Long before Alexander the Great and his far-reaching conquests, Hellenes began immigrating to the Black Sea region in small numbers as early as the 10th Century B.C. Mass settlements of Hellenes, mainly from Ionia, began around the 8th Century B.C. in the fertile lands surrounding the Black Sea, creating centers of Hellenic culture, education and commerce. As Xenophon marches into the area in 400 B.C., he is astonished to see tens of thousands of Hellenes living in the ancient cities of Trapezunta, Kotiora, Kerassunta, Assimos and Sinope, which were part of the Byzantine Empire in 657 B.C.
Hellenic civilization in the Black Sea was characterized as the realm of "Pontus." The identification of this area as Pontus was created in 363 B.C. by the Persian dynasty of "mithridates." Hellenes who can trace their ancestry to the Pontus refer to themselves as Pontian Greeks.
Throughout the centuries, the ideals and principles of Hellenism flourished in the Black Sea region. Hellenic centers sprang up to the north and east. Hellenes living in the cities and surrounding villages were prosperous, civic minded, and charitable individuals. They created hospitals, schools and cultural centers that rivaled ancient Greece. The rich soil made them wealthy farmers and landowners, exporting the fruits of their labor to Asia Minor. Hellenic cities became centers of commerce and trading posts for merchants from as far away as Persia and the Syrian Desert.
Hellenic schools not only taught the Greek language, but also philosophy, music, the performing arts, and the history of Greece, the motherland. The reign of Byzantium brought Orthodox Christianity, building some of the most beautiful churches and producing prominent theologians and iconographers.
However, as the Byzantine Empire comes under attack by the Ottoman Turks, Hellenes of the Black Sea would soon fall victims to the aggressive and oppressive tyranny of Turkey. Following the sack of Constantinople by the Franks in 1204, Hellenic communities surrounding the city of Trapezunta would consolidate themselves to form the Empire of Trapezunta. For 257 years, the Hellenic kingdom reigned and was considered to be the last stronghold of Hellenism in the Black Sea until its capture by the Ottoman Turks in 1461.
The Ottoman conquest initiated mass immigration of Hellenes to Russia. Many Hellenes chose to resist the Turks and stayed in the region facing persecution and many hardships. Their land confiscated, these once wealthy and prominent Hellenes were forced into slavery. Women were sold as concubines. Men were sent to the mines and now toiled in the soil they once harvested. Schools and churches were destroyed.
Hellenes, who did flee to Russia, met their fellow Hellenes who had settled centuries before along the northern coast of the Black Sea in the country now known as Ukraine. Known as "mariopolites", this mass immigration dramatically increased the Hellenic presence in the Crimea. In the Crimea, the Russian monarchy allowed Hellenes to form a self-governing prefecture.
From 1810 to 1873, the Hellenic villages surrounding the city now known as Mariupol, were part of the Hellenic Administrative Prefecture recognized by the Russian government. The prefecture had its own Hellenic court system, police force, educational system and administrators. Until 1859, the settlement of non-Hellenes was prohibited.
During the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the three Russian-Turkish wars, Hellenes emigrated to the southern Russian areas of Kuban and Stavropolis. During this time, 43 Hellenic villages around the city of Tsalka were established in the now Republic of Georgia. Following the Russian Turkish war of 1876, 100,000 Pontians took refuge in the Hellenic prefectures of Terek, Stavropolis, Sokhumi and Batumi in Georgia and southern Russia. Eight villages of Kars were established around the Caucasus Mountains. By 1914, the Hellenic population of Russia numbered approximately 650,000.
However, the Hellenes living in this region of the world would face new atrocities as a result of the Bolshevik Revolution. Lenin and his comrades followed and enforced Turcophile policy. From the beginning, Hellenes experienced unspeakable persecution. They were regarded by the Bolsheviks to be part of the bourgeoisie and were blamed for Russia’s poverty and economic woes.
Families were torn apart, secretly sent to other cities or Siberia. Many Hellenes were threatened with immediate death if they did not change their names and drop their Hellenic identity. They were forced to denounce their Orthodox faith. Their churches were either burned or used as warehouses and offices for local communist officials. Those who were caught worshiping would be tortured.
Hellenic schools were taken over by the Russians. Hellenic books and libraries were destroyed. The Greek language was forbidden. Anyone speaking Greek would have his or her tongue removed. Stripped of their wealth and land, Hellenes were once again forced into menial positions.
But the persecution did not stop with Lenin. Josef Stalin carried forth with a vengeance a decree that all traces of Hellenism be destroyed in the Soviet Union. Hellenes from the farming villages in the Crimea were arrested on false charges and their land was given to Russians. Doctors had their medical licenses revoked and were forced to care for lepers and individuals with contagious diseases. Children were sold as indentured servants. Women were forced into prostitution. Stalin took away their every means of support.
Hellenic culture was banned. Theaters were closed. Playing Hellenic music would land you in jail. Printing offices were destroyed. Anyone caught reading a Hellenic newspaper would be tried as a traitor or spy and executed. From this time forward, Hellenic books would never again be published in Russia.
Stalin launched four consecutive waves of massive persecution from October 1937 to February 1939. Not even members of the communist party who were Hellenes were spared persecution. Between 1939 and 1941, large numbers of Hellenes were transported to Vladivostock, Siberia, and the hinterlands of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Seventy thousand Hellenes were driven out of the Crimea. Stalin’s persecutions are regarded as a continuation of the Pontian genocide suffered by the Hellenes at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
On June 13, 1949, 100,000 Pontian Greeks were taken forcibly from their homes in the Caucasus Mountains and were deported to Central Asia. The entire Hellenic population of Abkhazia and half of the Hellenic population of Ajaria in what is now the Republic of Georgia were banished to Central Asia.
With no money, the banished Hellenes began to work for food and shelter in the cotton plantations and lead mines. Until Stalin’s death in 1953, the deported Hellenes lived in conditions that resembled Nazi concentration camps. They lived in fear and poverty, but secretly inside their hearts they kept their Hellenic identity alive.
Following Khruschev’s regime, there was a massive release of Hellenic prisoners from Siberia. Slowly many Hellenes began to settle around the city of Tbilisi in the country of Georgia. Some Hellenic villages were allowed to set-up Greek language schools, provided they could support their operation. However, during Breshnev’s time in power, Hellenes were once again considered the enemy and schools and other expressions of Hellenism were banned.
It was not until the years of "perestroika" that Hellenes regained their freedom and human rights. The collapse of the Soviet Union ended a historical period of Hellenic persecution that few people knew ever existed in Hellenic history.
Today, it is estimated that more than 750,000 Hellenes are living in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Southern Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. While they are free from persecution, prejudice sometimes remains. However, the indomitable spirit of Hellenism has survived and is prevailing. With the help of hellenicare, the Hellenes of the Black Sea are rebuilding their lives, hoping to flourish as in the days prior to the Ottoman Turks.