Proskurov, 1860.

In the late 1850s, in one of the large manors in Podolia, near the town of Proskurov, a boy was born and baptized as Nikon.

The name Nikon came from Greek word for “victory”.  The Byzantines had a very strong cultural and religious influence on Russian Eastern lands. Greek communities were all around the Black Sea from ancient times. Tanya’s great-grandmother was from one of these communities. But that will be another story.

In the 19th century Eastern Europe, north of the Carpathian Mountains, there was a region called Podolia, facing Austria from the West, Bessarabia from the South, and Volinski land and Poland from the North. Podolia  changed hands constantly – from Russia to Poland and Lithuania, to the Cossacks’ Zaporozskaya Sich and back to Russia again. That is why Ukrainians, Jews, Russians, Cossacks and Poles were mixed there in almost equal proportions.

Unlike Jewish and Polish people, who had their own, big problems, Russian and Ukrainian peasants and servants were mostly serfs – sort of slaves – in large manors that belonged to Russian and Ukrainian nobility. Please read our article on Russian Serfdom to learn more.

Nikon’s mother was a local beauty named Katherina Fedushenko, and his father was the Lord of the Manor – The Count. That is how he was named in the family stories about Nikon – Tanya’s great-grandfather. The son of a serf mother, Nikon was a serf too. The Count acknowledged his son, but after Nikon’s birth Katherina and Nikon were not allowed to live in the mansion. The Count bought a house for Katerina and Nikon in Proskurov, a city close to Manor.

The Count supported Katerina and Nikon and paid for Nikon’s education in Technical School.  After graduation, Nikon worked on the railroad. We do not know exactly what his job was, but Efrosinia – Nikon’s wife who he married soon after his mother passed away – told her daughters that Nikon dressed for work in freshly cleaned white shirts and good shoes, which she made ready for him every day.

It was not unique for educated serfs to live and work free outside the manor. Even the uneducated serfs were allowed to find employment somewhere else, but under the condition that they would pay a certain amount of money to their master on a regular basis. A number of Russian and Ukrainian writers, artists, skilled craftsmen, composers and actors, known today all around the World, were serfs by birth. They lived and worked in major cities, traveled around the world, some even married into noble families.

One such genius, born as a serf, was Ukrainian poet, writer, and artist Taras Shevchenko. We would like to mention him here because, in one of his paintings there is a young girl, named “Katerina”. We do not have a photo of Katerina – Nikon’s mother, but we can assume that she looked somewhat similar when she was young.

Both Nikon and the house where he lived were an eyesore for some of his Cossack neighbors. As if to have a serf as a neighbor was not enough, he was living in a house as good as theirs, was educated, had a good job, and lived as a free man – for some Cossacks that was an insult. It was forgotten that Cossacks themselves were once runaway serfs and mercenaries. One of Nikon’s neighbors, Uryadnic – a Cossack rank similar to corporal – was especially hostile.

Cossacks are the Orthodox Cristian martial society , formed in the south-western frontier of Russian Tsardom in the 15th century. The name Cossacks came from the Turkic: Qazak (free man). In the early days any serf, if not captured back by his owner, could run to the steppes and join the Cossacks, where he acknowledged no authority but his commander – Ataman. Later Cossacks became a very closed military-religious society, with their own interpretation of honor and very conservative lifestyle. Starting as a symbol of freedom, Cossacks later became one of the most reactionary parts of Russian Empire, always ready to do any dirty work, that even the Army or police would not do.

Nikon was very proud to be the son of a Count. That could be another reason for tensions with his neighbors. With The Count alive and around, they had to suppress or mask the assaults against Nikon, but protection, either real or imaginary, disappeared after The Count died in late 1898. Soon after his death, Uryadnik, with the typical Cossack arrogance, came to Nikon’s house to try and push his family out. In the fight that followed, Nikon beat Uryadnik so severely, that Uryadnik ended up dying from the wounds. Nikon was arrested and sentenced to work in one of the Tsar’s labor camps in Siberia. All of that – his arrest, trial, sentence, and departure to Siberia took just a few days. It’s possible that Nikon’s railroad background had an impact on his sentencing. His destination was the labor camp near Lake Baikal, on the Russian-Chinese border, exactly where The Trans-Siberian Railroad was being constructed at the time – new workers and settlers were needed to build and maintain the railroad. Nikon was allowed to settle there with his family after serving his 3 year term.

On the way to Siberia. Nikon could be one of them.
Nikon was neither the first nor the last member of our families who had settled in Siberia.

For Efrosinia, following Nikon to Siberia was the only option. After the Nikon’s fight and death of Uryadnik, she could neither continue to live among their neighbors nor had enough money to keep the house and support the family.

In Tsarist Russia it was common for women at that time to follow their husbands to exile; some did it for love, some – for survival, and others – to escape public ostracism and humiliation. One well known example, was the Decembrists’ wives – ladies from noble families followed their husbands into political exile.

But for Efrocinia there was another reason to go – she was pregnant.

Efrosinia sold the house and everything she could, and in late summer of 1899 started her 3000 mile journey to a Siberian camp, along with her 7 year old daughter Khristina, and with another child inside, another daughter, who would be born in Zabaicalye on December 7, 1899. The newborn would be named Ekaterina and she would become Tanya’s paternal grandmother.

But that will be Part II of the story – Road to Siberia.