“Going on a pilgrimage” and “fleeing from the antichrist”: the Old Believers-wanderers of the Saratov province in the second half of the 19th century (based on the archival materials of the GASO). Part 1. The main milestones in the history of the wanderers and their appearance in the Saratov Volga region

The article is devoted to the history of the Old Believers-Wanderers consent in the Saratov Volga region in the late imperial period (the second half of the 19^th century – early 20^th century). The article provides a general description of this religious group, their teachings and history of existence, and analyzes the features of thematic historiography. The uniqueness of the wandering phenomenon in the religious landscape of the Russian Empire province is emphasized: the Wanderers preached radical eschatological ideas, but, at the same time, maintained a certain involvement in the social structures of the outside world. The publication focuses on the holistic history of the Old Believers-Wanderers in the Saratov Volga region, who penetrated this territory in the 1860s. The active preaching of the Wanderers caused an increase in the followers among the Saratov peasants, but the specific way of life of the Wanderers, inspired by the teaching about “escape from the antichrist”, inevitably attracted the attention of the local administration and the priests. An appeal to the previously unpublished archival materials of the State Archives of the Saratov region (GASO) shows that the wandering community was persecuted for vagrancy, illegal harboring of fellow believers, and secret burials of the dead, whose disappearance was of concern to the police. The article ends with formulating conclusions on ambiguity in the interpretation of the Wanderers’ social and religious practices: despite the results of the investigative processes, such cases gave rise to various negative rumors about the Old Believers.

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