Tsarist Russia Research Articles

To Break Russia's Chains: Boris Savinkov and His Wars against the Tsar and the Bolsheviks

As he did in The Black Russian, his 2013 biography of Frederick Bruce Thomas, the son of formerly enslaved Mississippians who became a millionaire nightclub owner in pre-1917 Moscow, Alexandrov combines brilliant research and brisk storytelling to tell the story of Boris Savinkov (1879–1925), a notorious Russian terrorist of the first quarter of the twentieth century. While today only specialists in modern Russian history and literature are likely to recognize Savinkov's name, in his day he was an international celebrity, feted in the pages of leading European and American newspapers for a lifetime of resistance to both tsarist and Bolshevik tyranny. Although praise for a man who organized the assassination of government ministers and members of the Romanov family may seem perverse to contemporary American readers, especially those who have come of age since 9/11, being reminded that “the past is a foreign country” is always a useful exercise.In fast moving and lively prose, Alexandrov tells the fascinating story of Savinkov's long and complicated journey from a privileged, cultured, and politically progressive upper-middle-class Russian family to the most-wanted list of the Okhrana and the Cheka, the tsarist and Soviet secret police, up to his mysterious death. Because Savinkov was not only a revolutionary but a writer who told and retold his life story in novels and memoirs, his biographer must be equal parts historian, literary critic, and psychologist. It is difficult to imagine a better guide to the multiple complexities of Savinkov's life, times, and works than Alexandrov, B. E. Bensinger Professor Emeritus of Slavic Literatures at Yale. Combining deep historical knowledge, fresh critical insights, and penetrating psychological observations, Alexandrov shows Savinkov's dramatic life story taking shape against the backdrop of a cataclysmic quarter-century of Russian history that included multiple revolutions and wars.Certainly, the most difficult aspect of writing the biography of a terrorist like Savinkov is to imagine how sophisticated people might reasonably conclude that the targeted assassination of political figures could be both politically necessary and ethically acceptable. And while it is inevitable that some will see any attempt to understand political violence in a particular time and place as justifying terrorism always and anywhere, honest biographers have no choice but to try to explain why their subjects made the choices they did. In this context, Alexandrov's judicious treatment of Savinkov's argument that, given the political realities of tsarist Russia, violence could be a moral response to evil is especially valuable. The paradox of Savinkov and the other “moral terrorists” discussed in To Break Russia's Chains is that they justified targeted violence against prominent politicians and influential bureaucrats without rejecting the fifth commandment. According to their reasoning, assassination could be a moral act if the victim was responsible for brutal and unjust policies and if the perpetrator accepted punishment for what was, without question, a sin. Given the reality of tsarist arbitrary rule, the absence of any legal avenues to protest unjust policies, and the terrorists’ belief that inaction meant complicity in a criminal regime, their conclusion that violence and inevitable punishment was the only moral choice is neither incomprehensible nor illogical. Whatever one thinks of Savinkov's personality and methods, and despite his ultimate failure to achieve his goal, there is something undeniably heroic in his devoting his entire adult life to the struggle against the forces of political tyranny in his homeland. Today, when fantasies of redemptive violence have become a staple of the daily news cycle, Savinkov's story is particularly relevant.

Ewolucja wybranych elementów systemu politycznego Pierwszej i Drugiej Republiki Litewskiej

The roots of the Lithuanian political system precede the emergence of the modern Lithuanian state in 1918 by several decades. For over a hundred years before independence, Lithuania was an integrated part of the imperial tsarist Russia, and in 1940–1991, a union republic of the USSR. After regaining independence in 1991, while shaping the new political system, the Lithuanian political elite decided to refer to the systemic and institutional patterns from the short period of the functioning of democratic governments in the First Republic of Lithuania. The aim of the study is to analyze the evolution of the Lithuanian political system and the individual elements influencing its changes in the years 1920–1926 and 1990–2020. As a result, it was possible to demonstrate the similarities and differences in particular periods of the evolution of democracy, which was extremely helpful in indicating the directions of development of political systems and their individual elements.

Aleksiej Stanczinski [Aleksey Stanchinsky] (1888–1914): the Forgotten Composer of the Russian Silver Age. A Contribution to Further Research

The aim of this article is to introduce the reader to the figure of Aleksey Stanchinsky and to briefly characterize his work created during the decline of tsarist Russia. The text is divided into three parts. The first one provides a picture of the cultural context in which this artist worked. It is an outline of the leading artistic tendencies and trends in Russia, including the artistic milieu at the turn of the 20th century. The second part contains a biographical sketch of the composer, whose illness, unhappy life and, as a consequence, his premature death had a fundamental impact on his legacy. The third part constitutes an attempt to classify and characterize Stanchinsky’s work based on available materials and own research.

ПРОФЕССОРСКО-ПРЕПОДАВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ СОСТАВ ДУХОВНЫХ СЕМИНАРИЙ В РОССИИ ВТОРОЙ ПОЛОВИНЫ XIX – НАЧАЛА XX ВЕКА

The purpose of the article is a categorical analysis of the teaching staff of theological seminaries in Russia of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This study is of great importance for understand-ing the history of Russia and the role of the Church in society. The study of the teaching staff of theological seminaries and the degree of their professional training makes it possible to analyze the possibilities of the influence of this category of church intellectuals on the social life of Russia at that time. The article analyzes the nature and essence of the interaction of the church intellectuals with representatives of state power, as well as the influence of the teaching staff of the theological educational institutions of tsarist Russia on public sentiment and the sphere of public education. As a result, the authors come to the conclusion that this study can be useful for understanding modern religious culture in Russia and its connection with secular education. The interrela-tion of theological and secular education shown in the article reveals their mutual influence and joint impact on the formation of public sentiment in the country, the impact of spiritual traditional values on the culture and way of people life. The study of the teaching staff of theological seminaries in Russia of the late 19th and early 20th centuries makes it possible to understand the origins of modern problems and trends in the further develop-ment of interaction between the state and society in upholding spiritual ideals in the context of the challenges of the secular public-state space.

Finances of Tsarist Russia during the Period of Political Reaction

Finances of Tsarist Russia during the Period of Political Reaction

Пенитенциарные учреждения Моршанска в конце XIX – начале XX века

Introduction. The relevance of this article is due to the study of the penitentiary system of Russia at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries using the example of the county town of Morshansk, Tambov province. The chronological framework covers the period of Tsarist Russia at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century, as well as the period of the Civil War until its end. Based on the materials presented in the work, a comparative analysis is given, the result of the effectiveness of the state policy in the penitentiary sector using the example of a county town. By the end of the 19th century, imprisonment became the main type of punishment for criminals as a result of the modernization processes of the second half of the 19th century. The problems that persisted throughout the long period of formation of the prison system, namely the lack of funds for the improvement of prison institutions, constant overcrowding due to the increase in the number of crimes, were most clearly reflected in the district towns, therefore it would be fair to study the effectiveness of the policy of Tsarist Russia in this area using the example of district towns. After the revolutionary events of 1917, the penitentiary system experienced new changes in connection with the policies of the new government. The new places of detention that emerged on the ruins of old ones presented new problems in the penitentiary sphere during the Civil War. Specifying the Tambov province of this period, it is worth mentioning the peasant uprising of 1920-1921, during the suppression of which the concentration camp system was used. The new places of detention that have appeared in Morshansk are of substantive interest in the framework of the study of penitentiary policy in early Soviet Russia. Materials and methods. This study was based on archival documents of the State Archive of the Tambov Region, the State Archive of Socio-Political History of the Tambov Region, published documents on the Morshansky Zemstvo and materials reviews of the Tambov province. Thanks to the historical-systemic approach, the penitentiary systems of the ―two Russias‖ were analyzed. The statistical method showed the number of prisoners in Morshansk prisons for the specified period. Results. Based on the analysis of archival sources, a comparative analysis of the penitentiary models of Tsarist Russia and Russia of the period 1917-1922 was carried out using the example of the district town of Morshansk. The situation of the Morshansk prisons before 1917 confirmed the general conclusions about the penitentiary policy of Russia in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries with the problems of financing, conditions of serving sentences, and labor organization. The established concentration camp system during the Civil War in the Tambov province acted as a punitive measure during the suppression of the Tambov uprising, rather than as an evolutionary stage in the establishment of the penitentiary system of early Soviet Russia. Conclusion. The practical significance of the study is expressed in the local history study of the penitentiary systems of the "two Russias" on the example of the county town of Morshansk with the aim of further compiling a generalized work on the penitentiary sphere of Russia.

Происхождение этнонима цонгоол

The article deals with the origin of the tribal name Coŋgōl or Tsongool, in other orthography. It also known as Soŋgōl or Songool in Buryat pronunciation, where the Written Mongolian [č] developed into [s] through the step [ts] in position before a vowel other than [i]. We argue the connection of the word with the ethnic name Čuŋul ~ Čumul, attested in different spelling forms in Chinese, Old Turkic, Khotanese Saka and Persian texts, in connection with the history of Eastern Turkestan and Gan-su Province of China, at least from the of the 7th to the 11th centuries A. D., and also preserved now among the ethnonyms of the Sarïg-Yogur people as Čoŋïl ~ Čuŋïl. In the latter case, the fact of historical continuity cannot raise any doubts. According to the results of this research, it is possible to argue that the community arrived to territory of modern South Buryatia to become subjects of the Russian Tsar at the end of the 17th century had already pronounced the name Tsongool (< WMong. Čongγol) in the variant Tsoŋgol, taking into account the fact that the designation of a vowel in the second syllable as a long one is a later orthographic phenomenon in Buryat. In other words, they were attested the resulted phonetic development [č] > [ts] and consistent vowel labialization in both syllables of the word, regardless of the peculiarity of the Tsongol dialect of Buryat language, where the development of WMong. [u] > [o] is observed. In this manner it can be interpreted the form of the tribal name known among the Barguzin Evenks čåŋgå̄lʹi̯r as reflected the first mentioned process. This point can also be confirmed by the data on onomastics of the persons associated with the Tsongols, attested in the later 17th century, where it can be found the development [č] > [ts] > [s]. It is discussed the problem of correlating two phonetic forms in connection with the chronology of the appearance of Tsongols in the territory of modern Buryatia. Despite the absence of any earlier information about the existence of a group with this name in the region, they are known the legends according to which the territory of origin of the Tsongols is localized in the valley of the Kuda River (in modern Irkutsk region), where a small group with the name Songool (Tsongool) was recorded back in the 19th century. Explaining the chronology of phonetic changes in a historical context requires future research.

The fate of the Polish-Lithuanian szlachta in Russia in the second half of the seventeenth century at the example of Y.E. Katransky

The seventeenth century in Russia became a time of active interaction with the European countries and of the strengthening of the national sovereignty. Foreigners appeared more and more frequently in the service of the Russian tsar. People from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth came to serve the tsar and became a part of the Russian nobility. The nobles (szlachta) joined the ranks of the local officials and successfully served their new homeland. One of them - Y. E. Katransky - participated in the construction of the new fortresses along the Belgorod fortification line, thereby strengthening the defense capability of the Russian state.

Changes in the Diplomatic Measures of the Russian Empire in the Balkans after the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji (1774)

In the last third of the eighteenth century, the foreign policy of the Russian Empire was oriented towards the Ottoman Empire and, as part of it, towards the Balkans and the Black Sea region. The aspirations of Russian foreign policy under Catherine II were shaped not only by the weakening of the government in Constantinople and the acquisition of new territories, but also by the creation of Russian economic, cultural, and political presence in southeastern Europe. The creation of official diplomatic representations was one of the main tools used by Russia to establish its presence in the Balkans. The establishment of permanent embassies and the creation of the necessary political and infrastructural background became a decisive segment in the development of European diplomacy from the Peace of Westphalia to the Napoleonic Wars. The steps taken by the government in St. Petersburg with the creation of permanent embassies in the leading European courts were in line with the abovementioned trend, but while this kind of “catching up” process gradually moved towards Central and Western Europe, Russia applied a completely different set of conditions to maintain diplomatic relations in the case of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman diplomacy operated as a “one-sided diplomatic relation”: there were permanent Russian envoys at the Constantinople court, but no representatives were delegated by the Porte to St. Petersburg. Russia had to adapt to this special situation in the eighteenth century. This closed system was broken by the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji, which closed the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 and included a clause according to which Russia had the right to establish consulates in the Ottoman Empire and thus in the Balkans, a key area. The other key element of the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji was the right of the reigning Russian tsar to be the protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire, which was also fixed in this agreement. The “authority” acquired at this time was not unprecedented, as the Porte had acceded to such requests in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through capitulations with other states (such as France, Austria, or the Venetian Republic), thus establishing the “protégé” system. At the same time, the Russian government took the protection of Christians under the jurisdiction of the Porte to a new level and made it an integral part of its foreign policy. In my study, I examine how the Russian Empire applied the results of the Peace of Kuchuk Kainardji to diplomatic advocacy in the Balkans.

ТОРГОВЫЕ СВЯЗИ АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНА С РОССИЕЙ В ПЕРВОЙ ПОЛОВИНЕ XVIII В.

The article mitropolitan the influence of changes in the region caused by the great geographical discoveries and of the development of capitalist relations during the late Middle Ages on the foreign trade relations of Azerbaijan, and, first of all, on the nature and scope of the Azerbaijan-Russia economic relations carried out through the Volga-Caspian transit trade route. The article shows that Russian Tsar Peter I, taking advantage of the new situation in the region due to the loss of the importance of the “Great Silk Road” and the deep decline of the Safavid state bigan strengthening Russia’s position in international trade, turning the Volga-Caspian trade route into the main artery of east-west trade, and most importantly, for establishing direct trade relations with India. In the article, while addressing that very topical issuesolving that issue which is quite relevant for Azerbaijani historiography, the author abandoned the traditional approaches left over from the Soviet era and tried to create an objective picture of Azerbaijan-Russia trade relations in the first half of the 18th century based on reliable sources.

Society «Educational community named after Mykhailo Drahomanov in the Wetzlar Ukrainian POW camp, Germany, 1917 - early 1918) (based on the materials of the «Hromadska Dumka»)

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the activity of the «Educational Community named after Mykhailo Drahomanov» in the camp of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Wetzlar (Germany), which during 1917 achieved the greatest achievements in its activities, which was due to the general intensification of national organizational work in the Wetzlar camp after the overthrow of the Russian tsar. In their work, the enlightened people focused on two main categories - the illiterate, for whose services the People's School worked, and at the same time those who already had a certain educational qualification (including graduates of the mentioned school), who had all the opportunities to replenish the baggage of their knowledge. A notable feature of the current work of Ukrainian activists was the involvement of prisoners in political presentations, which prepared a significant number of camp inmates to accept the idea of creating an independent Ukrainian state. The credit for this belonged primarily to educators from among Galicians, who at the call of the IDF worked in the camps and managed to raise a whole cohort of Ukrainian patriots among the prisoners, who continued the work of their teachers, giving lectures in separate barracks (by conducting readings of abstracts and impromptu evenings), as well as and outside the camp (during the dispatch of prisoners to work as part of work teams). One of the significant results of this work was the formation of a distinctly national worldview in the majority of the prisoners of this camp, which made it possible for them to further join the ranks of the armed forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which, starting from the moment of the Bolshevik coup, stood up to protect Ukraine from aggressive encroachments by Moscow.

Литературный поединок Екатерины II и Густава III: драматические сочинения монархов во время Русско-шведской войны (1788–1790)

Russian Empress Catherine II and Swedish King Gustav III were not only relatives (cousins), but also related by an adherence to the ideas of enlightened absolutism, a love for philosophy, literature, and theatre. Both monarchs were playwrights actively engaged in the production of their plays. During the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790), Catherine II wrote the play, “Woeful Knight Kosometovich” (1788), a pamphlet on Gustav III that was staged as an opéra comique at the Hermitage Theatre in January of 1789. In his turn, Gustav III composed the musical comedy “Alexey Mikhailovich and Natalia Naryshkin” (1789), that idealized the Russian tsar and was staged at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in January of 1790. By Catherine II’s appeal to Russian folklore in her play and Gustav III’s appeal to the 17th-century Russian history in his comedy, each monarch contributed to the creation of the political myths that formed the rulers’ images, promoted their state ideology, and indicated the direction of their national theatres’ further development. These dramatic works of Catherine II and Gustav III deserve special attention because they refer to particular people and circumstances, which contemporary spectators easily identified. The detailed stage directions of the royal playwrights allow one to consider their different directing styles. The author contrasts the approach of stage direction usage by Catherine II and Gustav III and draws the conclusion that the Swedish King shows more experience and foresight than the Russian Empress as a stage director.

MAMMAD EMIN RASULZADEH1 : THOUGHTS AND STRUGGLE FOR THE REPUBLIC

The Azerbaijani socio-political figure, head of Azerbaijan National Council and Musavat Party, Mammad Emin Rasulzadeh, has played a significant role in developing the national liberation movements and as well as realization of its concept in the South Caucasian region in the early 1900s. Especially during the First World War and after the collapse of the Tsarist Russian Empire, as a party leader and an editor of the newspaper, he did important work towards to be met the demands of the nations of the South Caucasus and the Muslims of Russia from the request of autonomy to the implementation of the independent state. After the Soviet Russian occupation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Mammad Emin Rasulzadeh continued his activities in Europe and wrote his thoughts about republicanism ideology in his published books and articles. This article studies such ideas as republicanism, musavatism and solidarism in the activities and works of Mammad Emin Rasulzadeh.

Institutions and Agricultural Change after the Serf Emancipation in the Tsarist Russian Provinces of Estland and Livland

Institutions and Agricultural Change after the Serf Emancipation in the Tsarist Russian Provinces of Estland and Livland

Social, Cultural and Religious Life in Istanbul a Century Ago Through the Eyes of Tahir Ilyasi One of the Idel-Ural Tatars

Çarlık Rusyası’nda 1881 yılında doğmuş olan Tahir İlyâsî, Rusya’da açlık sıkıntısı yaşayan Müslümanlara yardım toplamak maksadıyla 1922 yılında Türkiye’ye gönderilmiş ve İstanbul’da kaldığı 18 Haziran-28 Ağustos 1922 tarihleri arasını kapsayan bir günlük tutmuştur. Bu tarihler, Büyük Taarruz’un hazırlıklarının yapıldığı dönem olup işgal yıllarını kapsamaktadır. Tahir İlyâsî, İstanbul’da bulunduğu sürede iyi bir gözlemci olarak Osmanlı toplumunun sosyal yapısı ve iktisâdî durumu ile birlikte insanların dinî duygu ve düşünceleri hakkındaki müşahedelerini de günlüğüne yansıtmıştır. İlyâsî ayrıca hem din görevlilerinin hem de halkın İslâm’ın bazı ilkelerine aykırı davranışlarından da üzüntüyle söz etmektedir. İstanbul’da kaldığı sürede başta şeyhülislâm olmak üzere üst seviyede birçok idareci ve âlimle görüşmüş olan İlyâsî, o dönemdeki Osmanlı medreselerinin, kütüphane ve müzelerinin durumu, cuma ve bayram namazları, cenaze merasimi ve sünnet düğünü gibi hususlarda gözlemlerini aktarmıştır. Bu makale, Tahir İlyâsî’nin 1922 yılına ait İstanbul günlüğü bağlamında işgal yıllarındaki İstanbul’da dinî hayatı, sosyal hayattaki problemleri ve burada bulunan Kırım ve İdil-Ural Tatarlarının durumlarını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Tahir İlyâsî’nin bazı dinî konulara dair görüşlerine de yer verilmiştir.

Beate Barbara Juliane von Krüdener o podróżach i w podróżach po Europie

Beate Barbara Juliane von Krüdener about journeys and on journeys across Europe The paper presents the problem of travelling on the basis of the novel “Valérie” and the volume “The Memories of Childhood and Youth” by Beate Barbara Juliane von Krüdener (1764–1824). Krüdener was a French-language writer, born in Riga, belonging to the honourable family of Baltic Germans, who, at the end of her life, was an advisor to Alexander I. The paper consists of five parts: “Who was she?” (the writer’s biography) “On the Baltic Sea” (a picture of Denmark in “Valérie” and Livonia in the memories), “In Saint Petersburg” (a picture of Russian tsars), “Towards the West” (a picture of Denmark and Italy in “Valérie” and Germany, France, England in the memories) and “The Conclusion” (the concept of a “Russian European”). Krüdener’s journeys were of intellectual type (meeting with political and cultural elites of Europe, participation in cultural life). Northern Europe (cold and melancholic) is contrasted with southern Europe (warm and cheerful).

Education of Montenegrins in the Russian Empire as a Tool of Political and Cultural Influence (By the Example of the Activities of the MFA and slavic charity committees)

The article is dedicated to the issue of the participation of the officials and public organizations of Russia in the selection of candidates for education in our country among Montenegrin youth in schools and higher educational institutions. Russian officials were interested in creating a number of specialists in the Slavic lands of the Balkan Peninsula, connected with Russia, who knew and loved Russian culture. Today, such a policy is called “soft power”, and in the XIX and early XX centuries this was a manifestation of pragmatism and strategic calculation in the foreign policy of the empire. Montenegro, which received international recognition after the Berlin Congress of 1878, became a privileged partner and client of Russia. Monarch Nikola Petrovich managed to convince the Russian government that in case of military complications in the Balkans, the Montenegrins would be able to assist Russia in the hostilities. In the last third of the XIX — early XX centuries Russian autocracy paid substantial subsidies to the Montenegrin authorities for the modernization of the state apparatus and the armed forces. Benefits were constantly increased and added up to huge sums. However, the ruler of Montenegro turned out to be an obstinate ward, inclined to forget about the support provided and ignore the political recommendations of the Russian tsar and his entourage. At the beginning of the twentieth century relations between the two countries were strained, and the behavior of Nikola Petrovich often seemed unpredictable. He easily broke his own promises, from time to time he showed a willingness to change Russian patronage for the friendship of Western Europe. Many Russian diplomats and public figures saw a way out of this impasse in preparing as many highly educated specialists as possible for Montenegro, who would join the political elite of the principality and become more reliable allies than the greedy older generation. Moreover, in Montenegro, which had recently switched from a tribal way of life to state life, there was neither a complete secondary school in the European sense, nor higher educational institutions. The calculations of the Russian leadership were only partially justified. However, in this small Balkan country, graduates of Russian educational institutions, sincerely grateful and devoted to Russia, did live and work.

How was the common communication language dropped in the turkish world?

Turkish communities living in various geographies of the world have played an important role in every period of history. By the middle of the 10th century, the establishment of the Karakhanid state and its Islamic period started a new era for the Turks. Influenced by this civilization, they used the Arabic alphabet until the first quarter of the 19th century. 20th century Russian Turks had bad results. According to the "Policy of Nationalities", the Soviets divided the geography in the USSR. Stalin implemented the policy of Tsarist Russia to dissolve Turkish communities more quickly and abolished the Arabic alphabet used by Turks with the decisions taken at the 1926 Baku Turkic Congress. After that in 1928, Turkey changed the alphabet and got the same alphabet. The cultural unity among the Turks would be revived but Moscow was hesitating. Without wasting time, USSR brought the Cyrillic alphabet and ultimately, the new generation has cut off contact with each other.

Legacy of Islamic Education in Russia Since the Bulghar Kingdom

This paper provides a brief review of Islamic education in Russia from the tenth century until modern times based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources. The first part of the paper examines the role of Islam in Russian history and suggests that Islam played an important role in building what today is called the Russian civilisation. It also reviews the historical, educational system in the region and indicates that the Volga-Urals region was the centre of Islamic education and civilisation in the Muslim world for at least five centuries until Tsarist Russia colonised the area in the sixteenth century. The second part of the paper briefly elaborates on the educational reforms and provides an overview of Islamic periodicals published at the beginning of twentieth century in Russia. The final part of the paper focuses on the status of Islamic education in modern Russia and suggests that the decade of absolute religious freedom enabled the mushrooming of Islamic madrasahs and various kinds of religious literature. As this study finds, the restrictions on Islamic literature and activities were mainly proliferated after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and they affected the well-being and security of local Muslims. Thus, this paper recommends a review of the Extremism Law of 2002 in light of basic human rights for faith and education.

Religion and Revolution in a Sectarian Family of Late Tsarist Russia

Abstract In 1965, after decades of ethnographic research in primary sources first collected by Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich, Soviet historian Alexander I. Klibanov concluded that despite its origins in peasant social protest, Russian sectarianism had failed to advance the goals of the Bolshevik revolution. “Darkened” by religion and under the influence of their “bourgeois leaders” and “reactionary” Tolstoyan activists, religious dissidents were content to serve the political and economic interests of the ruling classes. Klibanov’s sweeping pronouncement ran counter to previous, western scholarship, which generally viewed the religious sect as precursor of the political party, and it was specifically rebutted in 1967 by Ethel Dunn, who argued that Klibanov had not proved his conclusion that sectarians were satisfied with tsarism and opposed to revolution. Sergei I. Zhuk further pressed the case against Klibanov’s thesis in his 2004 study of the oppositional discourse of the peasant evangelical movement in southern Russia and the revolutionary activity of proletarian peasants against Ukrainian plantation owners. Soviet ideologists had disowned their “cultural predecessors,” Zhuk claimed. The case study of an exiled sectarian family that we present in this article follows in the footsteps of Dunn, Zhuk, and others to show how the anti-clerical activism of a Bessarabian Stundist, Eremei Cheban (1858–c.1930), fueled the political dissidence of his son, Khariton (1886–1962), who participated in violent anti-tsarist rebellion in the Caucasus during the 1905 Revolution.