10.1 Documents and reports from government and administration

Luckily, a large number of documents and reports from the administration concerning Krasna has been preserved. Ted Becker, the Village Research Coordinator for Krasna for the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) in the USA, is in possession of many of these. His address is:
Ted J. Becker, 2929 – 21st Ave. S., #411, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407-4564 USA
E-mail: tjb@scc.net
Almost all of the documents referred to in the previous text are based on this collection. For space reasons only a few of the documents can be reproduced here.

1. Edict of the Tsar, dated November 1813, for settlement of Bessarabia
2. Community report of Krasna of 1848
3. Oath of office of mayor Müller 1848
4. Election list of the mayoral election 1857
5. Krasna village report of 1940
6. Edict of the Tsar of November 1813 for Settlement in Bessarabia

The rights and duties of the immigrants are outlined in nine statements, according to I.Wagner and W. Mutschall:
The Russsian government agrees to place the colonists of the Duchy of Warsaw under its special protection and grants then all rights and comforts, to which the natives are entitled.

The colonists shall preferably occupy themselves with the bettering of garden, wine and silk production.

1. They shall be exempt from all taxes and contributions for the period of ten years, excepting a small payment to Bessarabian landlords.
2. The crown shall pay each poor family 270 ruble banco for a period of ten years and all others as much as is needed for their initial start-up.
3. Each family shall also be given personal and inheritable property of 60 desjatines of land. (60 desjatines “one farm” = 65.5 hectares)
4. Additionally, all the people who do not have food shall receive a food allowance of 5 kopecks per soul per diem until the first corn harvest is brought in.
5. Immigants and their descendants are forever free from military recruitment and the provision of quarters for the military with the exception of armies on the move.
6. The colonists are entitled to build churches in accordance with their religion, employ spiritual leaders of their choice and practice their religion according to their tradition.
7. After the ten years are up another ten years are granted for repayment of the advances given by the crown.

A newsletter by state councilman Eugen von Hahn ¹⁾ dated January 1, 1848 and addressed to all of the mayoral offices and teachers in the German colonies under his command, urged them to present short versions of the “history and foundation reviews” of the individual colonies. M. Woltner ²⁾ and Leibbrandt ³⁾ explain the circumstances involving this demand, since they contributed to a portion of the reports pubished by the colonies.

The then mayor of the village of Krasna made the community report of Krasna. This document is dated May 8, 1848. The report is printed in a book written by Joseph Malinowsky. ⁴⁾ The author remarks in the beginning of it: The sources for the following report of the community offices were copied from the files of the Welfare Committee for Foreign Settlers from the archives of Odessa (formerly Jekaterinoslaw) Gouvernement (Archive of Odesskago Gradonatschalstwa) in a literal transcript… The reports were published exactly in the text in which they were written in 1848…the original texts of the reports are published as they were found, excepting that the current grammatical styles were applied.

Later descriptions pertaining to the creation of the colony of Krasna refer to this text, as well.

Immigration from Germany and settlement in Poland 1800-1803.
The first settlers of the colony of Krasna, a Roman Catholic settlement, were subjects of the duchy, now Kingdom of Bavaria in the Mink (Munich) District. ⁵⁾

• Many Germans left their homeland in the years 1800-1803 because of the unrest caused by the war, which culminated in the French Revolution to find a new homeland elsewhere. An edict issued by the King of Prussia invited the colonists to settle in Prussian Poland. So, many of the current Krasna people ended up in the Duchy of Warsaw where they remained until 1814 in a colony close to Warsaw.
• Settlement at the Current Location. The destructive war campaigns taking the French to Russia via Poland almost cost the colonists all they had. They realized then that the splintered Poland would not be safe and protected in the future and they followed the call of the Russian government of this time to settle in Bessarabia. Announcement by the Russian Government of 1813.
  • The Russian Government will place the immigrant colonists of the duchy of Warsaw under special protection and will permit them to enjoy all of the comforts and privileges and protection as prescribed by law that the Russian natives enjoy.
  • It is required of the immigrant to apply himself to the betterment of farming, establishment of fruit orchards, vineyards and silk production for the people qualified for this enterprise, but in general to adhere to all that makes a good farmer and new settler under the protection of his Monarch.

By order of the government 90 families arrived at the area designated for settlement in the Kugelnik valley and the other 43 families followed in the spring of 1816. The designated area was steppeland. Overgrown with high grass and Burian plants, there were no human homes. The land was under lease by three Bulgarians named Iskro, Loto and Karpp. (Cabinetmakers also lived here and there)

Each settler received wood in the form of 4 corner posts, doors, windows and a piece of wood to make a bench, as well as 8 rubles banco. The settler had to take care of the rest. Each complete family also received a wooden wagon, to which was added some iron for an upgrade a year later. Furthermore, each received a hoe, 2 scythes, 2 sickles, an iron shovel, a hoe, a dangle stick and other small implements. Each family received a pair of steers (oxen) for draft animals and a cow. For planting – 4 tschetwert of wheat, 2 tschetwert of potatoes and each person (soul) was allowed to pick up a pud of flour per month from the warehouse in Tarutino for the duration of 1½ years. The Russian government spent millions to support the colonists; the colonists were often swindled by the suppliers, especially by a certain Pollners. Cattle were delivered in extremely skinny condition, implements were poor, flour was spoiled and the promised 5 kopecks a day hardly ever materialized. It forced the colonists to hire out as day laborers to be able to feed their families. Lack of draft animals also led to poor farming. Sometimes three farmers put their animals together to work the land properly. Many just loosened the soil with a hoe and planted their little bit of grain. In the beginning, the colony was called “Elisabetha”, later renamed “Konstantinschutz.” A few years later, orders were given to call the village Krasna.

The division of the colony of Krasna and the reasons for it in the year 1825. Among the 133 families settled in Krasna were 19 Evangelical Lutheran families. Catholics and Protestants observe different church holidays and religious practices. The nine years of living together did not exactly lead to quarrels and hatred, but there was friction. The communities agreed to petition the government to permit the Evangelical families to move to the then newly-founded colony of Katzbach, which was granted in 1825.

Description of the valley and structure of the village: The River Kugelnik flows from east to south. The village is located in the valley and consists of two rows of houses. Krasna is 100 werst distant from the government city of Kischinev, 90 werst distant from Akkerman and 90 werst distant from Ismail. Earlier, the houses were stomped out, some of them thatched with air-tiles and reeds. Fruit orchards were located on both sides of the village behind the farms. In 1848, 48 farmers planted vineyards on a slope 1 werst distant from the village, where each cultivated 1,500 grape vines. By 1847 there was a good wine harvest already.

In 1818 a stone house of prayer was built and thatched with reeds. The rectory is made of sod and is located 8 faden distant from the church. In 1836 a pretty schoolhouse was built, in 1844 a supply warehouse was built of stone near the school, and thatched with reeds. In 1839 the community chancellery was built in the village center. The colony Krasna owns 6,688 desjatines and 844 faden of land. ⁶⁾ (These figures refer only to the usable land. The actual totals were 6,948 desjatines and 344 faden of land.) The land area also has several ponds and valleys. In the valley, there are 2 feet of rich black soil, followed by a layer of saltpeter. On the slope, the black soil is 2 feet deep, but mixed with sand. The soil produces excellent winter wheat, rye, oats, barley, hirsute, corn, legumes and potatoes. Grasses are the types of Schmellen, Wicken, stone clover, hair grass and others. Artificial (commercially produced) feed herbs were not yet planted.

Events: During the Russo-Turkish war of 1827 the colonists had to provide quarters and haul loads of equipment. Failed harvests are reported for 1830, 1832, 1833, 1834, and 1839. In these years, barely enough was harvested to provide seed grain for the spring planting. Field mice did much damage in 1822, 1823 and 1824. Grasshoppers were the chief villains in 1825, 1826, 1827, 1836 and 1847. Hail damage also was extensive in the community in 1843. Cattle pests struck in 1827, 1834 and 1839, as well as in 1844. Horse plagues ran rampant in 1847 and 1848.

Their wealth was attributed to God and the administration, as well as their own industriousness in planting crops and vinyards, livestock production, etc. The women and girls also helped by spinning wool in the winter, working with flax and producing cloth and blankets. (at 6 rubles each)

The colony of Krasna, dated May 8, 1848.
Mayor Müller.
I. Associate Söhn.
II. Associate Bonakowsky
Teacher Caspar Matery.

The transcript from the old text was made by Paul Wingenbach

Image 122: Oath of office of Mayor Mathias Müller Part 1

Image 122: Oath of office of Mayor Mathias Müller Part 2

I, the undersigned declare and swear by God Almighty, His Holy Cross and Evangelico, that I shall be a faithful and obedient servant to His Majesty and Emperor Nicolay Pavlovich, ruler of all Russians and his descendant Alexander Nicolaivich, as well as to all officials above my station and that I shall prevent all that could cause harm to the interest of His Imperial Majesty or the state and make reports of such events as soon as they become known to me. I shall perform my duties as the mayor faithful and diligently and preserve law and order in the community under my care, so help me God….in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Signed: Mathias Mueller, Mayor
Certified by the priest of the Roman catholic diocese of Krasna, dated 14 February 1848, Adam Hymuwitsch.
Witness to the oath was
Vice mayor Boettcher

(Odessa State Archive, Fond 6, Inventory 4, file 18018, pages 44-47)

Image 124: Electoral list from 1857

There are five addditonal pages with signatures, which are not printed here, due to limited space. At the end is the final page with the agreement remarks of the mayor. (See following page)

Image 125: Electoral list from 1857 - Closing page with the audit opinion of Mayor

DAI Film-T81 316 (produced by the German Institute for foreign Affairs, decision planning office for the Resettlement)

Place: Krasna Village district Be 10 Krasna

Village report

1. Village: Krasna
   Parish: Krasna
   District Akkerman
2. Families: 600
   People 2,832
   Farms 446
3. Occupations:
   Farmers 380
   Other Occupations 61
   Tradesmen 58
   Other Occupations 3 (teacher, merchant, bookkeeper)
4. Origin: Franconian/Bavarian
   Use of native language: Yes
   Other integrated people: Polish-Germans
5. Community efforts: Association Home, Association Store, Bank, library, choir, orchestra, community pasture
6. Percentage of Germans: 99.5%
7. Year of immigration: 1814
8. Transportation: near the rail road, no train station
   Distance to roadway: connected
   Distance to next town: 10 kilometers
   Is the economy of the village dependant on the nearby town? Yes
9. Landscape: Broad valley, mountains are north to south
10. Soil: humus (black soil)
    Major crops: wheat, barley, corn, oil fruits
11. Livestock: mostly horses, cattle, sheep, poultry
12. Important farm usage of the land: farming, raising Karakul sheep, some cattle
13. Guarantors:
14. Community value Rated according to rating scale between 1-3: 2
15. Village characteristic conservative re: customs/tradition
16. Suggestions for community settlement: Distribution to several villages in visiting Distance, mixing with families of other confessions