The Volga Germans ( or Russlanddeutsche, , Povolzhskie nemtsy) are ethnic Germans who colonized and historically lived along the River Volga in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain their German culture, language, traditions, and churches (Lutheran, Reformed, Catholics, and Mennonites). In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Volga Germans emigrated to Kansas, the Dakotas and other states across the western United States, as well as to Canada and South America (mainly Argentina and Brazil).