The Doukhabors were a Russian religious sect. They broke away from the orthodox church as early as the 1500s. They were opposed to icons and were pacifists. Their beliefs got them into trouble with the tsar at various times. In the late 1800s they faced persecution in Russia. Leo Tolstoy the famous novelist held views very similar to their own. When they decided to emigrate as a whole to Canada, Tolstoy financed much of their costs through the sale of his book "Resurrection." The Doukhabors migrated on various ships starting in 1899.
At first the Doukhabors had a very peaceful existence in Canada. They set up four colonies that are all within modern day Saskatchewan. The Canadian government gave them permission to remain pacifists. But as the decades wore on, the Canadian government grew tired of the Doukhabor lack of integration into Canadian society and began to insist that Doukhabor children attend public schools. This provoked resistance among the Doukhabors, leading to mass nude protests and unfortunately also arsony of school buildings.
Although the Doukhabors supposedly held everything in common, and were opposed to individual property ownership (anything thing which irked the Canadian government), their leader Peter Veregin had this large house (pictured below) built for himself. It appears that they were a bit of a cult, always having one supreme spiritual leader. In a sense you could say that he was the Russian noble to their Russian peasantry, on Canadian soil.
Today there are some 40,000 Canadians who claim ancestry to the Doukhabors. In the last Canadian census there were 3,500 who actually listed Doukhabor as their religion. Doukhabor comes from the Russian words 'dukh' (дух) meaning 'spirit' and 'bor' (бор) from 'borba' (борба) meaning 'wrestle'. The Russian government had said they were "wrestling against the Holy Spirit" by their heretical doctrines. The Doukhabors turned this around and said that they were "wrestling together along with the Holy Spirit."
I am not sure of the history of their doctrines, but they do not believe in a literal resurrection of Jesus nor a literal interpretation of the trinity. They do not practice baptism either. So even though they rejected icons, which some would say they rejected idolatry, they rejected far more important things in their beliefs. Doukhabors do not believe in the inspiration of scripture either.
The house that Peter Veregin (leader of the Doukhabor colonies in Canada) built for himself. The lower floor is today a prayer house, that still gets used for prayer services once a month. The top floor is a museum of living rooms and bedrooms as Peter Veregin lived.
"The precepts of the Dukhabors are- Labour and a Peaceful Life." (Their work ethic, and their path to salvation if you like.)
"The blessings of the whole world should not cost the life of even one child." (Their religious stand on pacifism.)
Various buildings were moved from Doukhabor settlements to form this museum.
The dining room in Peter Veregin's house.
A later era Doukhabor farm kitchen.
This is Doukhabor propaganda- they toiled that we may live. In some ways a very similar slogan to Russian communism. The art is even reminiscent of later Soviet propaganda art. Take note that the plough is being pulled by women. The Doukhabors decided to let their animals free as they counted them as their "brethren". As to why the women pulled the plough and not the men, it is not entirely clear. It was certainly something that annoyed their non Russian neighbours.
This is a banya! (Bathhouse sauna.) Naturally Doukhabor Russians also had banyas. But, the people who restored this banya made the mistake of painting it on the inside, something that would never happen in a banya, as the wood needs to "breathe".
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