Fates shrouded in secrets: how many Russian people were on the Titanic

The legendary Titanic, which sank in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, could completely collapse within the next ten years, scientists say. Huge holes appeared in the ship’s hull, the upper deck was almost completely rotten. While oceanographers are exploring the wreckage of the Titanic, historians are bit by bit collecting information about the passengers of the infamous ship. The lists of the missing include people from our country – several families of Don peasants.

Why did they go to America? And why did almost all the Russian passengers of the Titanic, who managed to escape from the sinking liner, die soon after? Talks about it program “Mysteries of Humanity” with Oleg Shishkin on REN TV.

The collapse of the legendary liner

“Message from London. The Titanic, a ship that was considered unsinkable, was wrecked. All passengers are rescued by a steamer called by wireless telegraph. The ship itself is kept afloat and is slowly moving to the nearest port of Galiathan,” – such a strange note appeared on April 16, 1912 on the fourth page of the Petersburg Vedomosti.

Only a few days later, the details of the monstrous disaster will become known to the press and the general public. And the journalist of the same Vedomosti will comment: “Our icebreaker Ermak cuts the ice crust of considerable thickness like scissors, and the Titanic crashed on a block.”

There were many Russian passengers on board the transatlantic liner. Basically – successful merchants and representatives of the upper classes.

“There were five types of interior design, several casinos, a number of restaurants, there was even a swimming pool for first class visitors. A ticket for the Titanic, for this cruise in first class, cost about 3,600 dollars. And it was impossible for ordinary people to get there. The ship had several classes, and people were settled depending on the amount spent on the purchase of a ticket”, – said Yury Kapshtyk, transport security specialist.

How many Russians were on the Titanic

Historians claim that there were about a hundred citizens of our country on the Titanic. Rostov publicist Vladimir Potapov, nephew of missing passenger Ivan Mishin, spoke of entire families who boarded the Titanic to be reunited with their loved ones in Uruguay. In search of a better life, according to various sources, from 12 to 19 people from the Veselovsky district of the Rostov region allegedly went to South America.

“In general, South America was quite an attractive place. At the end of XIX century there was a migration in general from all countries. Because the countries were new, there were few people there, it was necessary to somehow develop. And all countries: Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay actively invited specialists and peasants from all European countries. Many Poles and Germans came there, they also have their own colonies in some places. And, of course, our citizens, the Russians, also traveled,” – said the traveler, author of a guide to South America Georgy Krasnikov.

Looking for a better life

It was in the Rostov province in the middle of the 19th century that the so-called protest movement “New Israel” was formed. Its adherents rejected church sacraments and rituals, icons and signs of the cross. But the “new Israelis” were allowed to live in a civil marriage. Moreover, the age of the cohabitants was absolutely unimportant.

As a result, by the end of the century, numerous groups of “new Israelis” were already living in the Don and Kuban. The spiritual leader of the community, Vasily Lubkov, anticipating revolutionary changes in his homeland, decided to transfer his flock abroad.

“At first he wanted to go to Canada or the USA, he went there, but it didn’t work out. Few people were waiting there, and then a meeting arose with certain interested people from Latin America, from Uruguay. “In 1913, some of the supporters of this sect, not all, moved to Uruguay. The sectarians, after all, are subordinate to authoritarian leadership, they are distinguished by a rather high industriousness, mobilization. Therefore, for Uruguay it was a godsend, in the sense of cultivating the corresponding territories,” – said Doctor of Historical Sciences Vardan Baghdasaryan.

Why the Russians who survived on the Titanic died soon after

However, ideas about heavenly life in a hospitable foreign land turned out to be very far from reality. Not all members of the community were able to endure the South American climate, which is unusual for Russian people, and the lack of familiar products. In addition, it was necessary to learn a foreign language.

After 17 years, many returned to their historical homeland, which, however, has also changed beyond recognition over these two decades. According to some reports, some of the “new Israelis” who survived the emigration and the trip on the Titanic ended their lives in prison.

“Vasily Lubkov and most of those who followed him decided to return to Russia, which had already become the USSR. They lived happily in the Kuban for some time, but then the Stalin years came, the 30s, and they were repressed. But they were shot or not, is unknown, – said the expert.

The researchers could not find official confirmation that Lubkov’s followers survived the trip on the Titanic. The names mentioned by the Rostov publicist do not appear in any lists. British archives have preserved 52 names of Titanic passengers with Russian passports. But these are only the official lists of the shipping company – after all, many went to America without tickets. But the actual lists of those who were on the ship went to the bottom along with the Titanic.

In addition, English-speaking officials wrote most of the Russian names with errors, so the fate of many of our compatriots who sailed on the Titanic remains a mystery to this day.

You can learn about the incredible events of history and modernity, about amazing inventions and phenomena in the program “Mysteries of Humanity” with Oleg Shishkin on REN TV.