Expulsados de Rusia por sus creencias🇦🇲

During the 17th and 18th centuries, these ethnic Russians were persecuted for not accepting the precepts of the Orthodox Christian Church, even though they considered themselves Christians. Branded as a subversive sect, under the reign of Alexander I, around 1805, they were officially expelled from Russia and took refuge in America, Australia, France, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, among other countries. Precisely in Armenia, where an estimated 20,000 Molokans live, I decided to visit one of these communes. There I was able to speak with some of them and learn about some of their traditions firsthand. Until I traveled to Armenia myself, I had no idea they existed. I found it very interesting to talk with them. I learned that they were expelled for not believing in religious images or the cross, considering them not the work of God but of man. Likewise, for not respecting the fasting from animal products during the Orthodox Easter, or for his pacifism and refusal to perform compulsory military service.