Gasanov Magomed; Gazieva Abidat

The role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the integration of the Eastern Caucasus into the Russian cultural space during the Caucasian war (with the example of the left wing of the Caucasian cordon line)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the experience of the Russian Orthodox Church in the fortresses and fortifications of the Left Wing of the Caucasian Cordon Line. During the study of the available literature and sources available to us, it was revealed that the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) was based on the principles of tolerance towards local peoples and Islam. Analyzing the activities of the ROC on the cordon Line, it is worth noting that initially churches on the Line were erected as regimental ones, with military units - to maintain moral and ethical values among Orthodox soldiers. The Russian government, at the founding of the first fortresses of the Caucasian Line, saw cordon fortifications as the agony of confrontation, which, in their opinion, could only be used as a dividing line between the troops and the highlanders. At the beginning of the 19th century, the fundamental idea of Caucasian politics changed and the policy was transformed from defensive to civilian colonization of the region, where the activities of the church were presented more than just overseeing and observing the spiritual needs of military personnel on the Line. The churches, both civil and military, participated in the complex process of acculturation in the region, where, by means of their functioning, they pushed the boundaries of the idea and perception of the mountaineers about Russia, carried out missionary activities in spreading Orthodoxy on the Lines, supported the ritual and everyday life of the Orthodox population of the region - civil and military. The activities of the Russian Orthodox Church extended to the issues of the dissemination of education, which in general had a positive trend for the region. In the fortifications and fortresses of the Left Wing of the Caucasian Cordon Line, the activity of the ROC was relative, in comparison with the Right Wing of the Line. This was due to the fact that the main concentration of the Orthodox population was concentrated there.

Keywords

ROC (Russian Orthodox Church), cordon Line, temple, church, Kizlyar, fortresses, Caucasian politics, Synod.

References

1. Gadzhiev B. (2006) Tsarskie i Shamilevskie kreposti v Dagestane [Tzar’s and Shamil’s fortresses in Dagestan]. Moscow (in Russian).
2. Gazieva A. (2016) “K voprosu o musul′manskikh kvartalakh Kizliara v politike Rossii v Dagestane v XIX veke” [The issue of the Muslim quarters of Kizliar in the policy of Russia in Dagestan of the 19th century]. Islamovedenie. 2016. Vol. 7. № 1 (27). P. 93–99 (in Russian).
3. Gedeon (Dokunin), metropolitan (1992) Istoriia khristianstva na Severnom Kavkaze do i posle prisoedineniia ego k Rossii [History of Christianity in the North Caucasus before and after its affiliation with Russia]. Moscow; Piatigorsk (in Russian).
4. Iona, archbishop (ed.) (2002) Ocherki istorii Astrakhanskoi eparkhii za 400 let ee sushchestvovaniia [Essays on the 400-year history of Astrakhan diocese], in 2 vols. Vol. 2: Ocherki istorii Astrakhanskoi eparkhii s 1902 po 2002 gg. [Essays on the history of Astrakhan diocese from 1902 to 2002]. Rostov-na-Donu.
5. Kiniapina N. (1984) Kavkaz i Sredniaia Aziia vo vneshnei politike Rossii vtoroi poloviny XVIII — 80-kh gg. XIX v. [Caucasus and Central Asia in the foreign policy of Russia of the latter half of the 18th century — 1880s]. Moscow (in Russian).
6. Nevskaia T. (2017) “Evropeiskie avtory XIII–XVIII vv. o khristianstve u narodov Severnogo Kavkaza” [European authors of the 13th — 18th centuries on Christianity of peoples of the Northern Caucasus], in Pravoslavie v istorii i kul′ture Severnogo Kavkaza: voprosy istochnikovedeniia i istoriografi i: Materialy VII mezhdunarodnykh Sviato-Ignat’evskikh chtenii (Stavropol’, 12 maia 2015 g.) [Orthodoxy in the history and culture of the North Caucasus: issues in source criticism and historiography. Proceedings of the 7th International St. Ignatiy Readings (Stavropol′, 12 May 2015)]. Stavropol′, 2017. Vol. 1. P. 104–111 (in Russian).
7. Ol′shevskii M. Kavkaz s 1841 po 1866 g. [Caucasus from 1841 to 1866], available at http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XIX/1840-1860/Olsevskij /frametext5.htm (accessed 10.03.2021) (in Russian).
8. Sergeev A. (2011) “K istorii sozdaniia tserkvei na territorii Dagestana po proektam kniazia G. G. Gagarina” [On the history of building churches in the territory of Dagestan according to the projects by Prince G.G. Gagarin]. Izvestiia Dagestanskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta. Obshchestvennye i gumanitarnye nauki. Makhachkala, 2011. Vol. 3 (16). P. 43–50 (in Russian).
9. Sergeev A. (2012) “Istoriia voennykh pravoslavnykh khramov v sel′skoi mestnosti Dagestana (vtoraia polovina XIX — nachalo XX v.)” [The history of military churches in the rural area of Dagestan (second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries)]. Izvestiia Rossiiskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. A.I. Gertsena. S. 60–70 (in Russian).
10. Shidlovskii Iu. Zapiski o Kizliare. Vostochnaia literatura [Notes on Kizlyar. Literature of the East], available at http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XIX/1840-1860/Sidlovskij _Ju/text1.htm (accessed 02.04.2021).
11. Vikhreva A. Rannie khramy na Azovo-Mozdokskoi voennoi linii [Early churches on the Azov-Mozdok military line], available at https://superinf.ru/view_helpstud.php?id=1432 (accessed 10.05.2021) (in Russian).

Information about the author

Gasanov Magomed

Academic Degree: Doctor of Sciences* in History;
Academic Degree: Doctor of Sciences* in History;
Academic Rank: Professor;
Place of work: Dagestan State University; Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, Russia;
Post: Head of the Department of the History of Russia, Department of Russian History, Faculty of History;
ORCID: 0000-0002-1189-4797;
Email: mgasanov@list.ru.

*According to ISCED 2011, a post-doctoral degree called Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc.) is given to reflect second advanced research qualifications or higher doctorates.

Gazieva Abidat

Place of work: Dagestan Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, Russia;
Post: Junior Researcher;
ORCID: 0000-0002-8109-2861;
Email: gazieva.abidat@mail.ru.