Prerequisites for the publication of the Decree on April 17, 1905 “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance”

This article examines the prerequisites for the publication by Emperor Nicholas II of the decree "On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance". The Russian Empire was a unique multinational and multi-religious state. Until 1905, the laws of the empire established religious tolerance. However, freedom of religion was conditional. Recognized religions had different legal status; freedom of conscience, understood as the right to freely move from one religion to another, was absent. Coverage of this issue is impossible without defining the confessional structure of the Russian Empire, which had developed by the beginning of the XX century. According to the author, there were contradictions within the confessional structure, which became the most important prerequisite for reform. In addition, public discourse has had a significant impact. The society has formed a conviction about the need to lift restrictions on religious freedoms. The liberal wing of public thought included the issue of freedom of conscience in the political program, which translated the demand for the expansion of religious tolerance to a new, political level. Another prerequisite for the reform was the understanding by some officials of the futility of criminal liability against "seducers" and "fallen away". This should also include the work of the higher bureaucracy to mitigate the regime of religious tolerance, which was reflected in the imperial decree of December 12, 1904. Finally, the revolutionary events of 1905 also had an impact on accelerating the course of reform.