove successful. Finally, I decided to write to our friend Jack McIntosh, the expert bibliographer of all Doukhobor material at the University of British Columbia, if he could get a copy of this letter and forward it to me. Low and behold, in a couple of week’s time, he forwarded a photocopy of this letter, which in this ISKRA is reproduced above in its exact form.

My files on I I Khudjakov brought out a story, which I felt might be of interest to ISKRA readers and other researchers on this important era of Doukhobor history.

Among other things, the interview brought out that in the year 1895, Ivan Ivanovitch Khudjakov, was fulfilling the last year of his military training of three years at an army station in the Caucasus called “Olltyi”. At that time a draftee remained committed to military service as a “reservist” for a total of 18 years plus 6 months. Olltyi was a different place from the station where Matvei Lebedev and his eleven companions, were, as a group, laying down their guns on that Easter day of 1895. Being as these were his last months of service, Mr Khudjakov had more privileges than the Lebedev group. He was actually on a month’s leave of absence and took part in the Burning of Guns in his own Kars area of the Caucasus on June 29th of 1895. In these last months of training at his post at Olltyi, he was also on call from the administration office for duties that his privileged class were sometimes called upon to do. And so it was at this time in July or August of 1895, that he was commandeered to escort eight prisoners to the city of Tiflis, the capital city of Georgia. From there, they were to be disbursed to the places where they would be serving their sentences.

While in Tiflis he was able to meet with some Doukhobors who had come to make arrangements to see some of their imprisoned relatives. They met at a widow’s rooming house where Doukhobors usually stayed, and which they referred to as “Pashchikha’s” place. She was a person who held Tolstoyan beliefs.

It was here at “Pashchikha’s” place that Mr Khudjakov was informed that Pavel Ivanovitch Birukov had left some documents for him. Following the instructions of Leo Tolstoy, Birukov had come to the Caucasus to ascertain exactly what was happening in the persecution of the Doukhobors by the Georgian authorities. Birukov had become informed that a certain Ivan Khudjakov, a Doukhobor, who was still in uniform, and who had certain privileges that others did not have, was staying at “Pashchika’s” place. And so, the packages were left there, with Birukov’s instructions that the materials therein should be distributed by Khudjakov among the Doukhobors. The intention of Tolstoy was to support them in their righteous stand against militarism.

Well, the materials that were left for Ivan Khudjakov by Birukov proved to be anti-military literature by Tolstoy that had been censored by the Tsarist authorities.

During my interview with Ivan Khudjakov, he admitted that he was not too aware of the risk involved with the distribution of the material. He quite simply distributed part of the materials to the Doukhobors that he met in Tiflis, and then took some with himself when returning to his post at Olltyi.

At this time, he began seriously considering that even though he would be let go from active service to become only a reservist on call for the next 18 years and 6 months, he should lay down his gun now, before his release, like his comrades in the Lebedev group had done. And that he should face whatever punishment meted to him as others were facing theirs, in the Disciplinarian Battalion. His decision was prompted by the fact that all those Doukhobors who were faithful to Peter Vasilyevitch Verigin, to which his family belonged, and who were in the status wherein they had already finished their first terms in the army before him and were now reservists were also handing in their reservist papers and were being arrested and imprisoned as well. These reservists were receiving different punishments in their detainments in harsh prisons and exile to desolate places for various terms. And so, not thinking too much of what might happen, he distributed some of this censored literature to his soldier friends and even left one brochure on the Post Commander’s desk. He also left one of the brochures for himself, which he locked away in one of his trunks of clothing.

Later in the year, he followed through with his decision to give up his gun and refuse further service as a soldier. He was duly arrested, spending time in several prisons before receiving his sentence of exile to Siberia. During the time of this process, the commanding officer of this post of Olltyi did inform him that in their investigation of who had spread the censored anti-military literature of Tolstoy, they had found the brochure in his trunk and that a more serious charge was being worked on.

It was at that time that Khudjakov was still free, that he had his correspondence with Tolstoy.

Ivan Khudjakov told me that he was not sure of why this charge of distributing the literature was not followed up on at the time. Whether it was through the kindness of the commanding officer, who was always friendly with Khudjakov, or through some intercession of Tolstoy, or just inefficiency of the military bureaucracy, but the lesser charges for refusing military service by Khudjakov were given priority over the sedition charges. He was first sentenced to the Disciplinarian Battalion like the Lebedev group, but before he actually was transferred, it was through Tolstoy’s intercession on behalf of all the Doukhobors, that the Disciplinarian Battalion punishment for the Doukhobors was legally cancelled. All Doukhobors refusing military service, from that point forward, were to be exiled to Siberia for a term of 18 years and 6 months – the total time of military responsibility of a call-up soldier.

About his exile to Siberia, Khudjakov said he was in the second group, and when they arrived in the city of Yakutsk in the year 1897, they were immediately transported to where the Doukhobors were already settled 700 miles northeast of the city. The Doukhobors already had formed their commune in the River Notor and there he and his wife lived till the year 1905. His position there was as the main bread baker, and his wife was the main seamstress. Their general stay in Siberia was the same as all the rest of the Doukhobor exiles.

However, what makes the Khudjakov story so unique is the saga of what happened to them at the time of the release of the Doukhobors from Siberia in 1905. It so happened, that on the occasion of the long awaited birth of a son, Tsar Nicholas of Russia issued a Manifesto, which included the freeing of all Doukhobors exiled in Siberia. They were given the freedom to choose any part of Russia for their re-settlement, and their transportation to that place would be at state expense. If they chose to leave the country, their transportation would be paid to the port of their exit.

And so, in May of 1905, began the registration of the Doukhobors, all gathered in the city of Yakutsk, for their leave of Siberia. They had chosen to leave for Canada, where they would join all the rest of their brethren who had migrated there en-masse from the Caucasus area.

The administrator who was issuing all the documents was a kindly, older person who was very friendly to the Doukhobors. He had admired the Doukhobors for their communal way of living and their hard labour in establishing farming and gardening in their three villages. They had also come into prominence for their master carpentry through their building of a summer mansion for the governor of Siberia in the city of Yakutsk.

In due rotation of his documentation, the administrator came to the Ivan Ivanovitch Khudjakov family, and what do you suppose – opposite his name was the outstanding charge of sedition against the state, in distributing censored anti-militarist literature to active army soldiers.

Of course – it was not up to him to fathom why this was never followed up – but in his compassion, he knew what would happen, if this fact was brought out to the proper authorities overseeing this Doukhobor group exit.

(This information was particularly intriguing to me personally, because the exact same thing happened with my grandfather on my mother’s side. His name was Timofey Ivanovitch Mokronosov. He had been exiled to Siberia from the city of Ekaterinburg for his religious beliefs and conscientious objection to war the same as the Doukhobors. Later it was uncovered that he was also associated with the spreading of anti-military literature with his group, which was similar to the Jehovah’s Witnesses of North America. This was deemed as sedition against the state. For this, he was then brought back from Yakutsk to his home place in Ekaterinburg. And, after another trial, he was sentenced for an additional number of years to a place in Northern Siberia – so harsh and desolate that women and the rest of his family were not allowed to go to. This saga was all recorded in my book “Annushka’s Siberian Love” published by Birches Publishing Company in 2005. Therein, it was brought out how my grandfather was not allowed to come to Canada with the rest of the Doukhobors, how he lost all of his family, and how he later, ended his life prematurely in the city of Yakutsk.)

And so, knowing that all of this could well happen to the Khudjakov family, this administrator, in his compassion and out of the goodness of his heart, suggested to Ivan I Khudjakov, that the only way out of this impending dilemma and possible suffering was to change the family name for these records. He said that this way it will possibly go through unnoticed, because there are a few other families, conscientious objectors of non Doukhobor ancestry who were being allowed to go with the Doukhobors to Canada (records do confirm that Kirilo Sereda and family, and Peter Olkhovik and family, were two of the families in this category).

All this was explained to me by Ivan Ivanovitch Khudjakov when we had to order the Ship’s Log of the ship “Southwark” which brought the Siberian Doukhobors to Canada in September of 1905. This was needed for proof of age for Pension purposes for I I Khudjakov and later for Certificate of Identity for his son Wasili when he wanted to go to the United States to visit some relative and friends.
On Sheet No 5 of the Ship’s Log of the ship “Southwark” there is this registry as hereto reproduced:
Ivan Chijakow age 31 (should be 35)
Agafia Chijakow age 30
Wasili Chijakow age 2
Maria Chijakow infant

The Wasili in this entry of 1905 is none other than the late William J Hoodikoff of Grand Forks, BC. His wife was Nastya (nee Gritchin). They had four sons: William, Walter, Mike and John Hoodikoff. The infant Maria, in this entry of 1905, married John S Zibin. They lived in Grand Forks on what was known as the “Sleepy Hollow” village of Oobejishche. They had one son, Volodya, who at the age of seven drowned in a tragic accident in a spring overflow of July Creek, which ran right beside their village. A short time later, both John and Maria were killed instantly in a single car accident, in which John was driving.

Also, this Ivan Ivanovitch Chijakow (Hoodikoff) and his wife Agafia were the grandparents of our son-in-law, Alfred Podovinikoff (married to our daughter Elaine). Alfred was the youngest child of their daughter, Mabel, who was later born to them in Canada. She married William A Podovinikoff (Alfred’s father), who died at an early age when Alfred was still an infant, and Mabel (Alfred’s mother) never did re-marry.

For a time, Alfred and his two older sisters lived with the grandfolks and his grandfather Ivan Ivanovitch Hoodikoff, in his peasant simplicity, was a male role model that he had bonded to in his childhood years. His older sister, Violet, married John Popoff of Fruitvale, BC, where they lived for most of their married life. His sister, Nancy, married Harold Wishlow of Grand Forks, where they still reside.

The Hoodikoff brothers (Wasili and Nastya’s children): William and his wife, Olga, Walter, and his wife, Nina, and Johnny and his partner, Bernice, all live in Grand Forks. Mike and his wife, Olga, live in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. They also had a younger sister, Lynn, who unfortunately was killed in a tragic car accident at the tender age of 14.

The uniqueness of this Hoodikoff saga is the strange quirks of fate that followed the simple connection of a Doukhobor peasant with the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, and also how a mere stroke of a pen by a kindly, compassionate person altered the destiny of a family that well may have had a tragic outcome otherwise.

With deepest reverence for all our noble, heroic, Doukhobor ancestors, in their struggle against the evils of militarism.

~EP