The gramophone as a temptation or discussions about "dubious innovations" on the pages of the Old Believers periodicals of the early 20th century

The relevance of the research topic is related to the importance of academic understanding of traditional society adaptation patterns to the acceleration of scientific and technological progress and the realities of modernization, as well as the heuristic value of studying the features of the Old Believer culture of the late Imperial period. The purpose of the study is to characterize the features of the discussions that unfolded in the early 20th century on the pages of Old Believer journals about the possibility of using various achievements of progress. Objectives : to show what new things and phenomena could cause skepticism among traditionalist believers; to consider the reasons for this attitude; to characterize the position of magazines regarding the permissibility of certain innovations in individual or social life. Methodology. In the course of working with publications, traditional methods of textual analysis were used. The methods of description, comparison, and historical induction were used by the author to interpret the data obtained. The theoretical basis of the research was the theory of catch-up modernization. Results. In the course of the analysis the discussions that unfolded in the Orthodox environment about the possibilities of using a gramophone, kerosene lamps, matches, electrical appliances, lightning rods, as well as the practices of vaccination and property insurance are considered. It is demonstrated that the most consistent opponents of innovations were the provincial Old Believers. Conclusions. The paper shows that the arguments of the traditionalists were religious in nature. In their eyes, progress was dehumanizing, replacing human efforts with soulless mechanisms. Technological innovations and unusual social practices revealed a distortion of God-ordained nature and a violation of the natural order of things. Latently, the negative assessment of certain "new products" was influenced by their foreign origin. The introduction of the latter gave rise to a division among the Old Believers into supporters and opponents of the improvement of traditional life. The Old Believer intelligentsia, including those represented on the editorial boards of journals, considered it possible to use new technical means and public practices, and popular Old Believer journals regularly urged their readers to rationally evaluate innovations and consider them as tools for the proper organization of earthly life.