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Mennonite Low German in Russia
As is well known, this ‘golden period’ of Mennonite settlement in Russia did not last for long:
- The anarchist terror under Nestor Machnow, disease, and famine following the Russian Revolution devastated the Mennonite colonies, prompting waves of emigration to North and South America
- Inescapable part of Mennonite history, reflected in the language itself, e.g. huseare(n), once meaning only “to house” or “go door-to-door”, coming to mean “to terrorize, pillage, or plunder” - just as the Machnowtsen did while “housed” in Mennonite homes and villages
Notes:
Cf. “huseare(n)” in: Thiessen, Jack. 2003. Mennonite Low German Dictionary / Mennonitisch-Plattdeutsches Wörterbuch. Madison, Wisconsin: Max Kade Institute.