The Spirit Wrestlers

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The Spirit Wrestlers and Other Survivors of the Russian Century
by Philip Marsden

I picked up this slim paperback from the dollar rack of a local bookstore, even though I generally avoid travel writing. The authors always seem to be living the high life. How difficult is it to wax lyrical about dining in the finest restuarants or sleeping in five-star hotels? Being a Russophile, and having already failed to finish several massive tomes about the history of that country (The New Russians, Inside Russia Today), I figured a buck was an acceptable risk. This book was such a compelling read, I finished it in a few sittings. A worthwhile investment, and I'll keep it to read again.

After a long winter spent in the Lenin library in Moscow, reading romantic tales of Cossacks and the pre-schism Christian sects, author Philip Marsden was overcome with a desire to journey south to meet these legendary characters. He traveled through Russia and the former provinces mainly by walking and hitching rides, or taking local busses and trains, staying overnight with the remarkably hospitiable natives, most of whom were complete strangers to him. Sometimes, he sleeps out-of-doors or in abandoned buildings. There were no five-star hotels or haute cuisine in the remote villages of the mountains and steppes, where he seeks to interview those who defied the state religion of the Czars and the atheism of the communist regimes. He meets people of the various pre-schism sects with names rendered vivid in the translation: Spirit-Wrestlers, Milk-Drinkers, Fleshers, Fasters, Spiritual Christian Jumpers, Yezidi. Most reject the priesthood and some also reject printed Scripture. Although their philosophy varies a great deal, nearly all of the sects were persecuted by the Czars, the Communists, and assorted tyrants who perceived their religious dissent as a threat. Parts of the book are unbearably sad, as Marsden talks to older practitioners who were orphaned or rendered destitute by religious intolerance, persecution, deporations, exile, execution, collectivization, and other forms of oppression. But their faith is unwavering and the descriptions of their spiritual practices are fascinating reading.

The author narrates the history of Russia by describing conversations with its marginalized people. He picks up rumours of a Doukhobor or Molokan living here or there and follows their trail to meet and interview them. The dialogue of these characters make the book so memorable. Most are friendly and welcoming, offering rides, food, a place to sleep for the night, and extensive descriptions of their personal histories and spiritual practices. Very few are suspicious and drive him away - the OMON (Special Operations State Militia) he meets in a bar threaten him into leaving, saying "This is our country!" although one of them later apologizes and reveals that they are battle-weary from the horrors in Chechyna. Authorities prevent him from crossing the border into Georgia although he later finds a back way in. He is turned away from a village in Adygeya when he asks to see the local ataman. The residents tell him "We don't like strangers here." But they are in contrast to the other characters in the book, who apparently enjoy welcoming travellers into their homes, their cars, and most of all, to their tables, as food and drink is shared quite freely.

Marsden also writes about the history of the mysterious ancient peoples of the steppes: the Sycthians, the Alans, the Circassians, and other "horse tribes," most of whom have long since vanished from the regions. Cossacks appear throughout the book, and many of them are optimistic with the spirit of the Cossack revival of the 90s. They claim kinship with the ancient horse-tribes, and though their way of life is similar, there is no documentation of a historical blood-tie between the modern Cossacks and the vanished ancient peoples. Like many Russians, and many Americans as well, the ancestry of the Cossacks is an amalgam of various native and migratory peoples. The Cossacks have a bad reputation as militants who blindly followed the cruel orders of the Czars, even while struggling to retain their status as self-ruling people. Marsden does not shy away from the bigotry of the Cossacks he meets, some of whom express strong dislike for the Muslims, Jews, Turks, Armenians, and various other ethnic and religious groups. Many Jews today still dislike the Cossacks, believing them to have slaughtered 100,000 Jews in the most cruel way imaginable. Yet there is also contradictory evidence that the Cossacks were called in to stop the mob violence of the pogroms and restore order to the streets. The truth is murky and probably lies somewhere between the two extremes. I recall a Jewish classmate, seeing my Cossack calvalry dog-tag, expressing an extreme dislike of those people for what they did to his ancestors. It was a strange moment for me as an American, since my country also has a bloody history of genocide and oppression of blacks and Native Americans. I'm sure that many people dislike me in the same way that Jews dislike the Cossacks. And no doubt my German Aryan and Hungarian Jewish ancestors would be turning over in the graves to see their blood-lines mixed. I believe it is better not to let the sins of the fathers be visited upon the children. I would prefer to be judged by my own actions rather than those of my ancestors.

The book is also filled with trivia and tidbits of Russian history and folk customs. But the characters Marsden meets are the real stars of the book. Through their dialogue, I got a real sense of the Russian people, and particularly their generosity even in the face of poverty, and their fortitude under the most grevious conditions imaginable. It's a fascinating read and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Russian history.