Little Saxony

As many as 4,000 people once lived in the small German settlement of Sarepta. Today, the area has become a gathering place for ethnic German Russians like Eleonora Sheleshikova who want to celebrate their unique cultural heritage.

"It is great to have two cultures…and it makes me happy that so many Russians are interested in German culture and come to us," Sheleshikova told Deutsche Welle. "They want to visit the country, to get to know German food and, of course, learn the language."

Even young people in Volgograd seem interested in German, Sheleshikova says, if for no loftier reason than wanting to understand the lyrics by the German band Tokio Hotel. Sheleshikova is also a fan of German music, albeit more traditional, and sings in a choir at the German cultural center in Sarepta.

Calling Russia home

The interplay between their German and Russian heritages can be heard in the songs the choir chooses. One ballad, sung in German, is an ode to the nearby Volga River.

Choir member, Nelli Tretyakova, has an especially acute understanding of the painful longing that runs through the song. Tretyakova was born in Sarepta, but at the beginning of World War II her family was deported to Kazakhstan because of its German heritage.

Many ethnic Germans were deported during Joseph Stalin's regime. Even more emigrated during the 1960s and in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"To be honest, I feel very sad about the fact that so many ethnic Germans left for Germany. Those people are so talented, hard working and diligent - it is a big loss for Russia, which after all is their native country," Tretyakova said. "But of course the economic situation in our country didn't allow them to stay - we were lucky here to have work at our cultural center."

Missionaries given a royal invitation

Tretyakova enjoys taking visitors on a tour of Sarepta's small museum, which has household tools like waffle irons and cake pans on display, as well as gravestones from the first settlers. Sarepta was founded in 1756 by German missionaries from Saxony who had been invited there by Tsarina Catherine II.

It wasn't long before Sarepta became an economically successful settlement, says Sheleshikova, as the two woman stood next to the tsarina's portrait. Yet the missionaries weren't very successful in converting the local Kalmyk people.

"They thought the Kalmyks were pagans, but in fact there were Buddhists and there was a problem with the language," says Sheleshikova. "But still, they had a successful cultural exchange and they all lived in peaceful coexistence here."

Sarepta provides a cultural, spiritual home

Near Sarepta's center stands a white church with its green steeple. It was built more than 300 years ago and was renovated in 1996 with donations from Germany. For years pastors from Berlin and Brandenburg had been in charge at Sarepta, but a couple of years ago Oleg Stuhlberg, who is himself German-Russian, took over.

"The church and the community of Sarepta are a vital part of German-Russian history and a place where customs are preserved," Stuhlberg said. "Of course the people come here to hear the word of god and to take communion, but also to hear German and to exchange German recipes."

The weekly service is held in Russian and German and sometimes the choir from the German cultural center sings.

And after church service, Tretyakova and Sheleshikova often visit the newly renovated German library next door. It covers the whole upper floor of the church administration building and is the biggest such library in Russia.

There, they can browse through books by Goethe, Heinrich Boell or Guenter Grass in the original German. Sometimes, a Russian student will come up to them, asking for help with their German homework.

Author: Mareike Aden, Sarepta (th)
Editor: Michael Lawton