The Topography of Ritual Buildings in Villages of the Tobolsk Governorate (Late 19th to Early 20th Century)

Abstract

This is the first case study of important places ofpublic worship in three villages of the Tobolsk Governorate in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with reference to architectural planning, hagiography, and religious attitudes. The churches in Obdorskoye and Romanovskoye are located either on an elevated, unoccupied territory in a natural environment or in the center of residential quarters, according to the Russian architectural traditions. The choice of saints was motivated by the ethnic, religious, and cultural situation. Dedications of altars to Archangel Michael, Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Basil the Great, and St. Nicholas were meant to protect while affirming religious values, canons, and dogmas of Russian Orthodoxy. At the Kobyatskieyurts, a mosque was built. Its architecture stood out from the residential quarters, following the Islamic tradition. Its construction, evidencing the religious identity of the residents of the yurts, testified to the recognition of their rights. The topography of religious buildings in villages differing in the ethnicity and religious beliefs of residents evidenced the strategy of ecclesiastical guidance, religious symbolism, and the villagers’ attitudes.