Protests - Part 4

The Doukhobors

Naked protests are nothing new.  These are members of a Russian religious sect called the Doukhobors.  We won't get into their religious beliefs.  But they refused any cooperation with the government, refusing to register births and marriages, take oaths of allegiance, or serve in the military.  This group is protesting against military conscription in 1895.

More Russian Doukhabors protesting in 1895.  They used nudism as a form of protest.

In 1899, about 6,000 Doukhobors were allowed to emigrate to Canada.  But their beliefs were still at odds with the Canadian government.  These are Canadian Doukhobors protesting in the 1950s against having to take an oath of allegiance to Canada.

More Canadian Doukhobors protesting.

Here they are getting dressed after a protest. They weren't nudists; they just got naked for protests.

Doukhobors also used arson as a form of protest.  This photo was published in LIFE magazine, May 8, 1950.  In this case, Canadian Doukhobors protested by burning one of their own houses (and getting naked).

Another LIFE magazine photo of Doukhobor protesters at the 1950 burning.  However, a splinter group called the Sons of Freedom went too far and began burning things like public schools (they opposed compulsory education).  Confrontations continued into the 1970s.  The majority of Doukhobors rejected violence, however.  Today the Doukhobor sect is dying out as the younger generation is uninterested in the religion and the religious elders are dying off.