[This paper was presented at the University of Ottawa,
The Doukhobor Century in Canada Conference, Oct. 24, 1999]

Doukhobors and culture - Doukhobors and changing culture - transitions, changes, evolutions, over the last hundred years - pressures from within and without.

When Lev Tolstoy began approaching some of his wealthy friends and acquaintances to raise money for the Doukhobor immigration, one of the benefactors he drew upon was Konstantin Stanislavsky. We don't have a record of Stanislavsky's financial contribution, but his tenure as the Artistic Director of the world's most famous theatre, the Moscow Art Theatre, is well documented. When it was time for the first shipload of Doukhobor immigrants to be readied and disembarked for Canada, who was in charge? Leopold Sulerjitski (aka Sulerzhitsky), the dramaturge of the Moscow Art Theatre. And who was perhaps the greatest benefactor of the Doukhobors at the time? None other than Leo Tolstoy, perhaps the greatest cultural icon of his time!

The cultural connection continued in Canada. The Canadian facilitator of the immigration was James Mavor, a cultural and literary worker in his spare time and acquaintance of George Bernard Shaw. When I interviewed his daughter Dora Mavor some years ago, she showed me a little purse that Prince Peter Kropotkin had presented her with when he had visited her father and they had discussed a suitable location for the Doukhobor settlement. Dora Mavor Moore became known as the mother of Canadian Theatre, and many Canadians, no doubt some Doukhobors included, have heard of her son, Mavor Moore, theatre practitioner and drama academic. In a later connection, one of Mavor’s early successes was a Canadian adaptation of Gogol’s great comedic hit, The Inspector General.

Interesting coincidental connections - Doukhobors and culture. When the first shipload of Doukhobors were greeted at Halifax harbour, one of the welcoming speakers said: 'We hear that your benefactor is the great writer Leo Tolstoy. Many Canadians who have never heard of the Doukhobors have heard of the great Leo Tolstoy - perhaps some day, some of these children arriving here today, may become great artists and writers in their new country, just as he is in the country you left.' [Castlegar Sun, Doukhobor Centenary, May 19, 1999, p.17]

A sublime prophecy.

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