The Schism. Historical and Critical essay on religious sects in Russia (chapter 8)

Abstract

The article continues the previously undertaken work on a comprehensive study of the little-known French-language work “Le Raskol,” published in Paris in 1859. The main objectives of the research have been the translation of the book into Russian, a thorough analysis of its ideological content, and its introduction into the corpus of Russian historiography. The present paper examines the eighth chapter of “Le Raskol,” which is devoted to the policy of the Russian government toward the Old Believers (raskol) during the initial stage of Alexander II’s reign. Of conceptual significance in the text are the author’s reflections on the fundamental opposition of two administrative paradigms — the absolutist-repressive one, inherited from the Nicholas I era, and the liberal-humanistic one, which gradually took shape during the new reign. The text consistently advances the argument that policy toward the Old Believers cannot be reduced to a primitive dichotomy of “persecution versus toleration.” The author insists on the need for a clear distinction between genuine religious convictions deserving the right to exist and pseudo-religious civil abuses requiring an immediate and uncompromising response. The principal shortcoming of both the former and the new administrations is identified as the absence of a systematic approach within the framework of their religious policy. The central thesis of the chapter is that true state wisdom lies not in vacillating between severity and leniency, but in simultaneous progress along two tracks: the legislative enshrinement of freedom of conscience and the steadfast suppression of any anti-social manifestations.