The main purpose of this article is to introduce into scientific circulation little-known materials in Russian historiography on the history and culture of a large group of Russian Old Believers who left Hong Kong for New Zealand in 1965 and 1967 as religious refugees. Chronologically, the work is limited to the period 1965-1972 - the date of departure of the Old Believers from China and the date of their official acceptance of New Zealand citizenship. The first seven years of adaptation of Russian religious refugees to a different socio-cultural environment became a certain critical period for the specific way of life of the Old Believers, formed by their centuries-old isolation. It is all the more interesting to trace the ways and forms in which the cultural distance between a fragment of the ancient Russian world and modern Western society was overcome.

Key words: Russians, refugees, Old Believers, bespopovtsy, New Zealand.

Various international organizations were involved in the resettlement of Old Believers: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Council of Churches (MSC), the National Council of Churches of New Zealand (NCC) and a number of others. The actual implementation of the resettlement project was carried out by the NSC (Lovell-Smith, 1986, p. 3-14). Therefore, the main sources on the history of their reception and settlement are related to the activities of this particular organization. These include data from annual internal work reports for the period 1964-1970 and occasional reports from project supervisors. Excerpts from these sources sometimes appeared in the NCC's monthly magazine "Church and Society", but were never published in full. They are currently held at the Presbyterian Church Archives of Aotearoa New Zealand, Wellington.

Such sources also include the published report on the project's work for the period 1965-1972 by Ron O'Grady, the international representative from New Zealand to the MSC (O'Grady, 1972). Since 1965, he has served as coordinator of the entire program, personally visiting families of displaced persons and attending important events in their lives. Of great interest are his testimonies on the religious traditions and family and household rituals of the Old Believers, transferred to a new life environment. It should be emphasized that the observations of R. O'Grady, as well as other organizers of the resettlement, often reflected only the external side of the life of Old Believers, which is explained by their belonging to a different culture.

In New Zealand historiography, the appearance of this specific group of immigrants is not ignored in generalizing works on the history of the country after the Second World War.

* I would like to thank the Center for Intercultural Studies of the University of Victoria (Wellington, New Zealand) for the opportunity to conduct research and Yu.V. Argudyasva for scientific advice on the topic of this article.

World War II [Wilson, 2012]. But, as a rule, they are mentioned only in the context of the history of accepting refugees from different countries of the world and the role of New Zealand in such activities. To date, the only study in which Old Believers as part of Russian refugees after 1945 are studied separately is the thesis of Paulette R. McFarland, completed in 1997 at the University of Otago (Dunedin) [McFarland, 1997; Fitzgerald, 1982]. The researcher focused on the activities of the organizers of the resettlement of Old Believers and the assessment of the results of this project by the New Zealand side.

The range of sources also includes various publications in the New Zealand press for 1965-1972 and the author's materials obtained in the period 2010-2011 during research on the history of the Russian diaspora in New Zealand. Unfortunately, due to a strong earthquake in February 2011, meetings with the descendants of Old Believers living in this city were not held in Christchurch.

A group of Russian Old Believers-bespopovtsy, who moved to New Zealand, for two centuries lived in the eastern part of Kazakhstan, in the Semipalatinsk region. To the south of them was the area called Semirechye. The quiet and monotonous life of the community in the mid-19th century was disrupted by the industrial development of this territory, where rich mineral reserves were discovered. The last hope of preserving the old way of life was destroyed by the October Revolution of 1917. The Old Believers were particularly affected by collectivization. In the early 1930s, they crossed the Chinese border and settled in northwest China's Xinjiang Province.

According to the NCC, approximately two thousand Old Believers lived in Xinjiang and the Harbin region. Some of them stayed in the settlement communities themselves, while others chose to settle in cities or small villages. Three families of Old Believers who came to New Zealand used to live in a village consisting of 100 families. Another family lived in a village consisting of 17 households. In addition to the Russians, there lived Arabs and Mongols. Chinese officials regularly visited such settlements, but the Chinese themselves did not live there.

In the new place, the community of Old Believers restored the old way of life. Wooden residential buildings and a separate school building were built, which later became a prayer room. In the summer, they usually grazed sheep and other cattle, raised bees, and hunted wild boars in the mountains in winter.

After 1949, China began to put pressure on the Russians, which led to their mass exodus in 1954-1956. Since 1952, about 1,500 Old Believers have migrated from China. Of these, 1,100 people joined one of the two Old Believers ' communities in Brazil. Others have found shelter in the US and Australia. After 1956, the flow of refugees almost stopped. Exit visas were no longer issued, and the situation of those who still remained was becoming increasingly serious. This was the time of the Cold War, and anyone who simply declared their desire to travel to capitalist countries was subjected to repression. Several Old Believers were jailed, and one was stabbed to death in his own home by Chinese soldiers. However, the others continued to live relatively well, managing their property together and caring for their farms and gardens. But in 1961, their farms were confiscated by the Chinese government. Cattle, sheep and horses were seized without compensation. Those who had more than 20 thousand yuan were declared rich, and all their money was taken away. One of the Old Believers who arrived in New Zealand, Luka Chipizubov, who had a farm on 13 acres of land in China, told how out of twelve cows and several horses, only a cow and a horse were left to his large family [Cambell, 2006, p.61]. Life was becoming a battle for survival, and the Old Believers realized that their only hope lay in going to Hong Kong.

By 1961, according to various sources, about 17,000 Russians still lived in northern China. Their situation was extremely unenviable. The Chinese tried to send them first of all to their homeland. But many of them left Russia as political, religious and social refugees, so they had no desire to return there. Most foreign countries had their own problems with building diplomatic relations with China, and no one cared about the group of Russian Old Believers. Only the MSC and the WKB constantly reminded governments of the plight of Russian refugees.

Of the 22,656 Russians recorded in the first national population census of 1953, ten years later, according to the second census of 1964, their number was only 1,326 [Gutin, 2010, p.75]. This number probably included the remaining Old Believers in Xinjiang. In 1964, they suddenly received the news that 350 people would be allowed to leave. Chinese police visited the Old Believers ' homes and said that a truck would be called to the village within a few days. In a hurry, I had to abandon almost all my possessions. Later, when the first group of Old Believers set foot on New Zealand soil, those who met them were amazed not only by their appearance, but also by the content of the luggage they brought: "The material from which their clothes were made was of poor quality and dilapidated. The blanket in which one of the children was wrapped was made of various rags and, according to one of the local housewives, looked more like a dust rag... There were a few items of clothing, a few rusty kitchen items, plates, mugs, some wooden corks, homemade toys, a family Bible, and a few icons" (O'Grady, 1972, p. 4).

Having loaded a few suitcases and cardboard boxes into the open truck body, the Old Believers drove their luggage almost 270 km to Kuldzha. They stayed there for three days, waiting for vehicles from other villages to arrive, and then the entire convoy began its journey through the Tien Shan Mountains. In places where the road was more than three thousand meters above sea level, a snowstorm made the journey a real challenge. By the time the" road train " covered 600 km to Urumqi, many of the refugees had fallen ill and needed treatment. In Urumqi, the Old Believers boarded a train to Hong Kong. The train passed more than five and a half thousand kilometers. With stops for refueling and changing trains, the entire journey took 13 days. Only a few beds were provided for the elderly, while the rest made the trip on hard seats. At the Lu Wu border post, Chinese border guards noted the presence of 357 Russian refugees and gave permission for the train to leave. On April 12, 1965, exhausted refugees left mainland China.

In Hong Kong, they were assigned to hotels where they had to spend at least three months. The rooms were small and, as a result, crowded. The facilities were very simple. The older members of the community shunned the city. They didn't like the heat, the crowds, the car exhaust, and the city noise. The size of the city overwhelmed them. At first, none of them dared to go to the store on their own and make the simplest purchases. A correspondent of a Canadian newspaper asked the Old Believers if they enjoyed their encounter with civilization. "No," was the elder's flat reply. "What is it doing to us? The air is dirty. Noise everywhere. People seem to be in a hurry all the time."

Several men were able to find temporary work, but, as it turned out, they were unscrupulously robbed by their employers during the first weeks. Only when they realized the true value of the money they had earned did some of them change jobs. In Hong Kong, Old Believers first encountered electricity, television, home appliances, plumbing and Western-style plumbing, which became a new experience for them, and for children-entertainment. New food was coming into their lives. White bread was a novelty; no one liked the taste of orange. Everyone ate too much, and the young people just overeated for a few weeks.

While the Old Believers were getting acquainted with the life of the city, their personal files and medical documents were being prepared. Initially, it was assumed that the entire community would be resettled in Argentina or Brazil, where Old-Faith agricultural colonies already existed. But the policies of Latin American governments had changed by this time. Land speculation has made it very costly to transfer suitable land to agricultural settlements. In addition, many months were required to study the soil and market conditions for the establishment of new colonies. With the hope of preserving the community's integrity, the possibility of settling Old Believers in northern Canada was studied. The search for funds for food and accommodation for refugees was the work of the WKB - as long as the host country was not located.

The situation was greatly complicated by the fact that there were disabled people in the families. No one wanted to accept them. The way out of this situation was the UN's proposed cash grants for refugees with disabilities. However, by the beginning of 1965, the situation had become hopeless and required immediate action. At the initiative of the MSC, a conference was organized in Hong Kong, where church representatives from South Africa and Australia were invited to review the situation. The Conference found a way out by deciding to divide the Old Believers into separate groups. Argentina and Australia were looking for accommodation for 110 people, New Zealand took 88 people, the rest were distributed between Brazil and the United States.

Thanks in large part to the active work of R. O'Grady, a letter was received from the Government of New Zealand with assurances of support and good wishes for the project. In addition, families with disabilities were invited to this country. Painstaking work began with the personal files of the refugees. Only one family was denied admission because there was a schizophrenic son, which required special treatment on the spot. By May, the first checks were completed and the refugees were expected to leave Hong Kong for the next four months. The decision of the conference was received by the Old Believers without much enthusiasm. Before that, none of them had ever heard of New Zealand, so the Old Believers simply took note that there is such an agrarian country that is ready to accept them. Before they left, they prayed together for a long time. The elder, seating the young men around him, said, " This must be the promised land that God has promised us. We'll work hard, buy horses and a cart, and start all over again."

For the arrival of refugees in New Zealand, NCC activists have done a lot of preparatory work. Various organizations and individuals were involved, who assumed financial and moral responsibility for the adaptation of displaced persons to the new society. A major role in this was played by the campaign to prepare public opinion. After all, before the appearance of Old Believers in New Zealand, very few people knew about them here. With the help of volunteers and the press, information was spread about the history of the Russian religious schism, the way of life and the peculiarities of the faith of the immigrants. Conversations were held among parishioners of various churches belonging to the NSC and the goals of the refugee assistance program were explained.

It was very important to choose the place of settlement of the Old Believers. They were supposed to be small centers in rural areas that had a working branch of the NSC, several experienced lawyers, and job offers. In the end, the choice fell on the South Island and the remote province of Southland, centered in the city of Invercagill. It was discovered by chance that a family of Russian Old Believers had been living in nearby Christchurch for several years. They were father and daughter Yerofeyevs. The head of the family, 80-year-old Yakov, previously lived and worked in Japan, the USA, and Australia. He had 14 children, 53 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren scattered around the world. Yerofeyev was very pleased with the arrival of the Old Believers, which was obvious to everyone who saw him. At first, he was the translator.

The NCC has placed Wallis Wright, manager of the Invercagill Bookshop, in direct charge of the project. After his death in 1970, Biff Noris took over as coordinator. Both of them had a great reputation in the local community, which, combined with their enthusiasm, gave the program wide publicity and determined the scale of charity. According to Yandex. Metrica data. At least one and a half thousand New Zealanders took part in the implementation of the project. Even before the arrival of the Old Believers, he prepared a special 30-page booklet in which he highlighted the main issues related to the life support of the Old Believers and described the procedure for actions related to this. The booklets circulated throughout the South Island and became a popular topic of conversation in the local community.

One such conversation was witnessed by R. O'Grady. Three farmers were discussing the arrival of Russian refugees in the trading yard: "You know, this is what churches should do more often... Yeah, but they're a little slow in our church. Maybe they need constant pressure? Why don't we do something with the house? Now you're just talking! What about that house at the crossroads? You could buy it cheap and fix it pretty well. Why don't we step in and buy this house?" [O'Grady, 1972, p.23]. It is known that these farmers formed and jointly bought the house mentioned in the conversation for the church. Then the house was transferred by the church to one of the families of Old Believers.

Stories of generosity occurred in many places. When it became apparent that the refugees were arriving with a minimum of belongings, the priests asked members of their parishes to collect their belongings, kitchen utensils and furnishings. So much was collected that auctions of surplus items were held. But the most touching page in this story is connected with the attempts of local residents to learn Russian. The sheer number of refugees was not a problem for the resettlement organizers. The difficulties were that each of the Old Believers could be considered as a socially inferior person. Most of them were illiterate; only a few had primary school education. Refugees were very different from the rest of society in their dress, speech, customs, and way of life.

The most acute problem in the first year was their lack of knowledge of English. And the residents of Southland decided to learn to speak Russian themselves, mastering elementary phrases and words to help the displaced people. The 30-person weekly class started in Invercagill in June 1965.It was taught by Henry, an organizing teacher from the local Board of Education, and assisted by John Rodionov, one of the young Russian settlers in the town. Two weeks later, they were joined by another 28 people in the town of Gore. A group of ten people specifically went to these classes every week. The entire road was about 80 km long. An educational picture of New Zealand farmers learning to speak Russian ("This is a barn for a cow") often attracted media attention. Later, classes were held in Christchurch. One Auckland newspaper even requested official confirmation from project coordinators that farmers from Invercagill travel almost 600 km to Christchurch once a week just to learn Russian. Classes continued until the arrival of the Old Believers. For each refugee family, a list of everyday items was prepared in two languages-Russian and English, and a Russian housewife could mark out everything necessary in it and take it to the store. In the same way, the days of the week were designated and the country's monetary system was explained.

On July 14, 1965, the first three families of 17 Old Believers arrived at Christchurch International Airport: "...the figure of a man appeared in the doorway, slowly and stiffly looking around. A photographer in the middle of the welcoming press whistled: "Oh my God, look at this!" The person who appeared in the doorway was an old man with an impressive appearance. His weather-beaten and tanned face and long beard made him look like an old Old Testament patriarch. Then we found out that it was Avdey, an amiable man

70 years old, who acted as a representative of his group in the first few weeks. As he walked down the steps from the plane, it was hard to believe that such a thing could happen in New Zealand. He was followed by the other 16 members of this first group. The women wore boots and long skirts, and all wore headscarves tied around their heads... The children were dressed like their parents" [O'Grady, 1972, p. 4]. According to eyewitnesses, the Old Believers were amazed and touched by the fact that they were met by people who could communicate with them in their native language.

Then, after a night in Christchurch, the Old Believers traveled by air to Invercagill. The flight interpreter was again Ya. Yerofeyev, and the flight attendant constantly called him to the microphone to translate the landing instructions into Russian. The escorts checked whether the Old Believers had cards with their names attached to their clothes with pins, and they all went to the airfield.

The meeting was attended by more than 100 people. The Old Believers were again greeted in Russian. Each child was given a toy. Rental cars took the refugees to St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, where they were served with Russian pies baked by local Russian families. The hall of the church was packed to the door; a little confused by the events of the day, the Old Believers ate little. Welcoming speeches began in a festive atmosphere. Some Old Believers openly wept during the speeches. A. Vshivkov got up for a response speech, but could not say anything, but only repeated: "Thank you! Thank you!" I had to. To explain to Yerofeyev that there were too many new experiences for the refugees. "Later," he explained, " they will be able to express all their feelings. They're too happy to talk right now."

In the afternoon, the Old Believers ' families were escorted to their new homes in and around Invercagill. Representatives of the NSC visited them on the same day. In the town of Waimakaha, the house was crowded with people. All the neighbors were called there, and local sponsors set the table again. For the Old Believers, who usually ate once a day, this never-ending meal was a challenge. The children sorted through a box of toys, and their parents got acquainted with the house, which was already furnished with comfortable furniture. They explained the use of water pipes and the handling of electric stoves and heaters. A lot of time had to be spent trying to persuade the mother of the family to press the radio button. The sound of the announcer's voice made her laugh. Local residents dug up the ground and put the garden in order. The storeroom of the house was full of things from Sunday church school. There were even flowers in vases.

Two families went to the town of Browne. That same evening, Avdey wrote letters to Hong Kong, Brazil, and Argentina: "For the first time in our lives, we felt welcome...". There was enough land around his neat little house for the family to farm. There were several chickens in the barn with a supply of food. The entire editorial of the Southland Times newspaper was devoted to the arrival of Russian refugees, where it was noted that "the dream is becoming a reality for a large group of white Russians who have fallen into the hands of benefactors from Southland, but the fictional world will remain for refugees for a long time."

The second batch of Old Believers arrived two weeks later, consisting of 20 people. The third group of six families, which included disabled people, arrived on August 8. By August 1965, the total number of Russian refugees from Northern China had reached 73. In 1967, they were joined by another family from Hong Kong (two adults and five children); then there was a small internal exchange with families of Old Believers from Australia (eight adults and six children arrived). During the first six years, two deaths were recorded. In addition, three adults and two children left for Australia and the United States. Thus, seven years later, taking into account 25 children born to young couples after their arrival, in 1972 the community of Russian Old Believers in New Zealand numbered 112 people. It consisted of 38 adults (34%), 74 children under 20 years of age (66%). The age groups were as follows: from 0 to 5 years - 23 people; 6-15 years - 30; 16-25 years - 23; 26-40 years - 19; 41-65 years - 8; over 66 years - 9 people.

Sources mention the families of the Vshivkovs, Samoilovs, Snegirevs, Ganovichevs, Larionovs, Gordeyevs, Bochkerevs, Chipizubovs, and Chernyshevs. Families in the first years settled in different places: in the town of Gor (Samoilovs-husband, wife, daughter and boys, including 10-year-old Nikita); in Brown (Vshivkovs-Avdey, 70 years old, his wife and son Luka; separately - his son Afanasy Vshivkov with his wife and children); in Waimakah (last name unknown); in the Depton-Invercagill area (Semyon Snegirev, 72, his wife Milodora); in the Santree Bush-Invercagill area (Snegirev Automon with his wife Vasilisa and infant son); in Invercagill (Gordeev's widow with two sons, the Ganovichevs-Zatey, 53, with his wife and mother; the Chernyshov family - husband, wife, 6-year-old disabled child Kalistrat and other children, and three other families); in Windham and possibly elsewhere.

Local residents were surprised by the everyday steadfastness of Russian immigrants. Moreover, familiarity with them allowed New Zealanders to take more seriously the stories about centenarians from remote parts of Russia. Head of the second group of Old Believers 3. Ganovichev was blind from birth, but he was absolutely not a burden to his family. He made wooden chairs and tables, feeling their shape and texture perfectly with his fingers. Even in Hong Kong, he was able to find work making intricate little boxes out of camphor wood. And his mother Khavronia, already a great-great-grandmother who had passed 90 years, enjoyed chopping wood. One of the neighbors, deciding that such an occupation was not for an old lady, offered to help, which greatly offended her. Another senior member of the community, 72-year-old S. Snegirev, quickly won everyone's sympathy with his broad smile and benevolence. After undergoing hernia surgery here, he felt so good that he took a job in a limestone quarry and, according to the manager, did one and a half times more than his two predecessors. It was obvious that Russian refugees over the age of 70, who were already considered retired under local law, were in good shape and, moreover, very much wanted to work. "For this type of person, hard work is more than just employment - it's part of their entire religious philosophy. Like the American Puritans, they view work as a sign of service to God, " he wrote.

R. O'Grady [O'Grady, 1972, p. 41]. He recalled the story of a 71-year-old Old Believer who was hired to build the entrance gate to the farm. The owners thought that this task would take him several weeks. To their great surprise, working hard from sunrise to sunset, the Russian pensioner finished everything in a few days. Three other elderly people who did not have employment opportunities due to their age were given beehives and the first ten swarms of bees to practice beekeeping. Among them was S. Snegirev, who conducted the business so competently that after distributing honey to all his friends and acquaintances, he had to sell the surplus at the market.

In the first year, the Old Believers did not easily adapt to the island climate, especially to wet and cold winters. Arriving just in the middle of the local winter, they were noticeably suffering from a lack of heat. Even the electric heaters and blankets kindly provided by the sponsors did not save them. At first, families moved their sleeping supplies to the kitchen and went to bed closer to the stove, and the heads of families had to get up at night to add fuel. "It was an intriguing discovery to learn," recalled R. O'Grady,"that the new settlers, these hardy people who were not broken by communism, definitely faltered before the local winter." He watched with interest as A. Vshivkov built a beehive with thick walls for" freezing "bees, and for his family he built a heating device that, according to his description, resembled a bourgeois stove:" He built a metal object that vaguely resembled a mailbox on legs, and put it in the middle

floor in the bedroom. The fire was burning inside the box, and the heat went into the house through pipes, through a kerosene tin can, and finally went back into the pipe. His furnace was smoke-free, fire-resistant, and remarkably efficient" [O'Grady, 1972, p. 35].

At first, the main task for the Old Believers was to learn English. At school, teachers and classmates helped the children. In one of the schools, maps and paintings hung on all the walls, showing where the new students came from and what kind of life they led before. The teacher saw this as one of the most practical social research demonstrations he was familiar with. Young men attended evening classes. One of them took it so seriously that he got up every morning at 5 o'clock to spend the time before breakfast studying foreign words. Most of those who already worked on farms began to carry a notebook and pencil to work to write down words they didn't understand. In addition, local churches sent one or two parishioners to refugee homes every day for one-hour English lessons. Unlike young people, older people who had fewer external contacts, especially women, found it impossible to remember new words and their pronunciation, and only shook their heads sadly.

At the end of August 1965, the Old Believers themselves asked to organize a meeting with the leaders and participants of their resettlement program. The meeting was held in the town of Elendale and attracted the attention of many people and the press. A. Vshivkov spoke on behalf of the entire community. He slowly read the text prepared in advance, and the words of deep gratitude on behalf of the Russian settlers sounded in two languages at once. By Orthodox Christmas, the period of settlement and settlement of the Old Believers was over. Refugee families visited by U. Wright. In his report, he emphasized the great care with which the Old Believers tended their gardens and houses, and stressed that the entire resettlement scheme was successful and worth the result.: "It has brought happiness to these people; their gratitude can sometimes be astounding" (O'Grady, 1972, p. 38).

In New Zealand, the Russian Old Believers did not build any special premises for worship; each house had a dedicated place for prayer: "In the corner, on a shelf five feet from the floor, is an icon painted in the style of pre-Iconoclastic artists from about the sixteenth century. Its surface is darkened; often worn reproductions with copper images can also be seen there. The icons are dimly lit by candlelight; some icons are extremely beautiful, and in some cases they are kept by families for generations. On the shelf below the icon are a thick family Bible and a service manual. All this is printed in Brazil by the publishing house of the Old Believers themselves, but it looks bulky and thick. Books are used so often that they are placed on embroidered pillows in order to preserve the binding. The forms of worship are very simple and consist of long Bible readings or sermons and moralizing, interspersed with Old Russian chants. The latter are all known by heart; they are sung when the Old Believers gather together. The service usually means that several families get together and one of the old men reads texts, sometimes with the help of younger men. Reading often lasts all night. On special holidays, attendance at such meetings is mandatory and sleep is prohibited. Such nightly vigils may be accompanied by a small amount of wine. This is not a ritual act, but it seems to have been preserved as a custom" (O'Grady, 1972, p. 43).

On religious issues, the Old Believers had quite significant disagreements. Since they belonged to the bespopovtsy, their cohesion strongly depended on the charisma of the leader. The issue of leadership was discussed at a special meeting led by Father Alexey Godyaev, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church in Wellington, the capital. Representatives of the NSC were also present there. The community has concluded that it does not currently have its own leader and therefore needs to invite someone to fill that role. After much discussion, the list of possible candidates was reduced to two men: one lived in Brazil, the other in China. The unanimous choice was made in favor of the last one, whom everyone knew before. It was under-

a letter has been prepared and signed by every adult member of the New Zealand community. But, despite all the efforts made by the NCC, it was not possible to bring this person back, since the Chinese authorities were practically closed from Xinjiang to Hong Kong at that time.

The observance of traditional rituals by the Old Believers in the new realities was fraught with certain difficulties. They celebrated Christmas and Easter two weeks later than was customary in New Zealand. In addition, every Wednesday and Friday, the Old Believers observed a fast, not to mention the days of various saints, on which it was forbidden to eat dairy and meat products. The daily diet consisted of bread, vegetables and fruits. There was a case when one of the women got a stomach ulcer, refusing to drink milk and take medication on fast days; as a result, she had to undergo emergency surgery. Employers did not always understand the church calendar of Old Believers, and in some cases, when they could not be replaced, absenteeism threatened with dismissal. Therefore, working Old Believers often had to go to work on holidays, breaking traditions.

In most cases, the work brought satisfaction to the Old Believers. In the first month, two-thirds of all men were assigned to rural farms. Starting with simple jobs, they quickly learned more complex ones. Some of them, for example, began to learn how to drive a tractor. By the sixth year of their stay in the country, many Old Believers had changed their first job. All able-bodied men were employed: seven people-in freezing jobs, six-in factories, eight people-in trade, the rest worked on the railway or on construction sites. They were well-regarded as diligent and honest workers. Four women found work in industries related to knitting and sewing clothes, two worked as cooks, one helped her husband in the trade. One of the men, Ivan Chernyshev, who first worked for two years on a farm in Southland, was able to get a mechanical engineering degree, which later helped him find a well-paying job.

The families of the Old Believers led a life that was not burdened with excesses. Clothing was simple, and women's jewelry was usually limited to a necklace around the neck, which meant that the woman was married. The main meal was prepared in a communal soup pot. Very rarely was the meal shared with non-believers, and only rarely could special guests be invited. On such occasions, the guests ate alone, while family members stood around and watched them. My wife and children were working in the garden. The main product was vegetables, especially cabbage, which was grown in large quantities, and its excess was salted in large containers for the winter. This process was an art form, everything was prepared by hand using a specially curved cleaver.

The Old Believers did not trust government care for the elderly and disabled. The exception was the need for any medical operation. They understood the correctness of giving birth to their children in the hospital, but preferred to take care of their disabled children at home. Once they were asked about insurance - in order to support families in the event of the untimely death of their breadwinners. The churches paid insurance premiums for three years for each man, after which the Old Believers had to make their own decisions. This has become the subject of controversy in the community - whether the Bible allows a person to have insurance. "What will happen to your wife if you die?" they asked. "God will look after her," the Old Believers replied. "Where will she and your children live?". "We have many relatives." "Wouldn't it be easier if she had some money?" "But it looks like money replaces a person," they said. Over time, the Old Believers still agreed to sign the documents, and later more than half of them decided to extend their insurance.

The first painful changes in the religious identity of Russian Old Believers began with a change in the family hierarchy. The authoritarian behavior of fathers put a lot of stress on families. Previously, the mother's place was always in the kitchen and in the garden, and the rest of the family helped her. But now mothers were using various devices that made their work easier, which allowed them to get a job and bring income to the family. Parents began to lose power over their children. This process was particularly rapid in relation to teenagers and unmarried youth. The latter, having quickly mastered English, often acted as translators. The phrases were not agreed upon, intentionally or accidentally, and young people thus gained access to family decision-making, which was previously completely unacceptable.

Young people easily adopted the values of Western society. Within a week of arrival, owning a car has become the goal of every young person. A modest lifestyle gave them a real opportunity to save money. Those who worked stopped giving their earnings to their parents. One young man, for example, after working for only eight months, opened a bank account with an initial deposit of $ 800. He soon bought his first car. It was an old model of a $ 1,600 six-cylinder car, and half the amount was paid by deposit. Then another car was bought, followed by the next one, and soon the "Russian beard" behind the wheel became a familiar picture on the roads of Southland. Local authorities even had to order a translation of the country's Road Code into Russian.

It was most difficult for teenagers who, having only formed in one culture, were transferred to another world. Once in a more relaxed social environment, they often changed jobs and left home. It is well known that the moral code of the Old Believers is strict and uncompromising. Premarital relationships were excluded, and young people did not have the opportunity to be alone until the wedding ceremony itself. The separation of the sexes was accepted at all public gatherings, at home and during entertainment. In the new environment, young people began to review such restrictions. As a result, even in the first years of their stay in New Zealand, several young people openly rejected the faith of their fathers. The two girls left their families in Invercagill and settled in Christchurch on their own. One of them explained,

that she did it in order to date a New Zealand friend, and another claimed that her father took all her earnings, not leaving her enough money for her own needs. There was a case when a young man was going to get married after shaving off his beard in Hong Kong. The future father-in-law, despite this violation of the customs of the Old Believers, still gave his consent, but with the condition that the groom would grow a beard again.

Small children remained under strict parental control. They were born annually. One of the old men spoke with obvious pride about the fact that each of his five daughters gave birth to a child within nine months of their wedding. A boy was preferable to a girl, but if "God sent a daughter", then she received no less attention and care. Illegitimate children as a phenomenon in the community of Old Believers did not exist. Large families have always been the norm, which the Old Believers tried to maintain in the new country. So, the 39-year-old Af. Vshivkova in 1971, there were already 9 children aged from two to 17 years. But this model of the family, which previously served as a social security function, began to be questioned. One agitated old father asked the sponsor when local women stopped having children. The children were well liked, and most of them looked healthy and friendly. But this did not prevent fathers from applying corporal punishment. "If a child behaves badly, I have to flog him. How else can you teach him a lesson? " they said. Children easily grew into the local way of life, quickly passing socialization in school and on the street. & O'Grady once asked a bright ten-year-old girl what she would do after graduation. With the full approval of her New Zealand peers, she said she was going to become a flight attendant.

The project coordinators witnessed two funerary ceremonies for the Old Believers. The first to die was 93-year-old X. Ganovicheva. Invercagill City Council was told by the Old Believers that the grave should face east, be in line with the rising sun. According to their explanations, all its sides should have such an arrangement that there is no shadow from the rising sun. Their request was treated with respect. In Invercagill East Cemetery, the Old Believers ' burials are almost in the middle of it. But they are surrounded by a lot of free space and the morning sun is not obscured by numerous neighboring graves. Members of this family dug the grave, prepared the body and carried out the burial on their own. To uninitiated witnesses, it was simply a series of religious activities accompanied by prescribed prayers and chants.

The second death was tragic. Af. Vshivkov was killed in a car crash near Christchurch. His father Avdey took care of all the preparations. The site of the grave was chosen in the old Belfast cemetery, not far from the homes of several Old Believers. After the burial and the erection of a simple wooden cross, Avdey placed the family icon at the foot of the cross and tied it tightly with a white ribbon. In the following days, in the morning and evening, the family came to the grave for prayers. On the third day, the icon disappeared. R. O'Grady passed this story to the press. But it didn't help. "Whoever stole this icon took something from the life of Russians that cannot be replaced by anything," he wrote. - The icon has been kept in the family for generations. Avdey took her with him on all his trips to Siberia and during his exile in China. During his three-year prison sentence in China, the icon was his only fortune. It was not just a piece of metal, it symbolized his entire life of faith" (O'Grady, 1972, p. 54).

New Zealand government agencies did not actually participate in the implementation of the Old Believers ' resettlement program. But by limiting itself to accepting Russian religious refugees, it was the New Zealand government that predetermined the future of the community of Russian religious refugees, since the settlers were immediately forbidden to create a separate settlement. It was assumed that before isolating themselves from society, migrants needed to get to know their new country better. To this end, the entire community, whose members previously lived together, was divided into separate families, which were settled in different places. For this reason, the future fate of the New Zealand group of Old Believers-bespopovtsy developed differently than, for example, their co-religionists who left for Brazil or the United States. By the early eighties of the twentieth century, the community had broken up into separate families, each living its own life.

As it turned out, Russian refugees and local authorities had different goals. For the latter, this was an understandable desire for the rapid integration of migrants into New Zealand society, rather than preserving their ethno-cultural identity. The goal of the official authorities was revealed in the TV program "Compass", which was broadcast on the national channel in the year of the arrival of refugees [http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/the-catalogue/ media/compass-old-believers-settle-in-southland-f3502]. The invited Old Believers, according to eyewitnesses, were unpleasantly surprised. Researchers of the Old Believers are well aware of the fact of close family and group ties between all members of the community, based on living together for centuries. Later, this was also noted by the organizers of the relocation on the part of the NSC: "We did not appreciate then how deeply the Old Believers were upset by their separation. For years they shared both joy and sorrow, and the spirit of their community was deep and real... " [O'Grady, 1972, p. 30-31]. Now they had a particularly difficult time - separated into separate families, they were forced to dramatically change their previous way of life - to work for hire, send their children to a secular school and constantly communicate with a large number of people of a different culture. This could not but affect the cohesion of the community. As a result, just two years after the arrival of the first Russian family from Invercagill

moved to Christchurch. The reason was to find a better job. After a while, five other families followed. By June 1972, the Old Believers ' community in Christchurch numbered 47 people (16 adults and 31 children). The rest moved to Invercagill (20 adults and 40 children), while one family stayed in Gore (two adults and three children).

How did the work on the reception of the "most exotic" group of religious refugees in New Zealand, in the words of the WKB, end - success or failure? The answer is ambiguous and depends on the initial goals of all project participants. If adult members of the community of Old Believers were sensitive to the destruction of their religious and cultural identity, then from the official point of view, employment and a certain everyday success of Old Believers are indisputable evidence of success. In any case, the reception of Russian Old Believers has already become an integral part of the history of relations between the two countries.

list of literature

Gutin Yu. I. Dynamics of the Russian population of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (1949-2000) / / Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta. 2010. № 3 (18).

Cambcll G. The Old Believers // New Zealand Memories. 2006. № 59.

Fitzgerald G. Refugee and Migrant Resettlement in New Zealand 1964-1976: Manuscript. Duncdin: University of Otago, 1982.

Lovell-Smith M. No Turning Back: a History of the Inter-Church Aid Work of the National Council of Churches in New Zealand 1945-1983. Christchurch: NCC, 1986.

McGill D. The Other New Zealanders. Wellington: Mallison Rendel Publishers Ltd, 1982.

McFarland P. A Promised Land? Russian Refugees in New Zealand after 1945. Manuscript. Dunedin: University of Otago, 1997.

O'Grady R. The Old Believers: a New Zealand Refugee Programme. Wellington: International Council of Churches in New Zealand, 1972.

Wilson J. Russians, Ukraniains and Baltic peoples [2012] // http://www.TcAra.govt.nz/cn/russians-ukranians-and-baltic-pcoplcs/1

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