Finally, the scandals...

Well, the Molokan brethren are not without their tabloid fodder. Eighty years ago folks did their best to stay away from mainstream culture, but three or four generations have past since those rural farmers arrived full of religious zeal. In that time, integration has been inevitable, and while many Molokans think of themselves as 'Russian', they can (at best) be described as 'Molokan Americans'. Many own businesses, watch television, pay taxes, own cars, and so on. A few are quite wealthy, their ancestor's attempt at religious purity morphing into another American dream.

With this, inevitably there is the downside -- exposure to less savory elements of America. Two recent stories are linked below: one, of a masseuse who may have gone too far, and the other, of teenage ritual hazing gone awry.

Masseuse
Hazing

Arguments, arguments

One of the best-behaved fora on the web relating to Molokans is Molokan Underground. It's 'underground' for a reason -- previous attempts at an open forum have devolved into hopeless arguments and naysaying. This site restricts access to the religious topics to those that have been vetted by the site administrator(s), who happen to be fairly reasonable people.

Recently, however, there have been a number of posts relating to religious topics that have sparked full-scale flame wars. Ironically, each participant is vying for a crown of thorns while lambasting their fellow debaters. If they were truly faithful, their behavior would certainly be much more civilized.