{"id":1745,"date":"2026-05-18T12:29:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T12:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/bonadurer-russia\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T07:56:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:56:06","slug":"bonadurer-russia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/bonadurer-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonadurer Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u2014 Home \u00b7 Bonadurer Worldwide \u00b7 Russia<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Bonadurer Worldwide \u00b7 Russia<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Bonadurer Russia<\/em>.<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Over 1300 professionals from Graub\u00fcnden emigrated to Russia from the 18th century until the First World War \u2014 including several Bonadurers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"Graub\u00fcnden in the Russian Empire\" \u2014 Roman B\u00fchler, 670 pages, ISBN 3-85637-254-7<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Their names were Apollinari Anton Albin, Johann Luzius Isler, Mathias Maurezi Padrun de Carn\u00e9, or Konstantin Juon \u2014 four of over 1300 professionals from Graub\u00fcnden who emigrated to Russia from the 18th century until the First World War. The book “Graub\u00fcnden in the Russian Empire”<\/em> by author Roman B\u00fchler describes on 670 pages the background of this emigration at a time when the end of the Three Leagues was approaching. <\/p>

Card index of the Association of Swiss in Russia<\/h3>

Digitally recorded by Markus Lengen based on the original card index preserved in the Archive of Swiss in Russia at the Chair of East European History, University of Zurich \u2014 approximately 3200 personal entries, some with detailed comments.<\/p>

Bonadurer Anna<\/h3>

Chernozem region. Marital status: divorced from a Reber, Basel BS. Female. Stays: Kyiv, Berlin. <\/p>

Bonadurer Marie<\/h3>

Born 1920 in Versam GR. Chernozem region, German\/Russian. Occupation: later medical student. Stayed in Kyiv. Father: Alexander (Zurich). Single. <\/p>

Bonadurer Johannson Peter<\/h3>

Kyiv, Chernozem region. German\/Russian. Arrival: Peter Bonadurer came to Berlin via Poland in 1919, presumably settling there permanently. Briefly in Versam GR in 1920. Owner of Bonadurer Typography & Bookbinding. Married to Elvira Johannson (RU). Children: Olga (1912), Tatjana (1921). <\/p>

Bonadurer Woronecki, Alexander Viktor<\/h3>

Kyiv \/ Basel. Chernozem region, German\/Russian. Versam GR, later doctor in Switzerland (assistant doctor at the health insurance fund). Wife Katharina, n\u00e9e Polin. Daughter Maria (own card, No. 251). Married. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Persons<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Alexander Bonadurer<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anna (Amalie Elsbeth) Bonadurer<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Book: Graub\u00fcnden in the Russian Empire<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2190 Emigration in general<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Belgorod \u2014 The White City<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Belgorod \u2014 Chalk Cliff Landscape<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Belgorod \u2014 The White City<\/a><\/h2>\n

The newly arrived visitor does not need to guess long where the southwestern Russian regional capital Belgorod gets its name: “Belgorod” means “White City” in Russian. This small metropolis, halfway between Moscow and the Black Sea, is nestled in a hilly landscape with impressive white chalk cliffs. <\/p>\n

The mining of white limestone is an important economic sector alongside agriculture. Belgorod is located in the fertile Russian Chernozem region \u2014 extensive open-pit mining landscapes characterize the valleys around the city. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

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Persons & Documents<\/h2>\n

Versam \u00b7 Kyiv \u00b7 Basel \u00b7 Trun<\/p>\n\n

Dr. med. Alexander Bonadurer \u00b7 1883\u20131960Versam \/ Kyiv \/ Trun \/ Basel \u2193<\/span><\/summary>\n
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Dr. med. Alexander Bonadurer was born in Kyiv in 1883 and came from a Versam branch of this family, which was formerly quite widespread in the area. He is the son of Johannes Bonadurer<\/strong> from Unterhof in Versam (born 1846), who emigrated to Russia. <\/p>\n

Johannes first lived in St. Petersburg with his uncle Domenik Ritz \u00e0 Porta \u2014 who in 1869 donated the beautiful black marble baptismal font to the church in Versam. Later, Johannes moved to Kyiv, married there in 1874, and, after initial involvement in the gasworks, founded an installation business. His wife Amalie Sch\u00e4del was of Baltic descent on her mother's side. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\"Dr.\n\n<\/div>\n

Family in Kyiv<\/h3>\n

\"We were 5 siblings,\" Dr. Alexander Bonadurer recounted. \"One brother died as a small child, another at the age of about 18 in 1897 from tuberculosis. I was barely five years old when my father died after a long, severe illness. My older brother Peter Adolf (born 1875) then took over our father's business, which our mother had handed over to him to dedicate herself to her beloved activity \u2014 building new houses.\" <\/p>\n

Our mother was a very capable woman: she rose from humble beginnings, earned very well from building houses, and was able to let Alexander, her youngest, study. He trained as a doctor in Kyiv and later ran his own hospital. In 1904, he married Katharina Warenetzky, an educated, distinguished Russian woman. A year later, their only daughter Marie was born. <\/p>\n\n

The Russian Revolution \u2014 Flight and Loss<\/h3>\n

The storms of the revolution hit Alexander Bonadurer hard: he lost his entire, certainly considerable, fortune and his own hospital overnight. Communists threatened him with a revolver in the looted hospital \u2014 they probably would have shot him if he had not managed to save the life of one of their comrades. <\/p>\n

He was taken to a military hospital, from which he eventually escaped with great cunning. Fleeing with his wife and daughter, he reached a city in Southern Russia, where he found refuge with shady people until they managed to get to Europe by ship. <\/p>\n\n

\"Poor as a church mouse,\" they returned to their home community of Versam in 1920. I still remember how this escape was the talk of the town in Versam and the surrounding area. <\/blockquote>\n

Return to Versam \u00b7 1920<\/h3>\n

The home community and relatives took care of the family as best they could. They found accommodation in the large house on the Tobel in Versam (today Haus H\u00e4nny). \"Everyone was always very kind to me. They spoke perfect German, but with a foreign accent. Everything in their apartment was very, very simply furnished. The samovar was bubbling on the table! They certainly lacked many things. But not a word of complaint was ever heard.\" <\/p>\n

Dr. Bonadurer found a modest income as an assistant to the health insurance doctor Signina. He did not let himself be defeated. In 1926 \u2014 at an advanced age \u2014 he still found the courage to study medicine at the University of Basel and obtain the Swiss federal medical diploma. <\/p>\n\n

\"After various wanderings, I came to Trun in 1929 as a health insurance doctor. Strangely enough, I was able to assert myself here, even though I had become neither Catholic nor Romansh... To my greatest dismay, I was honored with honorary citizenship of the municipality of Trun.\"<\/blockquote>\n

R. Stampa wrote in his obituary in the Neue B\u00fcndner Zeitung<\/em>: \"He immediately caught my attention because he wore a kind of blouse, as was customary in Russia. His head shape also revealed Slavic features. But as soon as he began to speak, his whole face brightened. His great kindness was hidden behind a subtle ironic trait \u2014 the irony of a man who had emerged victorious from a difficult struggle.\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Alexander Bonadurer died in Basel in 1960<\/strong>, where he had retired in his old age, while his daughter Marie worked there as a doctor.<\/p>\n\n

The Song of the Cat \u00b7 approx. 1934<\/h3>\n

Satirical poem by Alexander Bonadurer \u2014 one of many poems he wrote on his typewriter. The originals are with Roland Bonadurer. <\/p>\n\n

The cat is a lovely creature \/ And gives people much pleasure:\nIt's clean, beautiful, and graceful, \/ It's very sweet, when it's not hateful.\nIt licks its paw, it cleans its face, \/ It purrs so finely, the dear cat,\nIn March nights, which are so long, \/ The cat delights us with its song.\nAnd all the people worldwide \/ Are greatly pleased by cat's leaps wide,\nIt goes so far that many learn \/ To bow and scrape, a cat's turn.\nAnd if there's a mouse in the house, \/ The cat quickly gets rid of the mouse.\nOf all animals \u2014 that is clear \u2014 \/ The cat's the best example here.\nSo everywhere we cherish and care \/ For cats on our earthly sphere.\nMan gives it the finest place \/ And everything he does for the cat's grace.<\/div>\n
\"Letter\"Envelope\"Poem\"End<\/div>\n

Letter (Feb. 2007) \u00b7 Envelope Poetry Collection \u00b7 Typescripts<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/details>

Anna (Amalie Elsbeth) Bonadurer, n\u00e9e Reber \u00b7 1879\u20131955Versam \/ Kyiv \/ Zurich \/ Basel \u2193<\/span> <\/summary>\n
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To date, only one single reference is known. According to Roland's knowledge, it must be Dr. Alexander Bonadurer's sister<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Matriculation of the University of Zurich \u00b7 1898<\/h3>\n
No. 12128<\/strong> phil. SS 1898\nAnna (Amalie Elsbeth) Bonadurer (Reber)\nborn 03.09.1879 in Kyiv (Russia), Alexanderstr. 53\nDiploma as private tutor \u00b7 Girls' Gymnasium Kyiv<\/em>\n\nFather: Johannes Bonadurer, merchant, Kyiv\nMother: Amalie Louise Henriette Sch\u00e4del, architect\n\n\u26ad Zurich, 30.05.1903 \u2014 Otto Reber from Basel (born 1879, musician;\nreleased from Swiss citizenship in 1928)\n\u2020 Basel, 01.06.1955 \n\nSources: StA GR CB VI 46\/1\u20132 \u00b7 ZRD Versam 1876\u20131917 \u00b7 ZA Basel \u00b7 B\u00fchler, p. 349<\/div>\n

Note: The question of whether the medical student Marie Bonadurer (born 1905, matriculation no. 30890) is a daughter of Anna Bonadurer \u2014 and not of Dr. Alexander Bonadurer \u2014 has not yet been conclusively clarified.<\/p>\n

Peter Michael (teacher, 7104 Versam-Arezen), who wrote about Bonadurer women in the former local newspaper T\u00f6ndala<\/em> in February\/March 1987, did not mention Anna.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/details>

Book Excerpt \u00b7 \"Graub\u00fcnden in the Russian Empire\" \u00b7 p. 349Roman B\u00fchler, 4 pages \u2193<\/span><\/summary>\n
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Alexander Bonadurer's entry in the standard work \"Graub\u00fcnden in the Russian Empire\"<\/em> by Roman B\u00fchler, page 349. The four book pages are shown below as scans. <\/p>\n\n

\"Book\"Book\"Book\"Book<\/div>\n

Roman B\u00fchler \u00b7 \"Graub\u00fcnden in the Russian Empire\" \u00b7 Page 349<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2014 Home \u00b7 Bonadurer Worldwide \u00b7 RussiaBonadurer Worldwide \u00b7 Russia Bonadurer Russia. Over 1300 professionals from Graub\u00fcnden emigrated to Russia from the 18th century until the First World War \u2014 including several Bonadurers. “Graub\u00fcnden in the Russian Empire” \u2014 Roman B\u00fchler, 670 pages, ISBN 3-85637-254-7 Their names were Apollinari Anton Albin, Johann Luzius Isler, Mathias […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1745","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1745"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1750,"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1745\/revisions\/1750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonadurer.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}