The Fight Against the Skoptsy Sect in the Russian Black Sea Fleetin the first half of the 19th Century

Annotation

This article examines the struggle against the Skoptsy sect in the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the first half of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Skoptsy religious sect, founded by Kondraty Selivanov, became a serious problem for the official authorities of the Russian Empire. Skoptsy communities also existed in the Russian Navy. The Russian Naval Ministry and the Black Sea Fleet command sought to identify members of the Skoptsy sect and suppress their religious activities. Emperor Alexander I and the Governing Senate of the Russian Empire drew attention to the sect's existence. Documents from the Russian State Archive of the Navy (RGA VMF) reveal details of the identification and punishment of Skoptsy sect members by the Black Sea Fleet command. Members of the sect in the Black Sea Fleet included sailors of the first and second classes, quartermasters, clerks, bombardiers, naval mechanics, naval crew members, and ship and boat carpenters. Such a widespread involvement in naval professions testified to the widespread spread of the sect among the enlisted ranks of the Black Sea Fleet. Doctors from the Sevastopol Naval Hospital also actively participated in the fight against the sect, regularly conducting medical examinations for enlisted personnel. It should be noted that the history of the struggle against members of the Skoptsy sect in the Russian Empire, including in the army and navy, remains a little-studied topic in Russian historical scholarship.

Keywords

• Black Sea Fleet
• Skoptsy sect
• sectarians
• command
• Naval Ministry
• Russian Orthodox Church
• Skoptsy heresy
• lower ranks of the navy
• Sevastopol Naval Hospital
• Russian Empire
* click on a keyword to go to the search

References

1. Baranov, E. Z. Khlysty i skoptsy [Whips and eunuchs]. Moscow: Delo; 1912, 96 p.

2. Bychkov, A. Ocherki Yakutskoy oblasti. Skoptsy v ssylke (k voprosu o razvitii zemledeliya v Yakutskoj oblasti): Po lichnym nablyudeniyam i dannym podvornoy perepisi [Essays on the Yakut region. II, Eunuchs in exile (on the development of agriculture in the Yakut region): According to personal observations and household census data]. Irkutsk: Parovaya tipolitografiya I. I. Makushina; 1902, 65 p.

3. Dela skoptsov: Protsess Kudrinykh i drugikh 24 lits, obvinyaemykh v skopcheskoy eresi [The case of the Eunuchs: The trial of the Kudrins and other 24 persons accused of the Eunuch heresy]. Moscow: Pech. A. I. Snegirevoy; 1900, 73 p.

4. Iokhelson, V. I. Olekminskie skoptsy: Istoriko-bytovoy ocherk [Olekminsky Eunuchs: A historical and everyday essay]. Saint Petersburg: Tip. S. N. Hudekova; 1895, 36 p.

5. Kondratev, I. K. Raskolnichi gnezda: (Khlysty, skoptsy, beguny) [Schismatic nests: (Whips, Eunuchs, runners)]. Moscow: I. A. Morozov; 1903, 208 p.

6. Nadezhdin, N. I. Issledovanie o skopcheskoy eresi [A study of the Catholic Heresy]. Moscow: Librokom; 2012, 347 p.

7. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiyskoy imperii [The Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire]. Saint Petersburg: Tipografiya II Otdeleniya ego Imperatorskogo Velichestva kantselyarii; 1851, vol. 25, p. 492.

8. Popov, A. S. Russkoe sektantstvo: (khlysty, skoptsy, dukhobory, molokane) [Russian sectarianism: (khlysty, Eunuchs, Doukhobors, Molokans)]. Moscow: Grifon; 2012, 78 p.

9. Prozritelev, G. N. K istorii raskola i sektantstva na Kavkaze. Skoptsy [Towards the history of schism and sectarianism in the Caucasus. The Eunuchs]. Stavropol: Severnyy Kavkaz; 1911, 23 p.

10. Reutskiy, N. V. Lyudi bozhi i skoptsy: Istoricheskoe issledovanie: (Iz dostovernyh istochnikov i podlinnyh bumag) [The People of God and the Eunuchs: A historical study: (From reliable sources and authentic papers)]. Moscow: Tip. Gracheva i K°; 1872, 230 p.

11. Rodzevich, G. I. Skoptsy v Rossii: Bibliograficheskiy ukazatel literatury o nikh [Eunuchs in Russia: Bibliographic index of literature about them]. Saint Petersburg: Tip. E. Arngolda; 1902, 4 p.

12. Rozanov, V. V. Apokalipsicheskaya sekta: (khlysty i skoptsy) [Apocalyptic sect: (Whips and Eunuchs)]. Saint Petersburg: Tip. F. Vaysberga i P. Gershunina; 1914, 208 p.

13. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 166, inventory 1, case 4415.

14. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 166, inventory 1, case 4780.

15. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 203, inventory 1, case 758.

16. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 243, inventory 1–1, case 2248.

17. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 243, inventory 1–1, case 3312.

17. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 256, inventory 1, case 768.

18. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 256, inventory 21, case 47.

19. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 283, inventory 1–2, case 6549.

20. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 283, inventory 1–2, case 7255.

21. Russian State Archive of the Navy. Fund 283, inventory 3–2, case 5322.

22. Solovev, E. N. Svedeniya o russkikh skoptsakh, izvlechennye iz razlichnykh dokumentov i rukopisey Efimom Solovevym [Information about Russian Eunuchs extracted from various documents and manuscripts by Yefim Solovyov]. Kostroma: Gubernskaya tipografiya; 1870, 115 p.

23. Tulpe, I. A. Sotsialno-psihologicheskiy analiz ideologii khristianskogo sektantstva v SSSR [Socio-psychological analysis of the ideology of Christian sectarianism in the USSR]. Cand. Phil. Sci. Dis. Abstr. Leningrad, 1983, 21 p.

24. Fedorenko, F. I. Sekty, ih vera i dela [Sects, their faith and deeds]. Moscow: Politizdat; 1965, 358 p.

25. Engelshteyn, L. Skoptsy i Tsarstvo Nebesnoe [The Eunuchs and the Kingdom of Heaven]. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie; 2002, 328 p.

Popular articles