All-Russian Congresses of Old Believers of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy and the Resettlement of Lipovans to the Russian Far East in the Early 20th Century

The article is devoted to a little-studied problem – the resettlement of Austrian and Romanian Old Believers-Lipovans to the Russian Far East at the beginning of the 20th century. The work evaluates the significance of the All-Russian Congresses of Old Believers of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy and their Council in this process. The role of the immediate leaders of this structure, D. V. Sirotkin and P. P. Ryabushinsky, as active supporters of the idea of returning "foreigners" to the homeland of their ancestors is analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the study of the arguments of both supporters and opponents of the repatriation of Lipovans and their "settlement" in the Amur region. The idea of an organized resettlement of Old Believers to the Far East – to Chinese Manchuria – to the line of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) that was then under construction was first put forward by Finance Minister S. Yu. Witte. In 1900, the dignitary reported this to the delegation of the First Old Believer Congress that arrived in Yalta. After some time, the Yalta proposal became known to the Austrian Lipovans. The local Old Believers, who were experiencing land shortages and other difficulties, had high hopes for the Russian minister's project and expressed a desire to definitely go to Northern China as colonists, but the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 prevented the implementation of this plan. The implementation of another resettlement project (this time to the Russian Amur region) became possible after the revolutionary upheavals of 1905-1907, when the Old Believers received certain civil rights. The liberalization of religious policy in Russia against the backdrop of the deteriorating socio-economic situation in the countries of residence contributed to the return of foreign Old Believers to their historical homeland. Lipovans and Nekrasovites living in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey began to submit petitions for Russian citizenship, petitioning for resettlement in the Amur region. The tsarist government, interested in the rapid settlement and economic development of its Far Eastern outskirts, appreciated this desire. The role of the link between the Lipovan communities and the Russian authorities belonged to the Council of Congresses, whose members cared about satisfying not only the spiritual but also the material needs of their co-religionists. By and large, it was thanks to the mediating aspirations of the Council that the resettlement of the "foreigners" became possible, while the "Austrians" and "Romanians" received some benefits.