Muscovites Kremlin Tubabao currently has 15 Duchies (Chapter or Lodge) in the Philippines. The first social group officially founded for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was the Imperial Order of Muscovites, which arose in Queen City, Ohio, near Cincinnati, in 1893. Invariably, the originators must have been influenced by the Shriners, Grotto, and other Masonic bodies that were gaining prominence in that era. While Arabian themes were all the rage for social groups, the Muscovites went with a decidedly different motif – that of Czarist Russia. To start, there were 20 members of the group, but by May of 1894, the group had blossomed to about 80 participants. They promptly declared the initial body the “Imperial Kremlin” and decreed that all local bodies would be called Kremlins. The president of the group was to be known as the Czar, while the national president would be styled the Imperial Czar. With the basics of the fraternity down, the members began spreading word of their new club. The Muscovites first spread in Ohio, then to Topeka, Kansas, and throughout the Midwest. At one time, Kremlins existed from Ohio to Washington state, with membership in the tens of thousands. In Oregon, the Muscovite movement would take a different turn, as the members seceded from the Imperial Order and founded the Improved Order of Muscovites. Later, after the Imperial Order of Muscovites had officially failed (in the early 1930’s), the Order would once again be resurrected as the Royal Order of Muscovites. This group operated in the State of Oregon until the late 1960’s. In 2015, interest in the Muscovites began to take hold and it was found that many members of the Royal Order were still alive. A ritual and documents were uncovered in an old Lodge building in Portland, Oregon. A ceremonial was organized and the degrees were put on anew, this time under the auspices of the Noble Order of Muscovites
