Varfolomeev, Y.V. “We have but quite unclear information on the Pavlovsky case” (previously unknown letters of the attorney A.Y. Passover to the Muscovite “young lawyers” on the case of Pavlovsky sectarians)

Abstract: At the verge of the XIX and XX centuries there was a number of “religious cases” in Russia. The first such case was a so-called “Pavlovsky sectarians case”, which caused much social resonance in spite of the fact that it was a “closed” judicial process. This case clearly shows the contradictions between the official government and the various religious movements, and it attracted attention of a famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Y.V. Varfolomeev’s article is devoted to the review of the events, which led to to this process, as well as to the history of the judicial process itself. It also includes previously unknown letters by A.Y. Passover to the “young lawyers”, who handled defence in this case.