In the late 1700s the Russian leader Catherine the Great issued a decree inviting Europeans to come settle the newly conquered lands of the Russian Empire in present day Ukraine. German speaking Mennonites answered the call. They had previously fled persecution in the Netherlands and viewed this as an opportunity to build a self-sufficient community. As pacifists they were also drawn by promised military exemption.
Mennonite colonies in Ukraine were built among the Nogais, semi-nomadic pastoralists who trace their lineage back to Genghis Khan. It was a tense relationship at...