Kazashko village Church “Pokrov Bogorodichen”

Kazashko, the most diminutive settlement within the Varna municipality, possesses a noteworthy historical background.

The village is inhabited by a small community of descendants of Russian immigrants from Nekrasov. During the Europeanization of Russia during the reign of Peter the Great and the religious reforms of Russian Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, many Old Believers were expelled from the country in the second half of the 17th century. Kazashko is predominantly inhabited by progeny of Russian Old Believers who sought sanctuary with the Kuban and Don Cossacks. Were they conducted by the Cossack ataman Ignat Nekrasov along the Danube, with only a few parties venturing as far as Asia Minor?

Matvei Rusov and his family departed Sarkoy (Tulca district) for the Ottoman Empire in 1905, following in the footsteps of other Old Believers. His trajectory led him to the shores of Lake Varna, where he established his domicile and sustained himself through the fishery industry. Later, additional families from Tulcha, Zhurilovka, and Karkaliu settled in the village, which was officially designated Kazashka mahala by decree of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria in 1908. The approval of the village’s public works regulations was granted by the Ministry of Public Works in 1937. This was its official designation until 1952, when it was renamed Kazashko.

The village is home to the Old Rite church “Pokrov Bogorodichen” (Tserkov Pokrova Presvyatoi Bogoroditsy), the sole Russian church of the Old Believer denomination in Bulgaria. This church operates under the authority of the Russian Old Orthodox Church (PycckaR ApeBnenpaBocnaBHaR uepkoB_).

In the village, the “Mikhail Sholokhov” community centre is operational.

• Wikipedia -Church Kazashko