New podcast spotlights rural B.C.'s Doukhobor community, legacy of sect's leader

A new podcast is spotlighting an ethnoreligious groupwho have made B.C's Kootenayregion home for more than a century, as well as the legacy of theirleader, who died in what has been described as one of Canada's greatest unsolved mysteries.

In May, the Columbia Basin Trust and the Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazinelaunched Headwaters: Stories from the Source, a podcastcelebrating the region.

Produced by former CBC journalist Bob Keatingand hosted by the magazine's editor-in-chief Mitchell Scott,Headwatershas released fourepisodes so far, including one aboutthe Doukhobors,a religious community originally from Russia.

The Doukhoborsdissented from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 18th century,rejecting organized religion while keeping its Christian teachings, according totheUnion of Spiritual Communities of Christ (USCC),the largest Doukhobor organization in Canada.

Later, at the encouragement of leaderPeter Vasilevich Verigin, they alsoadopted a communal lifestyle,abstained from tobacco and alcohol, and practisedvegetarianism and pacifism opposition to war and violence.

According to the USCC, there are an estimated 30,000 Doukhobors living in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, the Kootenay and Okanaganregions, and in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

'A tragedy'

The episode explores an event that "shattered" the community's way of life the death of Verigin,aRussian-born philosopher and activist who became the leader of the Doukhobors in the late 19th century.

According to the USCC,persecution from the statespurredthe migration of more than 7,000 Doukhobors from Russia toCanada, where they would be free to practice their religion.From1898 to1899, they migrated with support fromnovelist Leo Tolstoyand the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, and mostly settled in Saskatchewan.

Later Veriginledabout 6,000 Doukhoborsto British Columbia, where theybuilt communal villages in Grand Forks and Castlegar.

On Oct. 29, 1924, Verigin and eight other passengers, including Grand Forks-Greenwood MLA John McKie, were killed by a train explosion along the Canadian Pacific Railway's Columbia and WesternLine.

"It was a tragedy," said Verigin's great-great-grandson and executive director of the USCC,John J. Verigin Jr.

"It unsettled the Dukhobor community in Canada ...it was a difficult time."

The cause of the explosion remains unknownand theincident has been described as one of the greatest unresolved mysteries in Canadian history.

In the podcast, VeriginJr.recounts pilgrimagesto a monumenthonouring Peter Verigin inFarron, B.C.,about 45 kilometres northeast of Grand Forks.

"When we used to be kids, we used to walk all the way up here, and we would have a little bit of a morning prayer service," he said.

AfterVerigin's death, his descendants resumed the role ofspiritual leader forthe Doukhobors.Hisson, Peter Petrovich Verigin, established theUSCC in 1938.

'An interesting historical figure'

Greg Nesteroff, a Castlegar-based journalist born to a Doukhobor family,has written extensively about the community and contributed reporting to the podcast.

Now 45, Nesteroff says he didn't learn about Verigin in school, but his parents told him stories about the Doukhobor leader.

"He was an interesting historical figure to me," Nesteroff said, adding it would be worthwhile for schools in the provinceto addDoukhobor history, includingVerigin's legacy, to their curriculum.

The episode also tells the story ofMary Braun, a member ofa Doukhobor faction called the Sons of Freedom, who became known for their public protests bysetting fires and protesting nude. Braunwas sentenced to six years inprison in 2001for burning a satellite buildingof Selkirk College in Castlegar.

It also features Kalesnikoff, a Doukhobor family-run forestrycompany.

LISTEN | Mitchell Scott and Greg Nesteroff on the Headwaters podcast

"[The Doukhobors]have a long history much longer than any of the rest of us,"saidKeating, who covered Braun's trial as a Nelsoncorrespondent for the CBC.

"There area lot of newcomers to the Kootenays [that] I'm not sure really know the full history, so there are lots of reasons to take iton."

Verigin Jr.says the USCC is also discussingplansto commemorate the centennialanniversary in 2024 of his great-great-grandfather's death.

Episodes of the Headwaters podcast will be released every Wednesday.