İvanovka () is a village and municipality in the

Ismailli District Ismayilli District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country, in the Mountainous Shirvan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qabala, Quba, Goychay, Kurdamir, Agsu, Shamakhi, an ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. It is at a height of above sea level, from Ismailli region. The municipality consists of the villages of İvanovka and Külüllü. This is the last village in Azerbaijan with a significant population belonging to the Russian ethnic religious community of

Molokan The Molokans ( rus, молокан, p=məlɐˈkan or , "dairy-eater") are a Russian Spiritual Christian sect that evolved from Eastern Orthodoxy in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions, especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts, ...

s. This is the last place in the world where

Kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

(collective farms) from

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

times are preserved.

History

The village was founded in 1834 by Russian peasants, predominantly Molokans from central

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, that had been resettled in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Tsar Nicholas I Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

in the years following the

Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay (; ) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828). It was second of the series of treaties (the first was the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and the last, the ...

at the end of the

Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) The Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 was the last major military conflict between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran, which was fought over territorial disputes in the South Caucasus region. Initiated by Russian expansionist aims and intensifie ...

. Further Russian peasants migrated to the area over time. These were mostly Molokans and some

Doukhobors The Doukhobors ( Canadian spelling) or Dukhobors (; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are known for their pacifism and tradition of oral history, hymn-singing, and verse. They reject the Russian Ortho ...

, coming from the cities of Tambov, Voronezh, Rostov and Stavropol. In 1840, the village was named İvanovka, after the founder – ''Ivan Perschi.'' In 1936, three cooperation of three artels joined into one collective farm. This collective farm exists even nowadays and is only working collective farm in Azerbaijan. In 1971, the leader of collective farm Nikolay Nikitin got the award of “Hero of Socialist Labor”. Under his leadership, Ivanovka's collective farm became one of the biggest in the Republic. In 1995, collective farm was renamed in name of Nikitin. In 2005, the Molocan church was celebrating its 200th anniversary.

Culture

The first Russian houses in this area were built in 1834. Molokan families came to this area to follow their own form of

Spiritual Christianity Spiritual Christianity () is the group of belief systems held by so-called folk Protestants (), including non-Eastern Orthodox indigenous faith tribes and new religious movements that emerged in the Russian Empire. Their origins are varied: som ...

and to maintain their religion. The local people who were deported from Russia speak Azerbaijani, while Russian remains their mother tongue. Their most famous meal is called ''Lapsha'' – a type of pasta noodles. ''Lapsha'' is eaten at every local activity, including at wedding and on holidays. The majority of the songs of the Ivanovka Russian group are dedicated to the beauty of nature of this village. There are some new buildings: a school, library, hospital, kindergarten, maternity home, electronic telephone/internet system (ATS), museum. The museum is operating in Ivanovka village's school. There you can see traditional life's attributes such as clothes, furniture, ceramic dishes, tools, books, photos.

House of Prayer

There is no church in the village. But there is a prayer house where people go to pray together. This house is not open to tourists, and it is forbidden for it to be photographed.

House of culture

In the house of culture, various events such as weddings, presentations, celebrations are held. In 2018 president has signed a decree of renovating the house of culture. 2.5 million were allocated for a renovation.

Molokans

Molokan religion is a member of various Spiritual Christian sects evolved from East Christianity. The Molokan church doesn't conform Orthodox church, nor Catholic, nor Protestant. They tend to name themselves as Spiritual Christians. According to their beliefs they: * Do not recognize cross and icons * consider the consumption of pork and alcohol as sin, as well as smoking and drug use * do not recognize the veneration of saints * recognize the worship of God only "in spirit and truth" Molokans aren't considered to be a single church, rather a religion with the same roots. Each Molokan diaspora has its own religious songs, way of life, celebrations.

Education

The school operating in Ivanovka has a capacity of 783 people. Most of the students are studying in the Russian language.

Demographics

The population is 2720.

Economics

Agriculture accounts for the main business of the population, and the local Kolkhoz is still in good use. The crops that are cultivated are mostly grapes, wheat, sunflowers, and peas. Livestock are also reared (beef-breeding, pig-breeding, poultry), and cheese is produced for the local market. There are some parks, workshops, and factories (e.g. a Tiling factory) .

References

External links

*
Ivanovka.net (ru)
Internet Archive 2018 Populated places in Ismayilli District {{Ismailli-geo-stub