Millenarian beliefs and state-confessional relations in Altai (turn of the XIX–XX centuries): continuity and contradictions

Abstract

The article discusses the specifics of the spread of millenarian views in the context of changes in state-confessional relations. The author closes the subject field of research through the analysis of theoretical aspects and the history of the study of the problem. Attention is focused on the peculiarities of the use of millenarian ideas in the preaching tactics of adherents of the directions of Christian doctrine and the interpretation of these views among the indigenous population of Altai at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Based on archival sources, it was revealed that the activation of millenarian views occurred during the periods of wars (the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the First World War of 1914-1918) and the revolutionary events of 1905-1907 and 1917. The actions of state authorities at the local level were aimed at maintaining a stable situation and preventing unrest, and there was also a refusal to use extreme measures. The religious situation changed dramatically in the conditions of the formation of the Burkhanism movement in 1904. The initial harsh reaction in the form of dispersal of collective prayers and the trial of the leaders was replaced by the actual recognition of the new dogma.