Formation of the Old-Faith Population of Rudny Altai in the XVII–XIX centuries

The article examines the appearance, economic and socio-cultural adaptation of the Old Believers in the territory of the Rudny Altai in the XVII-XIX centuries.Russian Russians Based on the works of researchers and archival documents, an attempt has been made to study and evaluate Old Believers as a complex religious, ideological and cultural phenomenon of Russian reality, the worldview of millions of Russian people, which determined all aspects of the life of its supporters and became in the XVII-XIX centuries a fact and even a factor in the history of not only Russia, but also Kazakhstan.Being in the most difficult economic and legal conditions, despite all the difficulties experienced, the Old Believer communities of the Rudny Altai led their intensive lives and, as best they could, survived in a foreign environment.The relations of the Old Believers are shown not only with the authorities and the Orthodox population, but also with the nomadic Kazakhs.The need for an exhaustively complete reproduction of tradition in a constantly changing environment led to the paradoxical position of the individual, which required maximum "mobility" to adapt to the new in order to maintain "immobility", i. e. the traditional old one.The authors concluded that one of the most important reasons for preserving the foundations, traditions, and way of life is the comprehensive protection of the institution of the family among the Old Believers, who played a primary role in the life of the Old Believer society.