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Millest konelevad ja millest vaikivad triibud Abhaasia lipul? Religioossest situatsioonist Abhaasias

100%

Jurgenson A.

Mäetagused

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2019

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vol. 73

69-98

EN

When analysing the religious situation in Abkhazia, the Abkhazian authors present it primarily as a peaceful coexistence of different religions – Christianity, Islam, and native Abkhazian religion. Religions that have existed in Abkhazia side by side for centuries have shaped the worldview of the Abkhazians, which, according to some authors, have a strongly syncretistic shape. Along with syncretism and peaceful coexistence of religions, the Abkhazian authors emphasize the deep Christian roots of Abkhazia: many articles and books show how Christianity reached Abkhazia already in the first century, how it became state religion in the 6th–7th centuries, and how the Abkhazians have dealt with the Christian mission in the Caucasus. Sometimes this emphasis has a political background. When the Georgian-Abkhaz War (1992–93) took place, some Georgian politicians in the confrontation with Abkhazians emphasized the religious aspects of the conflict, and even later tried to present Abkhazia as a Muslim country. The article looks at Abkhazian religious life in the historical perspective and seeks to find explanations for the religious situation today. It also deals with religious image reproduction: Abkhaz authors’ efforts to get rid of the Islamic image of Abkhazia created by the Georgians. In the Soviet period all religions suffered from anti-religious repressions, mosques and churches of many Christian congregations were closed down, religious rituals were banned and carried out only secretly, and clergymen were repressed. Although after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the war of 1992–93 religious life is allowed again and even favoured by the authorities, the number of eager believers had remained small. Alongside the peaceful coexistence of Islam and Christianity, which is presented by many Abkhaz authors as a good example to be followed by other countries, we also have to speak about formal religiousness and religious secularization.

2

Virumaa kooliopetajast koduloolane August Martin ja Kaukaasia eestlased

100%

Jurgenson A.

Mäetagused

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2017

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vol. 66

33-50

EN

The article discusses the activities of August Martin in the Caucasus, where he organised cultural life in Estonian settlers’ society, strengthening their ties with the motherland Estonia and organising a correspondents’ network to collect folklore and write down memories in their villages. August Martin, born in 1893 in Virumaa, Estonia, was a schoolteacher who spent almost all his long life (died in 1982) in his home county, but worked for six years (1915–1921) as schoolteacher in Abkhazia, in Upper Linda village, which had been established by agrarian settlers from Estonia. In the 1880s, a number of Estonian villages were founded in Abkhazia: Estonia, Upper and Lower Linda, Salme, and Sulevi. Estonians also lived in Sukhum, the administrative centre of the region and later the capital of Abkhazia. Martin arrived in Abkhazia in 1915, after he had been prohibited to work as a schoolteacher in Estonia for political reasons. As an active person, Martin organised the cultural and economic life of Estonians in Upper Linda village and Sukhum. Beginning in 1916, he was a member of the board of the Estonian Economic Society of Sukhum, as well as the chairman of the Education Society of Upper Linda. In 1917 he was elected the chairman of the council of the Estonian settlements in South Caucasus. In addition to leadership positions in Estonian organisations, in 1919–21 August Martin was elected to the Abkhazian parliament. As an Estonian nationalist, he welcomed with great sympathy the Abkhaz nationalists’ demands for independence. Because of his pro-Abkhazian thoughts and activities in Abkhazia, which since the summer of 1918 had been occupied by Georgian militants, August Martin found like-minded people among Abkhaz nationalists, but fierce opponents among Georgian Mensheviks, who formed the parliamentary majority. After the Bolsheviks had come to power in Abkhazia in 1921, August Martin re-migrated to Estonia with his family. Because of the closure of the borders between Soviet Russia and the Republic of Estonia contacts with the Caucasian Estonians were almost broken off. Martin began to visit Abkhazia again in the late 1950s; he warmed up relationships with old acquaintances from the Abkhazian Estonian society and encouraged them to write down memories and histories of their villages.

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MIGRATION AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ON THE MIGRATION AND ADAPTATION OF A VOLUNTARY MIGRANT IN ARGENTINA IN THE 1920s-1930s (Ranne ja autobiograafia. Randest ja valjarandaja kohanemisest Argentinas 1920. ja 1930. aastatel)

100%

Jurgenson A.

Mäetagused

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2010

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vol. 44

129-152

EN

Approximately 16,000 people left Estonia during 1924-1938. Among the new destinations, the most important ones were South American countries, especially Argentina and Brazil. At the time, Argentina was an attractive destination for immigrants. In the first half of the 20th century, Argentina surpassed the majority of European countries with regard to the income per capita, health care and education. The first larger group of Estonians (30-50 people) arrived in Argentina in 1924. In each following year, the number of Estonian immigrants fluctuated between 40 and 60, so that by 1930, about 300-350 Estonians lived in Argentina, mostly in the capital Buenos Aires. The current article examines, on one hand, the relationship between (external) environmental conditions of migration and (internal) personal migration related decisions. On the other hand, the micro level of migration is analysed through a biographical narrative, particularly focusing on the impact of personal migration and the adaptation story on the retrospective autobiography. The micro level of migration is observed mainly on the basis of an autobiographical novel by Raimund Podder. His earlier written travelogue, and the letters and surveys of other Estonian settlers in Argentina offer opportunities for substantial comparisons. Text examples from the writings of R. Podder, presented in this article, are inclined to give evidence of a typical voluntary labour migrant: young, unmarried man, whose first phases of adaptation pass without obstacles. However, some background information allows the conclusion that the orientation phase of the adaptation was not without conflicting moments which could leave a nostalgic stamp on the retrospective analysis of his personal life.

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Millest konelevad ja millest vaikivad triibud Abhaasia lipul? Religioossest situatsioonist Abhaasias

Virumaa kooliopetajast koduloolane August Martin ja Kaukaasia eestlased

MIGRATION AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ON THE MIGRATION AND ADAPTATION OF A VOLUNTARY MIGRANT IN ARGENTINA IN THE 1920s-1930s (Ranne ja autobiograafia. Randest ja valjarandaja kohanemisest Argentinas 1920. ja 1930. aastatel)