On the Formation of Local Communities in the Khakass-Minusinsk Territory in the 19Th Century

Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 2020 13(7): 1065-1072 DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-0626 УДК 93/94 On the Formation of Local Communities in the Khakass-Minusinsk Territory in the 19th Century Valentina N. Asochakovaa,b and Svetlana S. Chistanova*b aSiberian Federal University Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation bKatanov Khakass State University Abakan, Republic of Khakassia, Russian Federation Received 08.07.2019, received in revised form 04.06.2020, accepted 09.07.2020 Abstract. The purpose of the article is to consider the formation of local communities in the Khakass-Minusinsk Territory in the religious migrant world. The authors refer to religious migrants as migrants who left their place of permanent residence in Central Russia and moved to Siberia in the 19th century in an attempt to preserve and spread their non-Orthodox religion. The authors analyse literature, sources from the Siberian archives, scientific articles and monographs on the life of religious migrants in other regions of Siberia and the Far East. The article gives a classification of sects, adopted by pre-revolutionary scholars, examines in detail the representatives of all faiths living in the Khakass-Minusinsk Territory, namely Molokans, Dukhobors, Skoptsy, Catholics and Protestants, especially Lutherans, their number, farming conditions and interaction with local population. The conclusion sets out the reasons why local communities in the studied region did not form: the border location of the region, the indigenous population, which was just beginning to accept Orthodoxy, the fragmentation and small number of sectarians. Keywords: local communities, Khakass-Minusinsk territory, religious migrants, Molokans, Dukhobors, Sabbatarians, Skoptsy, Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans. Research area: history, culturology. Citation: Asochakova, V.N., Chistanova, S.S. (2020). On the formation of local communities in the Khakass-Minusinsk territory in the 19th century. J. Sib. Fed. Univ. Humanit. Soc. Sci., 13(7), 1065-1072. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-0626. © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected], [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0003-1347-7302 (Asochakova); 0000-0002-5714-3729 (Chistanova) – 1065 – Valentina N. Asochakova and Svetlana S. Chistanova. On the Formation of Local Communities in the Khakass-Minusinsk… Introduction sons. Religion was and is a criterion of social The global processes of our time objective- differentiation and often a source of social con- ly raise the question of regional identity, place flict. Therefore, inter-confessional differences and role of local communities. The term of local are one of the sources of not only religious, but community entered historical sciences in the also cultural confrontation, leading to the sep- 70s of the last century and, like many modern aration of people. terms, has several definitions. From English Religion is associated with the civiliza- into Russian, local community can be translat- tional mechanism, which, in comparison with ed as a community of people in any space. But the ethnic one, provides a wider field of com- domestic historians put a broader meaning into munication that spans the boundaries of all this concept (Orekhovskaya, 2018: 82). This ar- local groups. In a substantial aspect, interfaith ticle discusses the spiritual and religious local relations are realized at two levels: doctrinal communities and the problem of their forma- (a form of correlation of religious systems and tion in the Khakass-Minusinsk Territory in the ideas) and institutional (a form of correlation of 19th century. the interests of faiths). Theoretical framework Methods In a number of studies, local communi- In interfaith relations there are four types ties are considered to be a group of people who of relationships: conflict, indifference, cooper- embody social relations in a particular place, ation and dialogue. The formation of types de- “representing a territorial referent of social and pends on a number of particularly on the course cultural specificity” (Ragulina, 2014). In addi- of historical events, the leading type of cultural tion, “a holistic culture of the local community, paradigm, and the characteristics of the histor- formed as the result of life in certain natural ical and social development of an ethnic group. conditions” is the criterion for distinguish- Religion appears in numerous directions ing a group of people into a local community and confessional varieties. Various creeds form (Kalutskov, 2008). Almost all researchers pay their own worldview, specific features that are attention to the conjugation of the landscape as manifested in normative relations, in the daily a natural-geographical component and the hu- behaviour of adherents in various spheres of man community. Thus, the compact residence public and personal life. Significant differences of a group of people united by one religion in a present in morality, in moral relations, ideas, certain territory can be considered a local com- characteristic of a particular religion. munity. There is a hierarchy of faiths In Russia: the Russian Orthodox Church held a dominant Statement of the problem position; recognized denominations included In the framework of this article, we will Christian non-Orthodox Catholic and Protes- consider one of the factors in the formation of tant churches and non-Christian churches – local communities in the 19th century, namely, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, paganism; toler- religious migration. Migrants, representatives ant denominations included Old Believers and of a particular religious denomination, change some sects; the unrecognized and intolerant their place of residence within the same coun- denominations included Pashkovites, Dukhob- try and even one region, while they seek to ors, Molokans, Sabbatarians, Skoptsy. All sec- preserve the values and traditions inherent in tarians were usually divided into three groups their culture and affect the local population. If “according to the degree of harmfulness” with- these emigrants practice a religion that is dif- out taking into account the religious charac- ferent from the dominant one, in our case, the teristics of each sect. In 1864, an attempt was Orthodox, having arrived at a new place, they made to change this classification, based on the retain their religious identity, and also try to attitude to the state and society, the attitude to extend it to the local population, especially if the Russian Orthodox Church. This attempt did they were forced to emigrate for religious rea- not lead to anything. But, nevertheless, in 1883, – 1066 – Valentina N. Asochakova and Svetlana S. Chistanova. On the Formation of Local Communities in the Khakass-Minusinsk… the term “especially harmful sect” disappeared able to form a local community, they found ma- from the “Code of Criminal and Correctional terial benefits (provided by the government to Sentences”. Before the revolution, researchers all migrants) and tolerance of the local popula- had divided the sects into rationalistic and mys- tion. It was here that the Molokan communities tical, this division was not official, legislative- achieved great economic success. Their public ly fixed. Rationalist sects (Dukhobors, Molo- positions were strong until the 1917 revolution kans, Baptists, etc.) interpreted the Bible based (Buyanov, 2017: 63). on reason. Mystical sects (Skoptsy, Khlysty) The situation with sectarians in the Kha- learned the truth through inner revelation, of- kass-Minusinsk Territory was different: The ten in a state of ecstasy, reincarnation, dialogue Governor-General of Western Siberia P.M. with God (Suslova, Zvorygina, Yarkova, 2017: Kaptsevich wrote that there were no places 205-206). suitable for the resettlement of spiritual Chris- tians in Western Siberia, but there was the Discussion Sagai steppe in the Yenisei province. To which In the south of the Yenisei territory, the A.P. Stepanov, the governor of the Yenisei landscape naturally restricted the migration province, replied that it was dangerous to re- of the indigenous population and newcomers settle the Molokans in Khakassia, since there and influenced the localization of faiths. The was a border between Russia and Mongolia, number of representatives of various sects was in addition, there were no lands suitable for insignificant, official statistics took into ac- agriculture in the steppe, “it contains the main count only Skoptsy, Molokans, Dukhobors and heritage of the Tatars of the Minusinsk dis- Sabbatarians. Moreover, due to the fact that all trict”. And, what is most important, the “Ta- sects led a secretive lifestyle, there is no exact tars of the Minusinsk district” were already data on their numbers. “unstable in faith.”1 The eviction of sectarians from the cen- Due to the position indicated by the pro- tral provinces to Siberia began in the 1920s vincial administration, there were few Molo- of the 19th century. The Molokans were sent kans in the Khakassia-Minusinsk Territory; by to the Khakassia-Minusinsk Territory by de- 1837, according to official figures, 36 people cision “On the Proposed Settling of Molokans had lived there (4 people in Minusinsk, 8 peo- (a schismatic sect) in Siberia” dated October ple in the village of Tesinskoye, 12 people in 4, 1827. The state sought to isolate them geo- the village of Bir, and 12 people in the village graphically, so the obligatory conditions for of Novoselovo). resettlement were the absence of other

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