People were not discouraged with the many setbacks of their first twenty years as colonists, which documents their great patience and determination. Only thrifty savings methods and endless work accomplished a gradual progress in spite of all obstacles.

After harsh beginning years, Krasna stabilized itself economically in the thirties, but there were always adversities caused by drought and plagues. By supporting each other and common efforts the colonists succeeded in overcoming these periods.
⇒ See 6.1, Catastrophes, Epidemics, Failed Harvests, Animal Pests, Earthquakes
⇒ See 6.4, Community Tasks and Self Help Organizations

In the thirties the ordered structures of community living start to appear.

• The school situation was not particularly great, but first progress was made. In 1836, the first school of Krasna was completed. (See 5.2, The School in Krasna)
• Government measures secured the colonist’s status and strengthened it. Tsar Nikolaus I acknowledged the privileges of the colonists. A Codex followed in 1842, listing all liberties, duties and rights of the colonists and their citizen rights.
• Combating re-occurring plagues, a grain supply station was established and it would assist colonists in times of need with the grain they needed to survive. (See 6.4, Community Tasks and Self Help Organizations)
• The founding of the Catholic diocese of Tiraspol happened in 1847. The seat was in Cherson, which brought advantages for the church and religious lives for Krasna, the only Catholic colony of Bessarabia at that time. (See 5.1, Church and Religion)
• Initially, the government had been limited to the most basic elements, but a structured government developed slowly. In the beginning, the community meetings were held in a bar. ¹⁾) Now (1839), the community completed its first chancellery or community administration office. (See 4.8, The Administration)
• The Welfare Committee, a colonist office with far-reaching authority, concentrated especially on agriculture, wine and fruit orchards, and the planting of forests. (See 4.8, The Administration) It appointed state councilman Hahn to serve in lieu of the president of the Welfare Committee (1841), who had taken ill, a new and especially fruitful time ensued for the colonies.

In the 1830s, the colonists switched more to grain production, which had become more feasible through the advancement of more productive farm implements (plows, harrows, threshing devices, etc.). Equally important for the later success was the special care afforded the soil, which was plowed several times to keep it free from weeds. The most important colonists’ efforts went into wheat, followed by barley, rye and corn.

The excellent harvests after 1835 caused the first economical upswing for the farmers. This upswing was also supported by better draft animals and the now established stabile market in West Europe for Russian wheat. Improved cultivation methods increased the volume of yield per hectare. (See 4.1, Agriculture in Krasna)

The teacher R. Hahn of Borodino writes ²⁾ From the year of 1842 changes came about, His Excellency State Councilman v. Hahn, then the President of the Welfare Committee for the Colonists of South Russia, together with the former Inspector Kossowsky, knew the hardships of the colonists and pushed for means to improve all branches of economy and culture among the German colonists of Bessarabia and instructed them in what the colonists needed to have…
This was also the time where trade in the towns and in annual markets improved tremendously and produce was more valued. A competition emerged among the colonists where one tried to get ahead of the other in all kinds of economical ways.

The Welfare Committee was very interested in the advancement of the colonies and contributed to a positive development. It also assured that all colonist spaces were filled and well farmed.

• There was not enough land for all families; even Krasna at the beginning had more families than farmsteads. The luckless families moved on at the earliest opportunity of obtaining a farm in another colony.
• There were cases where farm owners did not have the necessary farming experience; they were exchanged.
• Some had to make room for newcomers when the farmer could no longer work, or died.

Krasna had these problems as well. The census 1835/1850 ³⁾ mentions more than twenty families, who had given up their Krasna farms. Reasons were not given. One can assume, that there had to be reasons which made the working of the farm difficult or impossible (For instance illness, death, or lack of expertise of the owner).

At the same time there are more than 25 families listed as Krasna arrivals. Such changes took place mostly around the year of 1840.
See 7.5, Fluctuations among the Krasna colonists

Like all the colonists of South Russia, Krasna had to hand in a community report in 1848, in accordance with a regulation of the Welfare Committee. The community report of 1848 (See text 10, Documents and Reports about and of Krasna), which details the founding and the first 34 years of Krasna’s existence. The former teacher of Krasna, Kaspar Matery, wrote it.

The positive development pointed out above also indicates that land began to get scarce. The law prohibited division of the land among the heirs. (See 4.2, Land Ownership and Inheritance Law of Bessarabia) As early as 1852 the community of Krasna signed a petition to Barron von Rosen, the president of the Welfare Committee, to grant the colony more land. ⁴⁾ We do not know how this petition was handled, since there has been no document found to clarify the issue. According to existing sources the land area of Krasna did not increase after 1852.
(See 4.3, Landowners and Landless People in Krasna)

In the 1850’s there were more setbacks.

• In 1853 and 1855 the cholera raged in Bessarabia, including Krasna.
• The Russian-Turkish War (Crimean War 1853-1856) demanded sacrifices of the colonists in the form of providing quarters and performing mandated services.
  (See 4.11, Military Service and War Times)

The Krasna people were known for their hard work, faith, abundance of children and thriftiness. They overcame tremendous initial difficulties and managed to convert the barren steppe land to fruitful farmland in a matter of a few decades. The agricultural expertise, combined with a favorable climate and good soil, brought Krasna to a blossoming after fifty years of toil. It was a pleasant settlement. The streets were lined with acacia trees. Fields and vineyards were carefully maintained; there was a church and a school, which documents a feverish labor and a growing wealth of the colonists.

At this time the German colonists, including the ones of Krasna, had fulfilled the expectations of the tsar voiced at the settlement, as far as they could do so on their own. The Russian government acknowledged this as well in 1850: ⁵⁾
These colonies are settled by a diligent people, adept at farming, invigorating the southern part of the district, which had up to then been a desert, where the Nogai tribes lived a nomadic life and were not subjects of the nation. Aside from the fact that the southern part of the region has not lost the steppe characteristics, the area, where the German colonists live is today the most cultivated and progressive part of the district, which is visual proof for the rewards of a planned and prolonged period of labor.

Socially, culturally and economically, the colonists were superior to the semi-enslaved Russian farmers of the time. Their success story increased the self worth of the Germans, but it also caused envy among others, as the colonists were to learn in following years in painful experiences.