Sketches From Siberia

A poignant biography of Jacob Davidovitch Sudermann, a teacher and artist from a Russian Mennonite community who, like so many others, fell victim to the bloodthirsty paranoia of the Stalinist purges and died in a Siberian gulag in 1937. Sketches from Siberia is pieced together from letters, sketches, and paintings done by Sudermann himself during his imprisonment as well as the unpublished memoir of his sister Anna. It was Anna and other family members that brought these documents with them when they immigrated to Canada in the late forties. This important biography also serves as a valuable cultural history of the plight of the Russian Mennonite community. At once moving and chilling, it is a story that shows the strength that lies at the heart of kindness, the light that outlives the darkness. A timely story even eighty years after Sudermann’s death, it reminds us of the plight of displaced communities around the world today that are struggling to survive.

A poignant biography of Jacob Davidovitch Sudermann, a teacher and artist from a Russian Mennonite community who, like so many others, fell victim to the bloodthirsty paranoia of the Stalinist purges and died in a Siberian gulag in 1937. Sketches from Siberia is pieced together from letters, sketches, and paintings done by Sudermann himself during his imprisonment as well as the unpublished memoir of his sister Anna. It was Anna and other family members that brought these documents with them when they immigrated to Canada in the late forties. This important biography also serves as a valuable cultural history of the plight of the Russian Mennonite community. At once moving and chilling, it is a story that shows the strength that lies at the heart of kindness, the light that outlives the darkness. A timely story even eighty years after Sudermann’s death, it reminds us of the plight of displaced communities around the world today that are struggling to survive.

The art of Siberia is a fascinating subject, and the artifacts discovered in the hidden archives of the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg are nothing less than extraordinary. Artwork, day-to-day subjects and photos dating from the turn of the century all represent the testimonies of the Siberian people who refused to yield to the hegemony of a modern world.

Describes the path of a young ordinary Russian across the desolation of the Siberian countryside, and through the labyrinths of the Soviet system -from construction site, to his military service in Mongolia, all the way to the psychiatric hospital where he was admitted after the death of his brother. Drawn entirely in pencil on paper, Siberia bears witness to the life of the Russian people. It draws on images of faces deformed by alcohol, the fat, laughing mouths of officers, the bullying, the violence, and the cynicsim of Soviet Russia.

Every childhood has its own blueprint of memories. Some memories are stored. Some memories vanish. Some memories are kept alive through the word; some, through music or painting. Olgas childhood has inspired her to record her memories through paintings. Her canvases are filled with scenes of Siberias snowy landscapes, village life nestled by birch trees, forests, lakes, and above all, her admiration for divine beauty and the infinite wisdom of Mother Nature.

Eden's 1879 account of Siberia combines accounts of flora and fauna, 'native races', 'trade and manufactures' and 'recent explorations'.