Правовой статус старообрядцев в Российской империи: нормативное закрепление и особенности обеспечения в 1907–1914 годах

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to the problems of applying the norms enshrined in the legislation of the Russian Empire and departmental regulatory legal acts relating to Old Believers after the First Russian Revolution. By decrees of April 17, 1905 and October 17, 1906, Old Believers were granted “freedom of belief and prayer at the behest of their conscience,” but in real life, the Old Believers’ rights to free confession were significantly limited by local authorities.
 The purpose of the study is to determine the conflict of law norms that provided subjects of the Russian Empire with “freedom of beliefs and prayers at the behest of ... conscience”; identify the features of the application of these norms by executive authorities in 1907–1914.
 Theoretical and methodological basis. The main methodological principles of the study were the principles of historicism, the unity of theory and practice, the comprehensiveness of the study of social processes and phenomena, the unity of the historical and logical. The main methodological approach of the study was determined to be a systematic approach. General scientific (historical, functional, theoretical modeling, hypothesis building) and special (formal legal, historical legal, comparative legal) methods of legal research were used.
 Results. The analysis showed that the position and, accordingly, the normative acts of the Synod as an executive body in a number of cases were in conflict with the by-laws (orders, clarifications, etc.) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Their strict subordination to each other, necessary for the full functioning of the legal system, was absent in imperial legislation. The specification and application of legal norms largely depended on the position of the department. Despite their differences, law enforcement was determined by the discretion of a specific official, even a low rank, who had the opportunity to choose between regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Synod of the Russian Church, which had the same legal force. This led to the Old Believers’ distrust of local executive authorities.