Richard Scheuerman was raised on a small farm between the rural Palouse Country communities of Endicott and St. John, Washington, and is a career historian and professional educator. His honors include the Washington State Historical Society’s Robert Gray Medal for outstanding contributions to history education and the Washington Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He also has a very personal connection to the region’s Volga Germans.

His book recounts their unique story in a saga that stretches from Germany to Russia and across the Atlantic. In 1763, Russian empress Catherine II invited Europeans to immigrate. Colonists became Russian citizens, yet kept their language and culture, founding 104 Volga River communities. By 1871, facing poor economic conditions and an army draft, 100,000 Volga Germans poured into the New World, eventually spreading throughout the Pacific Northwest and influencing agriculture, religion, politics, and social development in their new homeland.

Sponsored by the Schneidmiller Endowment for Palouse Regional Studies

https://wsupress.wsu.edu/product/hardship-to-homeland/