DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2023.6.69182

Abstract: The subject of the research in the article is the problem of transformational modification of various aspects of the life of the Old Believers of Buryatia in the 1920s and 1950s. The object of the study is the Old Believer population of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR (since 1958 – the Buryat ASSR). Based on the purpose of a comparative analysis of the transformations of the Old Believers' lifestyle in the 1920s and 1950s, this article examines such aspects of the topic as: characterization of examples of both negative and positive processes for preserving identity (atheistic campaign, introduction of communist ideology, cultural modernization) in designated time periods, as well as the attitude of generations of the 1920s and 1950s to these processes, which allows us to show the evolution of various social practices. The historical-genetic method used to consider a social group at different time intervals is necessary to demonstrate changes in the lifestyle of Old Believers in the 1920s and 1950s. The comparative historical method was needed when comparing the contribution of the Soviet government and internal movements among the Old Believers in the process of the decline of religious identity. Atheistic propaganda, as well as the communist ideology introduced among the Old Believers, were the main channels for the group's incorporation into the unified Soviet society that had been under construction since the 1920s. By the 1950s, based on the stable potential of the cultural identity of the Old Believers (even with the decline of the religious one), these tools gradually adapted in the form of a set of formal instructions and recommendations, which in turn led to the transformation of the way of life of the Old Believers in the context of mutual adaptation to reality (socially approved behavior). The novelty of the study lies in the fact that personal memories of Old Believers of the 1920s and 1950s (from the village of Nadezhino, Tarbagatai district of Buryatia) are introduced into scientific circulation, allowing to compare the real attitude of people to the processes taking place with the official market position of the designated period.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2022.6.39320

Abstract: The subject of the research in the article is the problem of transformation of the way of life of the Old Believers of Buryatia before and in the 1920s and their reactions to the increasingly increasing intrusion into the life of the structures of Soviet power. The object of the study is the Old Believer population of the Verkhneudinsky district of the Trans-Baikal region (since 1923 - the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR). The article considers such aspects of the topic as: comprehension of the decline of the spiritual life of the Old Believers, noted by researchers until the 1920s (the tendency of the transition of religion into a heterogeneous complex of household rituals, the increasing rejection of prohibitive practices) and the study of the degree of real influence of the Soviet government on the objectively changing worldview of the Old Believers since the beginning of the XX century. The comparative-historical method necessary for comparing the sides of various phenomena and highlighting the common and special was necessary when analyzing the unequal attitude to the Soviet government on the part of the Old Believers of different settlements. The historical-genetic method used to study changes in the phenomenon over time was used in the analysis of the transformation of the Old Believer identity in the XIX – early XX centuries. The main conclusions of the study are as follows. For the Old Believers of Buryatia, the 1920s were a time of crisis of their religious identity caused by the gradual transformation of its meanings, their adaptation to the reality in which it was difficult to maintain their foundations from generation to generation in an unchanged state. The Soviet government and its concept of atheization and the "cultural revolution" in the countryside became only an additional factor for the identity crisis. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that information from archives and newspapers are introduced into scientific circulation, allowing to show the indirect nature of the actions of the Soviet government in relation to the decline of the traditional way of life of the Old Believers.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2019.12.31071

Abstract: The subject of this research is the problem of relationships between Old Believers and imperial power, which existed since the beginning of history of the schism. The object of this research is the Old Believers of Verkhneudinsky District of Zabaikalsky Region. The author examines such aspects of the topic is the government decrees on the general questions of the activity Old Believers of Verkhneudinsky District in the late XIX century, as well as characteristics of the existed restrictions related to the freedom of faith and worship among the Old Believers. The comparative-historical method was applied in the analysis of policy tools of the local authorities with regards to the Old Believers; historical-genetic method was uses in characterizing the enhancement of restrictions towards the freedoms of Old Believers since the middle to the end of the XIX century. The author concludes that the identification of Old Believers in eyes of the government as “separatists” and their large human potential suggested the presence of special control of the authorities, which was growing in the second half of the XIX century. The novelty of this work consists in introduction into the scientific discourse of archival records proving that the Old Believers passively resisted the escalation of attention towards their internal affairs; however, demonstrated a high level of loyalty to the government. It was reflected in the absence of protests despite the enhanced limitations for religious freedom, although there were multiple violations of such restrictions, which testifies to the prevalence of religious identity over state among the population.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2019.6.31329

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the lifestyle transformation of the Old Believers in Buryatia at the beginning of the 20th century. The research object of this study is the Old Believer population in the Verkhneudinsky uyezd in the Transbaikal region (from 1923 - the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). The authors consider such aspects of this topic as the trends that have changed the life of the uyezd's Old Believers; the attitude of different generations of Old Believers towards their way of living, the external influence on its isolated position (in the field of education, health care and religious morality), and the new attributes that came with the Soviet government (technological progress, emergence of youth organizations).The authors applied the historical-comparative method, which compared the aspects of various phenomena and revealed their general and particular features, upon examining the attitude of the Old Believers towards the activities of the tsarist and Soviet authorities. The historical-genetic method is necessary for examining the phenomenon under study in time in order to reveal the dynamics of the changes in the lifestyle of the Old Believers during the generational evolution. The results of the conducted study are the following. The decline of the traditional way of life among the Old Believers in Buryatia was a growing phenomenon, intensifying  from one generation to another. If for the Old Believers in the 18th - 19th centuries life in a community isolated from the external works was desirable and necessary to maintain their faith, then at the beginning of the 20th century this lifestyle became increasingly unacceptable, especially for the younger generations. The novelty of the authors' study is the introduction into scientific circulation of archival material that reveal the factors that caused significant changes in the perception of the world: the decrease in the role of the Old Believer religion in the life of young people, the acute need for education, the spread of a different way of life, and the struggle of the Soviet government with “remnants of the past” .

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2018.6.28152

Abstract: The subject of this research is the transformation of the traditional way of life of the Old Believers population in Buryatia at the beginning of the 20th century on the example of its younger generation. The article's research object is the youth Old Believers in Buryatia. The authors consider such aspects of this topic as: the objective state of the social climate in the “family” village at the beginning of the 20th century; cultural, political and ideological transformations of the Soviet government, directed primarily towards young people; and the reaction to them from different generations of Old Believers. The authors applied the historical-genetic method, which involves the study of changes of phenomena over time, as it was necessary to characterize the lifestyle of "family" young people in the pre-revolutionary period and in the 1920s. The historical-comparative method, which provides a comparison of the sides of various phenomena and which reveals their general and specific features, was also used, in particular, to compare the education of young people in the rural communities and the Soviet government. The authors come to the conclusion that the involvement of the Soviet government as allies of the “family” youth became one of the main goals in the matter of assimilating this closed religious group of the population into the actively building single Soviet society. And as for the youth itself, these years were a period of opportunities to change their lives, to increase their literacy, to independently choose their occupation, and to move to urban spaces. The novelty of this research lies in that for the first time in historiography new archival materials are introduced into the scientific circulation that contain stories of previous "family" villages about the pre-revolutionary lifestyle of young people. This allows to present a clearer picture of the dramatic changes that occurred in the future of this social group of the Old Believers in Buryatia.