In 1899 die historic forces of human settlement brought to Canada's shores some 7,500 Russian dissidents known as Doukhobors or Spirit-Wrestlers. Aided by the Russian writer Lev N. (Leo) Tolstoy as well as by Quakers and other humanitarians/ these hardworking newcomers cultivated the soil, helped build a railway, constructed mills and factories. Today their 30,000 descendants constitute an important facet of Canada's multicultural mosaic. Most of the 33 contributors to this volume trace their roots to those illiterate peasants who left family, friends and worldly possessions to come to a new land.

So often misrepresented in the media as nudists and arsonists (such activities have been categorically disavowed by the vast majority of Doukhobors), these people have been largely misunderstood by the public. Today, thanks to institutions such as the Canadian Museum of Civilization with its Spirit-Wrestlers exhibit/ the Doukhobors are gradually being seen as an important historical partner in developing the moral fibre of our nation. They were among the first Canadians to recognise the futility of war and the arms race, and to proclaim universal human kinship as a basic ingredient for the world's health-all the more significant now as we approach the 21st century.

The six sections of the book take the reader on a rare tour of the Douhobors' unique cultural heritage and their contributions to Canadian society- Listen carefully as the Spirit-Wrestlers' own voices tell of their material and artistic achievements, the traditions they have preserved, the stories they remember, how they have learnt to adapt to their new land/ and their prospects for the future. And, in one section/ learn how they are now being seen through others' eyes. A reading of this book will show how much these 'people of the 25th century' - as Tolstoy once called them - have to share with their country and the world.