ate as Bezobrazoff. These misfortunes, however, did not
weaken the religious ardour of the _molokanes_. A regular series of
"false Christs," as the Russians called them, tormented the
imaginations of the southern peasantry. Some believed themselves to be
Elijah, some the angel Gabriel; while others considered themselves new
saviours of the world.

One of these latter made his debut in the role of Saviour about 1840,
and after having drained the peasants of Simbirsk and Saratov of money,
fled to Bessarabia with his funds and his disciples. Later he
returned, accompanied by twelve feminine "angels," and with them was
deported to Siberia.

But the popular mind is not discouraged by such small matters. Side by
side with the impostors there existed men of true faith, simple and
devout dreamers. Taking advantage of freedom to expound the Gospel,
they profited by it for use and abuse, and it seemed to be a race as to
who should be the first to start a new creed.

Even as the _douchobortzi_ had given birth to the _molokanes_, so were
the latter in turn the parents of the _stoundists_.

CHAPTER XII

THE STOUNDISTS

This sect believed that man could attain to perfection of life and
health only by avoiding the fatigue of penance and fastings; and that
all men should equally enjoy the gifts of Nature, Jesus Christ having
suffered for all. Land and capital should belong to the community, and
should be equally divided, all men being brothers, and sons of the same
God. Wealth being thus equalised, it was useless to try to amass it.
Trade was similarly condemned, and a system of exchange of goods
advocated. The _stoundists_ did not attend church, and avoided
public-houses, "those sources of disease and misery." The government
made every effort to crush them, but the more they were persecuted, the
more they flourished. The seers and mystics among them were considered
particularly dangerous, and were frequently flogged and imprisoned--in
fact, the sect as a whole was held by the Russian administration, to be
one of the most dangerous in existence. It originated in the year
1862, and from then onwards its history was one of continuous martyrdom.

Like the _molokanes_, the _stoundists_ refused to reverence the ikons,
the sacraments, or the hierarchy of the orthodox church, and considered
the Holy Scriptures to be simply a moral treatise. They abominated
war, referring to it as "murder _en masse_," and never enter