Resources > Glossary
Glossary
- Aberglaube - German term for belief in things beyond the certain or verifiable such as witchcraft, supernatural events, or superstitions.
- Ambar - A Russian term for a small granary that was part of each colonist's homesite.
- Arbuse - A German word for watermelon.
- Arshin - Russian measure of length equivalent to 2 1/3 feet.
- Backstein - a German term describing a type of adobe brick used as a building material.
- Beisitzer - a German term for a village council member.
- Bergseite - German geographical term referring in general to the territory occupied by the Volga German colonies on the west side of the Volga River. Translated, it means "mountainous side" or "hilly side" of the river.
- Bethaus - German term for prayer house.
- Braucher - German term for a white witch.
- Braucherei - German term for white magic.
- Brüderschaft - German term meaning the "Brotherhood," or more commonly the "Brethren." The Brethren were an early pietistic movement that evolved into an organized body of considerable strength and influence in the German-Russian colonies.
- Canton - Russian geographic term roughly equivalent to an English county. German = Kanton.
- Chetverik - Russian dry measure of 26.24 liters or about 7 gallons.
- Chetvert - Russian dry measure of 209.91 liters or about 55 gallons.
- Chorleiter - German for choir conductor.
- Christkind - Sometimes known affectionately as Christkindl, the Christkind, represented by a young woman, is a traditional giver of gifts at Christmas time, mainly in European countries including Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Slovakia and Switzerland. The word Christkind translates to 'Christ Child.'
- Der Brüderschaft Versammlung - German for The Brotherhood Assembly.
- Desyatina or Dessiatin - Russian area measure of 2.7 acres.
- Die Heilige Schrift - German phrase for The Holy Scriptures.
- Dusch - Russian term for a share or allocation of land under the mir system.
- Evangelische Kirche - German term for the Protestant churches (both Lutheran and Reformed) in the Volga colonies.
- Faden - German unit of measure for quantities of firewood similar to an English cord of wood.
- Freistehender Glockenstuhl - German for freestanding bell tower.
- Gasse - German term for the street or alley.
- Gemeinde - German term for the local village administration.
- Gesangbuch - German term for hymnbook.
- Gubernia - Russian geographic term similar to an English province. Gubernia are subdivided by uyezd (districts) and uyezd are subdivided by volosts (counties).
- Gulag - Russian acronym for the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems during the Stalin era, from the 1930's until the 1950's. The first such camps were created in 1918 and the term is widely used to describe any forced labor camp in the USSR.
- Gulden - German and Dutch term for gold coin, equivalent to English term guilder. (240 Pfennig = 60 Kreuzer = 1 Gulden)
- Hex - German term for a black witch.
- Hexerie - German term for black magic.
- Katholische Kirche - German term for the Catholic church.
- Khutor - Russian term for a farmstead located some distance from a colony; originally used only during the summer farming season, later becoming a year-round residence. German = Chutor.
- Kirchenspiel - German term for a church parish.
- Kolkhoz - Russian term for a collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes were first organized around 1918 and existed along with state farms or sovkhoz (plural sovkhozy or sovkhozes).
- Kolonie - German spelling of the English word colony.
- Kolonist - Russian and German term for the settlers of colonies established under the terms of Catherine II's Manifesto. Colonists were granted special privileges that differentiated them from other Russian subjects.
- Kontora - Russian term for the Saratov Office for the Guardianship of Foreign Settlers. The sole responsibility of the Kontora was to assist in the improvement of the well-being of the German colonists, to maintain order in the colonies and to insure that the colonists adhered to government directives.
- Kopek - Basic monetary unit of Russia equal to one hundredth of a ruble.
- Kreuzer - German monetary unit. (240 Pfennig = 60 Kreuzer = 1 Gulden)
- Kuh - German word for cow.
- Kulak - Category of relatively affluent farmers in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union.
- Küster - German term for the sexton of the church.
- Lafka - Russian word for a general store (Lafki is the plural form).
- Lappenvolk - A lighthearted German term used to describe the exuberance of women cleaning their homes. Literally dust rag folk (from German lappen:dust rag and volk:folk).
- Manifesto - Public declaration of policy and specific program aims.
- Mir - Volga German colonists held their land in communal ownership within the mir community, which acted as a village government and a cooperative. Arable land was divided in sections based on soil quality and distance from the village. Each household had the right to claim one or more strips from each section depending on the number of adult males in the household. Strips were periodically re-allocated on the basis of a census, to ensure equitable sharing of the land.
- Mistholz - A German term which translates as "manure wood," a product of manure and straw collected from the barn stalls that was compacted, dried in the sun, cut into bricks and used in both heating and cook stoves. The bricks burned slowly, had a high heat value and were virtually odorless. This was the principal heating fuel in the Volga German colonies which had limited woodlands.
- Mitteldorf - German term designating the central part of the colony of Norka.
- Mutter Kolonien - German for Mother colonies.
- Nachtgebet - German for the evening prayers.
- Neujahr, Neujahrsfeier, Neujahrsmann, Neujahrsmesse - German for New Year, New Year's celebration, New Year's man, and New Year's church service, respectively.
- NKVD - The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (Народный комиссариат внутренних дел, Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del), abbreviated NKVD, was a law enforcement agency of the Soviet Union that directly executed the will of the All Union Communist Party. It was closely associated with the Soviet secret police, which at times was part of the agency, and is known for its political repression during the era of Joseph Stalin.
- Norka - Russian word for the European mink. Russian geographers named the river that runs through Norka after this animal which once lived along its banks. The German colony established in 1767 also adopted this name. In the Norka dialect the name was pronounced "Norga."
- Oberdorf - German term meaning the upper portion of the colony of Norka.
- Oblast - Russian geographic term equivalent to a "state" or "province."
- Odnodvortsy - A category of state peasant in 18th century Russia. The Odnodvortsy originated with the lowest ranks of old gentry militia.
- Pastorate - The office or term of office of a pastor or a body of pastors.
- Pfarrer - German term for pastor.
- Pfennig - German term for penny. (240 Pfennig = 60 Kreuzer = 1 Gulden)
- Pferd - German word for horse.
- Pfund - German measure of weight equivalent to 500 grams or half a kilogram.
- Pisar' - A Russian word for a secretary or scribe.
- Probst - German term for the head of a religious chapter or educational establishment, usually clergy. English translation - provost.
- Pud or Pood - Russian weight measure of 16.38 kilograms or about 36 pounds.
- Rayon (also raion) - Russian term for a type of administrative unit of a Soviet province (such as part of an oblast). The term is commonly translated in English as "district".
- Riechkraut - An aromatic herb such as Lavender. Literally smelling herb (from German riech:smelling and kraut:herb).
- Ruble (also rouble) - Basic monetary unit of Russia equal to 100 kopeks.
- Russland - German word for Russia.
- Russlanddeutsche - German word for German-Russians.
- Saratov - Name of the largest Russian city near the colony of Norka and also the name of gubernia (province) in which Norka was located. German = Saratow, Saratof or Saratoff.
- Sazhen - Russian measure of length equal to 2.13 meters or about 7 feet.
- Schulmeister - German word for Schoolmaster or Principal of the school.
- Seil - German word for rope.
- Silvestermorgen - The morning of New Year's Day.
- Sovkhoz - Russian term for a state owned farm in the Soviet Union. Sovkhozes existed along with collective farms known as kolkhoz.
- Tischgebet - German for the table prayers commonly recited before a meal.
- Torgsin - Russian state-run hard-currency stores that operated in the USSR between 1931 and 1936. Their name was an acronym of torgovlia s inostrantsami (Russian: торговля с иностранцами), "trade with foreigners." Unlike the later Beryozka stores, Torgsin stores were open to Soviet citizens, provided they had access to hard currency, gold, or jewels.
- Troika - Russian vehicle pulled by a team of three horses abreast.
- Trudarmiia - Labor army.
- Unterdorf - German term designating the the lower part of the colony of Norka.
- Uyezd - Russian geographic subdivision of a gubernia (province) similar to an English district.
- Versammlung - German term meaning meeting, usually a prayer meeting.
- Versta - Russian measure of length equal to 1,066.8 meters or 3,500 feet. English = Verst
- Volost - Russian geographic term similar to an English county which is a subdivision of an uyezd (district).
- Vorsteher - German term for the mayor or council leader of the colony. Also a term used for the leaders of the transport groups that initially settled the colonies in the 1760's. Many colonies (including Norka) were initially named after their Vorsteher. In the case of Norka, the original name of Weigandt was short-lived.
- Weihnachten - German term for Christmas.
- Weihnachtslieder - German term for Christmas songs.
- Wiesenseite - German geographical term referring in general to the territory occupied by the Volga German colonies on the east side of the Volga River. Translated, it means "plains side" or "meadow side" of the river.
- Wolga - German word for Volga.
- Wolgagebiet - German term for the Volga region.
- Wolgadeutschen - German word for the Volga Germans.
- Wolga Gesangbuch - German term for the Volga Songbook which contained the lyrics of hundreds of religious songs without musical notes.
- Zaum - German word for horse bridle.
- Zemstov - Czar Alexander II implemented the zemstov system of local government that was represented at the lowest level by the mir and volosts.
Last updated September 12, 2020.