Chortitza Colony

Chortitza Colony was a settlement of German-speaking Mennonites northwest of Khortytsia Island and is now part of Zaporizhia, Ukraine. Chortitza was founded in 1789 by Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonite settlers from West Prussia and consisted of many villages. It was the first of many Mennonite settlements in Russia. Because the Mennonites living in these villages emigrated or were evacuated or deported at the end of World War II, or emigrated after the collapse of the Soviet Union no Mennonites are living there today.

Vistula delta Mennonites, mostly of Dutch descent, had lived in West Prussia from the middle of 16th century. Because of their fast growing population, finding more arable land was a concern. When West Prussia became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1772 through the First Partition of Poland, the Prussian Government enacted a law making it difficult for Mennonites to acquire land. This compelled a significant part of the Mennonite population to seek better opportunities in nearby cities, Danzig in particular.

Believing agriculture to be the backbone of the Russian economy, in 1763 Catherine II of Russia issued a Manifesto inviting Europeans to farm Russia's unoccupied agricultural lands. Though land opportunities were scattered throughout Russia, the largest tracts available were along the banks and watershed of the Volga River south of Saratov. Colonization by non-Russians in that area also served as a buffer zone against invading Mongol hordes to the east. Colonization attempts were intensified in 1774 after the Russo-Turkish War when Potemkin was appointed governor general of South Russia which included territory recently won from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

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