History of the Russian Mennonites

Cardinal Richelieu, the sinister clergyman portrayed in Disney’s “Three Musketeers” film, was the great-grand-uncle of Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, the Duke of Richelieu. The Duke knew the Mennonites of New Russia very well and was a key figure in their early health and success. In exile from France, Richelieu volunteered in Catherine the Great’s Imperial army and was decorated for his 1789 leadership in fighting the Turkish Ottoman Empire. In 1803, Alexander I appointed Richelieu as Governor of newly founded city of Odessa, and then as Governor General of all New Russia in 1804. He would later return to France where he served twice as Prime Minister ( note 1 ). Richelieu was viewed as the “colonizer of genius” ( note 2 ), and his most trusted colonization official was Samuel Contenius, who was most directly involved in the successful settlement and early economic development of Mennonites in Russia. Contenius (b. 1748) was the son of a German pastor; he came to Russia at age 25 whe