DISTRICT / AIMAG
German National District
REGION
Altai Krai
Kusak
The village of Kusak in the German National District of Altai Krai was founded in 1909 by settlers from the Black Sea region.
A historical photograph, village view, landscape, or related heritage object will be displayed here at a later date.
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German National District
Altai Krai
Historical background
The village was founded in 1909 by Mennonite settlers from the Kherson and Taurida provinces and Sevastopol (including the Gossen family). In the 1920s, cooperation developed here, in 1930 the "Rote Fahne" collective farm (later named after Engels) was created, and in April of the same year the village became the center of anti-collective farm unrest, after which many residents left for Canada and Germany. In the autumn of 1941, Kusak received deported Germans from the Dnepropetrovsk region and the Volga region, in 1957 the teaching of the German language was resumed in the local school, and in the 1960s a mill, a hospital, and a House of Culture were built.
Place, memory, heritage
Historical and cultural legacy
In Kusak there is a House of Culture (built in 1964), a cultural and sports complex, a rural library, a music school, and a secondary school with a museum corner where the chronicle of the village is kept, as well as an old mill from 1963. A memorial to the 70th anniversary of Victory is installed on Engels Street, and a memorial plaque to the hero of the special military operation Timofey Shilkin is placed on the school building. The historical Mennonite prayer house has not been preserved, but a Lutheran church was erected in the 1990s, which later became an Orthodox prayer house.
Natural surroundings
The village features a compact layout with five main streets, located on a flat relief without rivers and lakes; in the center there is a well-maintained public square and a children's playground.
Historical and cultural legacy
In Kusak there is a House of Culture (built in 1964), a cultural and sports complex, a rural library, a music school, and a secondary school with a museum corner where the chronicle of the village is kept, as well as an old mill from 1963. A memorial to the 70th anniversary of Victory is installed on Engels Street, and a memorial plaque to the hero of the special military operation Timofey Shilkin is placed on the school building. The historical Mennonite prayer house has not been preserved, but a Lutheran church was erected in the 1990s, which later became an Orthodox prayer house.
Living culture and memory
The village is home to the "Alexanderkron" Center of German Culture, the "Aktsent" choreographic ensemble, and the vocal groups "Sudarushka", "Kolechko", and "Garmoniya". Local residents preserve the rites of a German wedding, celebrate St. Martin's Day, Easter, Christmas, the Day of the Village, and the Erntedankfest harvest festival, and also prepare traditional dishes of Russian Germans: strudels, krebels, the Krusels dish, and waffles as part of the "Waffle Express" project.
