Bel'kova A.A. Russian world and the policy of diversity: Old Believers in the Inner Asia

Abstract: This work examines the establishment of idea about the Old Believers as a political group in modern Inner Asia. In the center of attention is the production of political values, i.e. characteristics, social practices, behavioral norms, which are accepted as traditional for the Old Believers in public space. The author’s interest lies in the processes of formalization and ritualization of these values, as well as references to the past, which as a result allows creating various groups of Russian population in the region, designating them by the virtues of such traditions. The constructivist theory of a nation, which reviews the formation of perception about the Old Believers as a group, is selected as the methodological framework. The majority of research are focused on the description of traditions of the Semeiskie Old Believers; and this work is the first to analyze the creation of these traditions. The author comes to the conclusion that formation of the image of traditional culture of the Semeiskie is finally inscribed into the state policy regarding the management of interethnic and Interconfessional relationships in the region.

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