On the way to Russian Hill, where the Molkans from San Francisco settled, our guide told us how they migrated here. Once, the Molkans lived on the Volga, but the tsarist government oppressed them by sending priests and missionaries. The Molkans resisted, and then they were relocated to the Caucasus, to the Kars region. There, they continued their traditional work of growing grain. However, life became increasingly difficult due to escalating persecution, and the Molkans decided to leave their homeland, which had become hostile to them. Where to go? Many chose America, and they followed them; five hundred families set off in 1902. How did they end up in San Francisco? It just happened that way. People were heading to San Francisco, and so were they. In America, the Molkans wanted to continue farming, but they had no money to buy land, so they got jobs as dockworkers in the port. In the city, they settled separately on a hill, gradually building houses, a small prayer house known as the 'Molokan Church,' and opened a Russian school, and this place became known as 'Russian Hill.'