A small Russian cemetery and around 25 Russian-style homes occupy a part of Guadalupe known as Colonia Rusa. The original Russian immigrants were Molokans (the word means “milk-drinkers,” presumably in reference to the sect’s abstinence from alcohol), a straitlaced Christian sect that broke from the Russian Orthodox Church. Around 105 Russian families (approximately 500 individuals) migrated to Guadalupe in 1905, fleeing religious persecution in czarist Russia.
The group purchased 13,000 acres of valley land from the Mexican government. There they planted grapes and wheat, raised geese, kept honeybees, and built whitewashed adobe and wood homes, complete with thatched roofs and glass windows. As in their Russian homeland, the Molokans built their houses along a main street with the front doors facing away from the street.
The simple chapel contained no religious decorations or icons, but the Molokans worshipped with such fervor that to the local Mexicans they were known as the Spirit Jumpers.
In 1938, following President Cárdenas’s seizure of all foreign-owned lands, the community was engulfed by 3,000 Mexican squatters and renamed Francisco Zarco. Many of the Russians left the valley. Of those who stayed on, most ended up marrying Mexicans; today only four families of pure Russian lineage remain. In almost every respect they’ve become ordinary Mexican citizens; Russian is the first language only among a few elders.
Physical, if not cultural, evidence of the Russian colony remains. Around 25 of the original Molokan houses are intact. In the cemetery, the older tombstones at the back are engraved in Russian, while later stones toward the front show a combination of Russian and Mexican names.
Two small museums about 25 meters apart—Museo Comunitario del Valle de Guadalupe (646/174-0170, Tues.–Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., by donation) and Museo Histórico del Valle de Guadalupe (Tues.–Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., by donation)—contain exhibits of Russian memorabilia from the former colony, including clothing, old photos, and tools. The exhibits in the latter are better labeled, and the curator there emphasizes the overall history of the valley, with some emphasis on Spanish and Amerindian influences, while the former focuses only on Russian history in the valley.
To find the cemetery and museums, take the turnoff for Francisco Zarco (near Km 77 on Mexico 3) and follow the paved road to its end, then turn right and drive about 150 meters; the cemetery should appear on your left, opposite Monte Xanic.