Taurida, a Russian province of the Ukraine bordering to the south on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, in the west on the Province of Kherson, and in the northeast on Ekaterinoslav. Originally the Crimea was a part of the province. In 1897 the province had a population of 1,447,790 and an area ca. 22,000 square miles. The land consists primarily of rolling steppes. The capital was Simferopol.

Taurida became the second province chosen by the Mennonites for settlement. In 1804 and following the Molotschna Settlement was established in the eastern part of the province, which ultimately became the largest Mennonite settlement in Russia, consisting of 56 villages. In 1862 Mennonite settlements in Crimea were started (more than 25 villages). Fürstenland, a daughter colony of the Chortitza settlement, consisting of 6 villages, originated in 1864. Before World War I the total Mennonite population numbered 36,000, distributed over some 90 villages in these settlements and many estates and consisted of 9,234,000 acres. The province of Taurida had a larger Mennonite population than any other province.

During World War II when the German army approached, the Soviet government succeeded in removing most of the population eastward. For this reason fewer Mennonites have come to America from this province since World War II than from Ekaterinoslav, where the Soviets were unable to evacuate the Mennonites west of the Dnepr River when the German army approached. (See also Molotschna Settlement, Ukraine, Russia.)

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 687. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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