All-Russian Congresses of Old Believers of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy and the Resettlement of Lipovans to the Russian Far East in the Early 20th Century

Kul'do Maksim PhD Candidate, Section of Church History, History Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University 119192, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Lomonosovskii Prospekt, 27, korp. 4, kab. E-421 mkuldo@mail.ru Other publications by this author

At the beginning of the 20th century, communities of foreign Old Believers – Lipovans and Nekrasovites – were located in Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The liberalization of religious policy in Russia, with the deterioration of the socio-economic situation of the Old Believer population in their countries of residence, has given rise to a desire among a significant number of "religious renegades" to return to their ancestral homeland. After the defeat in the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905, the tsarist government, interested in the early settlement and economic development of its Far Eastern outskirts by a "strong element", appreciated this aspiration. The movement of "foreigners" became an integral part of Stolypin's resettlement program. It follows from the official reports of the local administration that in 1908-1914 2,679 foreign Old Believers migrated to the Amur Region, of whom 2,147 were Romanian citizens, 506 – Austrian, 26 – Bulgarian ^{[1, p. 191]}. At the same time, 986 of their fellow believers settled in the neighboring Primorsky Region ^{[2, p. 205]}.

The process of returning Old Believers from abroad to their ancestral homeland is considered in the context of the most important events in Russian history at the beginning of the last century – the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the revolution of 1905-1907, socio-political life, religious liberalization, the agrarian reform of Premier P. A. Stolypin, etc.

The research was based on archival documents (AVPRI, GARF, RGIA, RGIA DV), periodical publications (magazines "Old Believer", "Old Believers", "Church"), proceedings of the annual Old Believer Congresses, etc. It should be noted that some of the attracted materials are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. From a methodological point of view, the work is based on historicism, consistency and objectivity as key principles of modern historical science.

The problem of Lipovan resettlement to the Far East was previously considered in the scientific literature ^{[2, 4, 9]}, however, some of its aspects were not adequately covered due to limited sources. Based on the identified published and unpublished materials, this study attempts to understand and evaluate the role of the Congress Council and its leaders in the process of repatriation of foreign Old Believers.

The resettlement of Lipovans to Russia became possible largely due to the support of this initiative from the All-Russian congresses of the Old Believers of the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy. At the same time, the Congress Council, headed by D. V. Sirotkin and P. P. Ryabushinsky, acted as an intermediary between the Resettlement Administration and the Lipovan communities abroad.

The participants of the Congresses attached special importance to the agrarian issue. The problem of land scarcity was of concern to the members of this structure for a reason: most of the Old Believer population lived on the land. Progressive figures of the Old Believers closely followed the agrarian agenda of the government, linking the solution of the land issue mainly with resettlement. It is worth noting that one of the active leaders of the Council, banker P. Ryabushinsky, was a member of the October 17 Union and the Peaceful Renewal Party, whose agrarian program considered resettlement beyond the Urals as the most painless way to solve the problem of land hunger in the provinces of European Russia.

The first All-Russian Congress of the Belokrinitsky Old Believers, convened on the initiative of Bishop Arseny (Shvetsov) of Ural and Orenburg, was held on September 14-15, 1900 in Moscow. The II-Xth Congresses were held in Nizhny Novgorod. The meetings were held in the house of D. Sirotkin, who presided over them. Subsequent forums were hosted by Moscow. The XVIII Congress, which turned out to be the last, was held in 1917. The executive body that operated between Congresses and was accountable to them was the Congress Council. For many years, its permanent head was D. Sirotkin, who, together with his long-time business partner P. Ryabushinsky, determined the vector of the institute's activities.

The activities of the first Congresses dealt mainly with the problem of the acquisition of civil rights and freedoms by the Old Believers, but the land issue was also among their interests. So, in December 1900, members of the delegation of the First Congress headed by D. Sirotkin managed to meet with the Minister of Finance S. Y. Witte in Yalta. Interested in the Russian colonization of the Chinese-Eastern Railway (CER) exclusion zone in Manchuria, the dignitary sought to use Old Believers and sectarians for this purpose. At the same time, potential migrants were required to "protect ... the interests of Russia and prevent the assimilation of the Cossacks by the native population" ^{[3, p. 74]}. Certain benefits were provided for potential colonists from among the Old Believers and sectarians: free travel and "cutting" of land, complete religious freedom "forever and ever" and patronage from the Russian authorities. Soon, the news of the minister's Yalta proposal spread to the Old Believers' parishes, and the Council of the All-Russian Old Believers' Trusteeship "began to be besieged from all over Russia with requests for resettlement." In such circumstances, the Council "considered it its moral duty to include the issue of resettlement in the program of its activities" ^{[3, p. 75]}.

The Council responded to the financial needs of its spiritual brothers who lived outside of Russia. In November 1902, Belaya Krinitsa (Bukovina, Austria-Hungary) was visited by representatives of the III Congress, who informed the Austrian Old Believers about S. Witte's proposal. The local Lipovans, who suffered from lack of land, had high hopes for the Russian minister's project and expressed their firm intention to go to Northern China as colonists.

Researchers note that it was the issue of the resettlement of Old Believers to Manchuria that became the key issue in the work of the ivth Congress in 1903 ^{[4, p. 81]}. Its delegates decided to send their representative to Northern China to get acquainted with the peculiarities of the region. The final decision on the possibility of resettlement was supposed to be made after the return of the walker. However, these plans were not destined to come true: in January 1904, the war with Japan began, and "the fields of Manchuria, instead of the intended cultural processing by peaceful settlers of the Old Believers, turned into battlefields and death" ^{[3, p. 77]}. After the defeat in the military confrontation, the Russian Empire lost its former influence in the region, as a result of which the project did not receive further development.

In Russia itself, a revolution was raging at that time, one of the key causes of which was the land famine. The problem of "land deficiencies" also affected the Old Believer population. Some of the Old Believers linked the solution of the land issue with the activities of the parliament. It is interesting to note that such aspirations were shared not only by representatives of the Old Believer intelligentsia and individual large entrepreneurs. So, the Old Believer peasants of D. In the Smolny Voronezh province, it was stated that "we are waiting for the State Duma like Christ" ^{[5, p. 99]}. It is not surprising that the 2nd Extraordinary Congress of the Belokrinitsky Old Believers, held in Moscow in early January 1906, decided to take the "most energetic part" in the upcoming election campaign. It was the issue of land that predictably caused a lengthy debate, in which even Archbishop John (Kartushin) of Moscow took a "lively part". A special commission was formed from the peasants who arrived at the meeting to study the issue on its merits. As a result, it was decided to support only those candidates for deputies who advocated allotment of land to peasants ^{[5, p. 201]}.

At the same time, wanting to know "the opinion of the land itself," the Council initiated the convening of a peasant congress. The invitations sent to the parishes found a lively response, and in the meeting held in Moscow on February 22-25, 1906. The All-Russian Congress of Old Believers Peasants was attended by 355 delegates from 118 counties of 43 provinces and regions ^{[6, p. 16]}. The commissioners arrived with many orders. The chairman of the peasant forum was businessman D. Sirotkin, and his deputies were banker P. Ryabushinsky and accountant M. Brilliantov.

The preliminary exchange of views has already shown that almost everywhere, with the possible exception of Cossack villages, the primary problem of peasant farms was low land, often due to the rapid increase in population. One of the participants of the event fairly assessed the situation in the village: "You have one need, one sorrow – there is little or no land at all; you all have one thought – to get land. This land need grew by itself: the population doubled, even tripled, and there is still as much land as there was" ^{[6, p. 31]}. In such conditions, farming alone could not feed the peasant, who was forced to find additional sources of livelihood.

In addition to the "land shortage", the forum participants were concerned about issues related to rising rents, rising taxes, overshooting, the legal status of villagers, improving farming practices, organizing agricultural schools, etc.

Nevertheless, the issue of land scarcity and possible ways to overcome it occupied a key place in the forum's program. The Commission on additional allotment of land under the leadership of the peasant S. F. Bragin developed a special resolution ^{[6, pp. 74-75]}, reflecting the opinion of the majority of those gathered. Its members came to the predictable conclusion that "additional allotment of land in the face of land shortages is necessary for all to improve peasant well-being." At the same time, the delegates believed, the "pruning" of arable, meadow and "forest" land "should be carried out at the expense of state-owned, petty-bourgeois, appanage, merchant, monastic, ecclesiastical and large-scale estates. The alienation was supposed to be the land that the owner himself did not cultivate. For every tithe of such land, a payment was provided "more just, moderate and not burdensome for the peasants," who, when carrying out redemption operations, counted on the help of the state, "because buying through the bank would be for us ... harder than the redemption payments were, eternal memory." Finally, all the land that the peasants expected to receive should be recognized as their private property.

In society, the work of the Congress was evaluated in different ways, mostly in a negative light. Many were outraged by the fact that journalists were not allowed to attend the meetings ^{[7, p. 360]}. A contemporary of the events described, the famous historian and publicist S. P. Melgunov, who closely observed the work of the Congress, came to the conclusion that he had not justified the hopes of his organizers. Bearing in mind the political preferences of the initiators of the meeting, P. Ryabushinsky, a member of the October 17 Union, and D. Sirotkin, who shared the ideas of the Cadets, the historian made an assumption about the party nature of the event. It is difficult to argue that the political views of the organizers of the Congress did not have an impact on its work. Further, S. Melgunov noted that the land issue had not received comprehensive coverage in the lectures of the invited professors. "The Congress," the author summarized, "was convened in order to recruit members among the peasants for the Union on October 17th, but meanwhile ... with its radical resolutions it separated itself by a demarcation line from all ... right–wing political parties" ^{[8, p. 32]}. In support of his assumption, S. Melgunov pointed out that he had received "a number" of letters about the sending of agitators by the Council of Congresses, who distributed the Octobrist program to the Old Believer parishes ^{[8, p. 32]}. (D. Sirotkin, at the opening of the VII Congress, called such statements rumors, but made a reservation that if this happened, then without without the knowledge of the Council, whose commissioners only clarified the provisions of the Manifesto on October 17 ^{[5, p. 6]}.) According to S. Melgunov, the organizers of the Congress suffered a fiasco: the resolutions approved by the peasant deputies contradicted the agrarian program of the centrist and right-wing parties.

The gradual evolution of the views of the Council's leaders on the solution of the agrarian issue is evidenced by the materials of the Narodnaya Gazeta, published at P. Ryabushinsky's personal expense. Having initially supported the January decision of the 2nd Extraordinary Congress of Old Believers on the alienation of privately owned lands for ransom, in February the correspondents of the publication began to write about the need to relocate small-land peasants to Siberia as the most preferable way to resolve the land issue ^{[9, p. 91]}. Such ideas corresponded to the agenda of right-wing political parties and, of course, corresponded to the interests of the Government.

Soberly assessing the current political situation in the empire, D. Sirotkin and P. Ryabushinsky understood the impossibility of overcoming the problem of peasant land scarcity through the alienation of private estates. Premier P. A. Stolypin's activities in the agricultural sector finally convinced them that the only option to combat "land shortages" in the short term should be the resettlement of peasants to the east of the empire.

Having information about the desire of some Russian and foreign Old Believers to move beyond the Urals and wishing to "populate ... this rich region with Russian people rather ... in the interests of our national defense," on March 29, 1907, the General Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture appealed to the Council with an offer of its assistance in this matter ^{[3, p. 78]}. At the same time, the Department found "it necessary to strongly advise those who relocate, first of all, to pay serious attention to our Far Eastern suburbs" ^{[3, p. 79]}. Assessing the government's appeal as a guide to action, the Council leaders decided to send walkers to the Far East "as an experience" to explore the resettlement sites.

67 peasant societies from 18 Russian provinces responded to the Council's call. On July 25, 1907, 18 commissioners arrived in Moscow. Lipovan from the Austrian Bukovina was represented by Abram Vasichkin, Kondrat Petrov and Andrey Mitrofanov ^{[10, p. 3]}, who reported on the smallness of their principals ("the people ... have multiplied, but there is no land"; "there are many so poor that they do not have a piece of land") and high taxes ("from every kind of cattle they collect a special fee"). The desire to return to their historical homeland, according to the commissioners, was shared by about 2,200 Austrian Lipovans, "may they not be able to rise due to infirmity and lack of funds" ^{[11, p. 93]}.

The direct organizer of the trip was the Congress Council represented by D. Sirotkin and P. Ryabushinsky. The initiative received some support from the Resettlement Department: the group was provided with free round-trip train tickets. Among other things, some philanthropists provided funds for the walkers. Father Dmitry Smirnov was appointed the head of the group, who knew firsthand about the region: previously, the priest had taken part in the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905, where "on the fields of Manchuria he parted the sick and wounded soldiers who shed their blood for the honor of their fatherland" ^{[5, p. 215]}.

To D. Sirotkin's request for "enlightened assistance" to the Old Believers-walkers, the Amur Governor-General P. F. Unterberger gave a positive response ^{[12, l. 400; 11, p. 35]}. Fulfilling the instructions of the "chief chief of the region", local officials provided comprehensive assistance to the Old Believers, the Governor-General himself received the head of the Khodach group three times ^{[10, pp. 18, 23, 25]}.

On July 31, 18 walkers traveled by train to the east of the empire. Only 7 of them reached Irkutsk. As it turned out, some stayed in search of free resettlement sites in Western Siberia, while others returned "out of cowardice and lack of energy." It took Smirnov a lot of effort to convince the rest of the group to continue on their way, after which similar scenes were repeated several times. In the end, in Vladivostok, the walkers categorically refused to follow further. Exhortations failed, and the priest, "leaving the walkers to themselves," continued on his way alone. Some time later, the Austrian Old Believers were spotted in Blagoveshchensk. After examining the vacant resettlement sites in the Amur and Zeya basins, as well as on the coast of the Sea of Japan, Smirnov returned to Moscow in November.

During the trip to the Chernyaevo-Zeya resettlement subdistrict of the Amur region, the commissioner conditionally "credited" about 6,000 land shares for the "settlement" of up to 2,000 families of Old Believers ^{[13, l. 2]}. Smirnov's report to the Council describing the trip to the Amur Region was printed in the form of a brochure and together with other materials on the resettlement issue, it was sent to the parishes of Russian and foreign Old Believers.

Even a cursory acquaintance with the priest's report raises many questions. It is not entirely clear, for example, why sites in the Amur region were chosen for settlement by Old Believers, while the conditions of the neighboring Primorsky Region were characterized by more favorable climatic conditions. Knowing full well that most of the Romanian and Turkish Old Believers were engaged in fishing, the commissioner of the Council nevertheless refused to "enroll" land on the seashore and in the lower reaches of the Amur River, choosing sites far in the taiga. In addition, the area chosen by the priest was located at a considerable distance from the regional center, which implied significant difficulties. It is quite possible that such a decision of the commissioner was influenced by the story of a milling worker he met on the way from Harbin, China, who "highly praised the places along the Zee and Bureya rivers ... as we already knew from the instructions of ... D. V. Sirotkin and Archbishop John Kartushin, who found the mentioned places suitable for all branches of agriculture" ^{[10, p . 15]}. At the same time, neither the chairman of the Council, Sirotkin, nor Bishop John had ever been to Amur.

In Smirnov's report ^{[10, pp. 15-27]}, life on the eastern outskirts of the empire is drawn one-sidedly. One gets the impression that his indispensable task is to encourage Russian and foreign Old Believers to resettle. This circumstance did not allow readers – potential migrants – to get an adequate idea of the peculiarities of this region. Based often on the testimony of local old-timers, many of the data provided by Smirnov are not trustworthy. Thus, the brochure quotes the words of one peasant from the village of Malmyzh, who informed the priest that "in addition to everything necessary on the farm, the poorest peasant among his fellow villagers has at least 5-6 thousand rubles in money, and many have 60 and even up to 100 thousand" ^{[10, p. 18]}.

Describing the well-being of local residents, the priest universally uses the expressions "they live well," "they live in prosperity," "they are generally happy with their lives," "wonderful places," "everything is fine," "prosperity is visible in everything, but they put in little effort," "everyone lives well here," "lean years. they don't know" ^{[10, pp. 19, 20]} and others. Surprisingly, only the people from Poltava province who were met by the trusted Council turned out to be "not particularly satisfied with their lives" and "the settlers from the Ukrainians, who had not yet settled down, refuse all work, preferring to beg" ^{[10, p. 20]}.

Smirnov saw the main and almost the only obstacle to prosperity in the "rampant drunkenness" of the local population; those "who are more sober often have up to 100,000 rubles" ^{[10, p. 19]}. Among the difficulties of the first years of "homebreaking" is also called a midge. And at the same time, not a word is said about significant financial costs and a rather harsh climate for people from the Danube countries.

Speaking about the migrants, Smirnov notes that the latter "have not yet had time to make money, but even those who are more industrious are quite satisfied with their farms in a year or two" ^{[10, p. 19]}. However, the reports of local officials everywhere mention completely different deadlines: in order to thoroughly settle in a new place, the newcomer needed to devote at least 5-7 years. It should also be understood that only diligence did not guarantee success: it was necessary to spend significant amounts of money (much more than government loans), have adult workers in the family (many of the foreign immigrants arrived in the region with young children), choose a site well, and finally be able to adapt to local climatic conditions.

The government supported the migrants with so-called "homegrown" loans: in the Amur Region, new settlers could count on cash payments of up to 200 rubles. But it is important to understand the practical significance of this amount. Thus, the head of the Bureinsko-Arkharsky subdistrict of the Amur resettlement district, V. V. Oginsky, estimated the cost of an average farm of a local peasant to be at least 730 rubles. This is a house built on its own from free forest material worth 150 rubles, 3 horses – 300 rubles, a harness – 100 rubles, a plow – 60 rubles, a cart – 30 rubles, a sledge – 10 rubles, a cow – 70 rubles, 2 harrows – 10 rubles. However, even with this inventory, the settlers could not run a completely independent farm, because to plow the Amur virgin land, they had to harness at least 5 horses to the plow ^{[14, l. 48-48 vol.]}. Thus, the migrant needed to spend at least 500 rubles of his own funds. "The same migrants," the official noted, "who do not have their own funds, cannot get a job upon arrival on Amur, and they should not be given loans at all, which they receive in parts, they only eat up, and in a year or two, when everything is received... they go back" ^{[14, L. 48 vol.]}.

Smirnov rightly noted that the local old-timers preferred to work in the mines, engage in trade and all kinds of crafts: fishing, hunting, timber rafting, supply of firewood for steamships, and so on. Artisan services were in consistently high demand in the Amur region ^{[10, pp. 18, 19, 21]}. There was indeed a shortage of workers in the region, which intensified during the period of agricultural work. Wages, however, decreased from year to year as the permanent population increased and competition from the Chinese and Koreans increased.

The Commissioner was surprised by the stable demand and high prices for agricultural products, which existed, for example, in the Zeya gold mines ("oats on site are not less than 1 ruble per pound"). It should be understood, however, that the mines were located in the upper reaches of the taiga rivers, and in the summer there was often no accessible communication with them (products were delivered by pack). At the same time, the shipping costs turned out to be very significant.

The text of the report is replete with references to high prices for agricultural products and decent wages for ordinary workers, but it does not contain a hint of the fabulous cost of everyday products. A significant drawback of the report is the lack of information on prices for food and agricultural equipment, which the migrant certainly needed to know on the eve of departure on a long journey.

The authorized representative of the Council traveled mainly by sea and river transport along the edge. The areas extending for tens of kilometers into the taiga are not visible from the deck of the steamer. Smirnov received information about them from communication with local residents. Based on this kind of information, he made the erroneous conclusion that "there are lands on both sides of the Zea that are convenient for plowing and fertile" and that "bread will be born beautifully here" ^{[10, p. 21]}. In addition, the areas had to be cleared of forest.

The report does not mention the extremely unsatisfactory condition of the communication routes. At the same time, there were simply no wheeled roads in most of the resettlement areas. In the areas "assigned" by Smirnov to the Old Believers, they had yet to be laid.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that the Old Believers who arrived in the Amur region refused to settle in the areas chosen by Smirnov ^{[15, p. 89]} and were forced to explore other areas. So, in the spring of 1908, representatives of the Romanian Old Believers Fedor Minakov, Fedor Markov, Egor Kukuyev, Illarion Chernomorets and Lev Lotoshchinnikov "enrolled" 8 resettlement sites for the "settlement" of 1,500 families of their principals on the Selemdzha River ^{[3, pp. 84-85]}. In the summer of the following year, V. E. Melnikov conditionally assigned 16 resettlement plots with a volume of 4,660 shares to the Old Believers near the Amur railway, which was then under construction. At the same time, in the Primorsky Region, 45 versts from Khabarovsk, the "foreigners" issued plots for the "settlement" of more than 400 families ^{[3, pp. 44, 88]}.

It is obvious that a peasant who had not visited the Amur personally and was guided only by Smirnov's report sent from the Council could not form an adequate idea of the living conditions in the region, the specifics of the initial "homesteading" and farming techniques.

The migrants, according to Smirnov, could "undoubtedly find in the Far East a new promised land-a breadwinner, which, when cultivated, would give decent remuneration to those working on it and saturate them with its inexhaustible riches" ^{[10, p. 26]}. It is noteworthy that after returning to Moscow, Father Dmitry sincerely believed in the success of the upcoming resettlement campaign and seriously considered changing his residence permit. So, in a letter dated March 27, 1908, addressed to the head of the resettlement business in the Amur region, S. P. Kaffki, the priest was interested in the possibility of obtaining a farm plot or two neighboring ones for himself and his son's family, so that "... not far from the railway. It would be good to have a river, couldn't we have a small lake with fish and a better forest..." ^{[16, l. 489]}. As you can see, Smirnov was much more concerned about the parameters of his own plot. Like the leaders of the Council, in the spring of 1908, Father Dmitry was absolutely confident that Amur would become a new homeland for several thousand Lipovan families. Such a significant increase in the flock, with a shortage of ministers of the "old faith" in the region, promised a very comfortable old age.

The decline in the welfare of peasant households pushed their heads to relocate to the Far East, so numerous requests for assistance in this matter poured into the Council. So, by the beginning of August 1908, 30 Russian and 9 foreign societies of Old Believers in the number of 5,970 families applied to the Council (7 societies did not indicate the number of settlers). In addition, inquiries were received from 107 parishes and individuals about the conditions of resettlement and the specifics of the settlement on the Amur ^{[3, p. 95]}, to which the Information Department of the Council provided written explanations. The first group of Bukovina Lipovans proceeded to the Amur River in the spring of 1908.

The Council's resettlement project was evaluated very ambiguously. Circles opposed to D. Sirotkin criticized him for participating in the government's resettlement program. Already at the VIII Congress (1907), when the first walkers were just heading to the Far East, many delegates were very wary of the idea of the proposed mass resettlement of Old Believers from abroad. Nevertheless, the issue was left open until the return of the walkers.

In Nizhny Novgorod, the editorial office of the Old Believers magazine was located next to D. Sirotkin, whose staff was quite critical of the resettlement plans of the chairman of the Council. The author of one of the notes with the ironic title "Guardians", who wished to remain anonymous, accused Sirotkin that the latter, "having deviated from his direct tasks of a church and social nature, decided to resettle Old Believers on the Amur" ^{[17, p. 483]}.

The sincerity of the intentions of a rich Nizhny Novgorod merchant to help poor foreign co-religionists was questioned. Sirotkin, a business man, could not have been unaware of the unsatisfactory setting of the resettlement process and the difficulties that awaited the Old Believers in the far eastern outskirts of the empire. Reflecting further on the motives of the Chairman of the Council, the correspondent wrote: "Was it just the result of him [Sirotkin. – MK.] the love of "hype", the desire to present himself in St. Petersburg as a representative of not only the church and social, but also the economic and political interests of the Old Believers, or the result of ingratiation, the desire to get into the tone of government policy on resolving the land issue, is not exactly known" ^{[17, p. 484]}.

The author, concerned about the unsatisfactory organization of the resettlement business, pointed out the high prices in the Amur region, the unenviable condition and even the complete lack of communication routes, affordable markets for agricultural products, schools and churches, medical care, huge distances, etc. "Therefore, it is natural," he concluded, "that most of the migrants are waiting there [in the Amur region. – MK. They are constantly disappointed, and they run back from there, ragged, sick, in cattle wagons, begging in the name of Christ, as they manage to “squander” their meager possessions before settling in, and return to their homeland to an “empty place.” And it is not a good life, which may be possible under different conditions and reasonable management of the resettlement business, that awaits the settlers there, but despair, hostility from the "Old Believers", starvation, scurvy, typhus and incredible mortality, especially among children, savagery and, perhaps, slow but certain death." [17, pp. 488-489].

Further developments have shown that the criticism of the Council's leaders was not without reason. Thus, according to official statistics, in 1911, 633 Romanian Old Believers left the Amur region, which amounted to 28.8% of all "converts" for the specified year ^{[18, p. 21]}. Among the main reasons for the return movement, officials cited the lack of material resources for the new settlers and the climatic features of the region, which differed significantly from those in the places of emigration.

Even at the stage of preparing resettlement measures, there were voices against hasty and ill-considered steps in resolving this important issue. The leaders of the Council, first of all D. Sirotkin, were accused of excessive zeal in such a responsible matter. Many members of the Moscow Brotherhood of the Holy Cross, intellectuals, and representatives of the educated clergy were wary of the idea of relocating foreign Old Believers. However, the "All-Russian guardians" cared little about the opinion of the public, they often confronted the Old Believer Congresses with the fact of the decision. However, there were also those who found the Council's activities indecisive. The editor of the Old Believers, T. S. Biryukov, for example, noted that the problem of the resettlement of small-earth Old Believers to the east of the empire "has been hanging in the air for a long time," but "the desire of the "guardians" to move this issue forward is not yet visible" ^{[19, p. 242]}. He was also outraged by the fact that the issue of opening warehouses of agricultural implements in the places of "installation" was not developed at the next Congress.

A particularly heated discussion about resettlement broke out between the participants of the ixth All-Russian Congress (1908) ^{[3, pp. 18-24]}. During the discussion of the resettlement report, which was based on Smirnov's report, the most contradictory opinions were expressed. Both supporters and opponents of this initiative participated in the debate. N. A. Bugrov, for example, appealed to the Council to be more careful before relocating a significant number of Old Believers to the Amur region. Priest Aviv Borodin stated that "life in Siberia is too beautifully depicted, which is far from the same... the issue of resettlement is too serious and requires special attention." He was reasonably surprised that "I have heard only favorable information about resettlement here, but not a word about unpleasant ones." A similar opinion was shared by T. Biryukov, who stated that "Siberia is not as good as stated in the Council's report ... the report is one-sided." Defending the Council's position, M. Brilliantov, a supporter of D. Sirotkin, argued that "we have not been to Siberia, and therefore we do not know whether it is good or bad on the Amur." He proposed to provide the final solution to the issue of resettlement to the walkers themselves and their principals after examining and "enrolling" the lands in the Far East. (As mentioned above, the Austrian walkers have not completed their inspection of the sites.) In general, while supporting the mediation efforts of the Council, Priest Alexei Kalyagin nevertheless opposed the fact that "the Congress Council served as bait in this responsible matter," warning against agitating for resettlement among the Old Believers. Despite such an ambiguous attitude to the issue, the delegates approved the report by secret ballot (as Chairman D. Sirotkin insisted) and approved the activities of the Council to facilitate the resettlement of small-scale Old Believer peasants in the Amur region, instructing it to continue this undertaking. Only Priest Aviv Borodin abstained from voting. Such a result should undoubtedly be considered as a personal victory for D. Sirotkin, who has received approval for his activities for the coming year.

Similar clashes of opinion occurred later. So, at the XI Congress (1910), I. K. Peretrukhin, V. G. Usov and the priest Aviv Borodin were outraged that the Council was spending a lot of money on resettlement to the detriment of the development of public education.

In addition to "direct and moral assistance to migrants in the form of finding new places to settle," the Council took care of providing benefits for "foreigners." As you know, for foreigners who wanted to become Russian subjects, a five-year period of pre-residence within the empire was provided. Thanks to the request of the Council, the Lipovans were allowed to become Russian citizens shortly after their arrival in the resettlement areas. Taking the oath of allegiance provided for by law in the provincial government or the police department created inconveniences due to the remoteness of these institutions from the places of "installation" of lipovans, therefore they were allowed to perform this procedure at the site in the presence of an official seconded for this purpose ^{[15, p. 95]}.

Through the Council of Congresses, Austrian and Romanian Lipovans could apply to the Resettlement Department. For example, on February 23, 1909, the Old Believers of the Sokolintsy settlement (Bukovina) sent a request for duty-free transportation of property and agricultural equipment across the Russian border "in the quantity necessary for us," as well as icons, seeds, etc. The petitioners also petitioned for the issuance of 10% free tickets for poor families, widows and orphans ^{[16, pp. 351-351 vol.]}. On May 1, 1909, a similar petition was submitted by residents of the Bukovina settlements of Belaya Krinitsa and Klimoutsa ^{[20, pp. 130-130 vol.]}.

On March 23, 1909, the imperial envoy to Bucharest, M. N. Girs, reported that the Russian customs authorities, preventing the duty-free import of agricultural implements by Romanian Old Believers, were forcing the migrants to postpone their departure altogether. Speaking about the low security of the displaced and the difficulties in acquiring equipment in the Amur region, the diplomat considered it desirable to allow the unhindered transportation of property, otherwise the eviction could be suspended for a considerable period ^{[21, l. 31; 22, l. 156]}.

Thanks to the work of the Council during 1909, the list of benefits for immigrants from among the foreign Old Believers was expanded. In the spring, the Minister of Finance approved the idea that each family could bring agricultural equipment worth up to 1,350 rubles across the Russian border without paying a fee; for family-free immigrants, its cost could not exceed 750 rubles ^{[15, p. 96]}. However, there were certain difficulties. At the checkpoint, it was required to present an identity card certified by the Russian consul. Due to the small number of employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry in the Danube countries, the migrants experienced certain difficulties. In addition, the procedure was associated with the availability of prior permission to become a Russian citizen. Many were unable to provide these documents, so no further travel was allowed.

In the summer of the same year, another order was issued by the Minister of Finance on duty-free passage of property transported by Romanian and Austrian immigrants across the Russian border. From now on, this rule applied not only to agricultural implements, but also to fishing gear and boats, cold steel and firearms, with the exception of automatic pistols and revolvers of advanced systems ^{[15, p. 97]}. At the same time, an adult migrant was allowed to have no more than one rifle and revolver. Upon arrival, the local authorities were required to obtain a permit for the right to store weapons.

In May 1908, the Council sent its representative, I. G. Vodyagin, to Romania and Turkey to familiarize foreign Old Believers with the resettlement procedure and to assist them in drafting applications for Russian citizenship. In the spring of the following year, the Council's trustee, V. E. Melnikov, visited Austria on a similar mission. In addition, on behalf of the Council, in 1908, 1909, 1910 and 1913, he visited Lipovan-Novoselov in the Amur region. In order to inspect the lands for the resettlement of foreign Old Believers, in 1910 V. Melnikov also surveyed the Semipalatinsk and Semirechensk regions, and in 1913 – the Urianhai region. In the Amur region, the commissioner's immediate duties were to interact with representatives of the local administration on the issues of settling migrants, organizing consumer societies and credit partnerships among new settlers, setting up schools, building churches, and registering religious communities ^{[15, p. 83]}. It is worth noting that most of the tasks have not been solved.

V. Melnikov prepared a report on a trip to the Far East in 1908. The Authorized Council managed to highlight the resettlement process and the initial "home-building" of new settlers on the Amur. The vivid sketches not only expand our understanding of the life of foreign immigrants in the new region, but also introduce the reader to the natural and climatic features of the region. Given the limited sources concerning the settlement of the Old Believers in the early years of the "establishment", the information provided is of particular importance to the researcher, but requires critical analysis. The author's suggestions on improving resettlement practices are of interest.

The role of the Council as a structure informing potential migrants is important. The pages of the Church magazine contained information about the rules of resettlement and the requirements for immigrants from abroad. The Council of All-Russian Congresses maintained contact with the foreign centers of the Old Believers. One of the messages emphasized that "people should go to the Far East with a cheerful spirit, a healthy body, a firm will, with faith in God's help and hope for their own strength. In particular, one should not drink wine and vodka on the road, which has a bad effect on a person and ruins the kindest deed. Migrants, who drink away their wealth on the way, cannot, of course, settle on land plots" ^{[23, p. 1406]}.

Sympathizing with the cause of resettlement, some prominent figures of the Old Believers, in particular members of the Council, donated funds for its implementation. So, from July 1, 1907 to August 1, 1908, 1,300 rubles were received from P. Ryabushinsky, N. Bugrova - 1,000 rubles, and M. F. Morozova - 500 rubles to meet the needs of the settlers. Total – 2,800 rubles. ^{[3, p. 64]}.

From August 1, 1908 to August 1, 1909, P. Ryabushinsky contributed 2,630 rubles. 70 kopecks for resettlement tasks and another 500 rubles. for church construction in the Amur region. In addition, the Ryabushinsky Brothers Banking House allocated 500 rubles. to open Old Believer schools on the Amur River. I. A. Pugovkin donated 200 rubles for V. Melnikov's business trip to the Austrian settlers. D. Sirotkin contributed 50 rubles. to pay for a trip to the Far East for an Old Believer priest ^{[15, p. 38]}. At the same time, during the reporting period, the Council spent 3,310 rubles. 60 kopecks on land and resettlement needs ^{[15, p. 39]}.

In 1909-1910, N. Bugrov donated 1,000 rubles for the implementation of the resettlement project, Chairman of the Council D. Sirotkin allocated 510 rubles for similar purposes. 79 kopecks, his deputy P. Ryabushinsky – 260 rubles. 79 kopecks, Ryabushinsky brothers Banking House – 500 rubles. The resettlement department allocated 140 rubles to pay for the road to the family of the Old Believer priest Artemy Solovyov and 132 rubles 87 kopecks for the transportation of church utensils ^{[24, pp. 28, 30]}. At the same time, 2,160 rubles. 85 kopecks were spent on land and resettlement purposes during the specified time ^{[24, p. 29]}.

It should be understood that the funds on the Council's balance sheet were not enough to provide direct assistance to the displaced. Most of the money was spent on travel expenses for the Council's commissioners.

The Council's interaction with government agencies is perfectly illustrated by the following example. In the autumn of 1908, at the frontier station. 17 families of Romanian Old Believers arrived in the Bessarabian province of Reni without a prior application for Russian citizenship. The Council's request to allow the would-be displaced people to cross the Amur River was not supported by the Resettlement Department: navigation on the autumn rivers was completed. In addition, there were no vacant resettlement barracks in Sretensk. The "Romanians" were forced to spend the winter in Reni. In the spring of 1909, a larger group of migrants from 460 families arrived at the station without observing the formalities established by law. A deputation of migrants organized by the Council, headed by M. Brilliantov and V. Melnikov, was received in St. Petersburg by Prime Minister P. A. Stolypin, Chief Administrator of Land Management and Agriculture A.V. Krivoshein, head of the Resettlement Department G. V. Glinka, Director of the Department of General Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs A.D. Arbuzov, Chairman of the Old Believers Commission in the State Duma V. A. Karaulov and other high-ranking officials faces. Thanks to the actions of the Council members, the migrants were allowed to proceed to Amur out of turn, until the issue of citizenship was resolved. After some time, 470 families of Romanian Old Believers (2,280 people) left for the Far East ^{[15, pp. 85, 98]}.

So, in 1908-1914, foreign Old Believers, Lipovans, moved to the Amur region. Their movement joined the general flow of the Stolypin resettlement project. However, initially, the idea of an organized resettlement of Old Believers to the Far East on the line of the Chinese-Eastern Railway (CER), which was then under construction, was proposed by Finance Minister S. Y. Witte. In 1900, the dignitary informed the delegation of the first Old Believers Congress that arrived in Yalta. After some time, the Bukovina lipovans became aware of the Yalta proposal. The local Old Believers, who were experiencing little land and other difficulties, had high hopes for the Russian minister's project and expressed a desire to go to Northern China as colonists. They called freedom of religion in the places of settlement an indispensable condition for resettlement. However, the outbreak of the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905 prevented the implementation of this plan.

The implementation of another resettlement project (this time to the Russian Amur region) became possible after the revolutionary upheavals of 1905-1907, when the Old Believers and sectarians received certain civil rights. The liberalization of religious policy in the Russian Empire, against the background of the deteriorating socio-economic situation in the countries of residence, contributed to the return of foreign Old Believers to their historical homeland. Lipovans and Nekrasovites living in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey began to apply for Russian citizenship, requesting resettlement to the Amur Region. It follows from the official reports of the local administration that 2,679 foreign Old Believers migrated to the Amur Region in 1908-1914, of whom 2,147 were Romanian citizens, 506 – Austrian, 26 – Bulgarian. At the same time, 986 of their fellow believers settled in the neighboring Primorsky region.

After the unsuccessful end of the war with Japan, the tsarist government, interested in the economic development of its Far Eastern outskirts, hoped to populate the region with a "strong element." Having learned about the desire of foreign Old Believers to return to their ancestral homeland, the General Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture appealed to the Council with an offer of its assistance in this matter. Since that time, the Council has served as a link between the Lipovan communities and the Russian authorities. The Council sent commissioners to Austria and Romania, who explained the conditions of resettlement to the local Old Believers and compiled lists of potential migrants. In 1907, a trusted member of the Council, D. M. Smirnov, led a group of Old Believers-walkers, which included representatives of the Austrian Lipovans, who "enrolled" land plots on the Amur River. Subsequently, Commissioner V. E. Melnikov repeatedly visited novoselov-Lipovan in the Far East. His immediate responsibilities were to interact with representatives of the local administration on the issues of resettlement, the organization of consumer societies and credit partnerships among the new settlers, the establishment of schools, the construction of churches and the registration of religious communities.

It is safe to say that the resettlement of foreign Old Believers to the Amur Region became possible precisely thanks to the assistance of the Council of Congresses. Its leaders, D. V. Sirotkin and P. P. Ryabushinsky, played a great role in this endeavor. The members of the Council took care of meeting not only the spiritual, but also the material needs of their co-religionists. Thanks to his numerous petitions, Lipovans received some benefits (accelerated procedure for accepting Russian citizenship, duty-free transportation of property across the border). Nevertheless, it is impossible to call such privileges essential. By and large, foreign Old Believers were subject to the rules established for the "rural inhabitants" of European Russia who moved to the state lands of Siberia and the Far East.

Unlike the leaders of the Council, the participants of the annual Congresses were not united in their assessment of the resettlement "venture." Even at the stage of preparation of resettlement measures, there were voices of opponents of hasty and ill-considered steps in solving this important issue. The leaders of the Council, first of all D. Sirotkin, were accused of excessive zeal in such a responsible matter. Many members of the Moscow Brotherhood of the Holy Cross, intellectuals, and representatives of the educated clergy were wary of the idea of relocating foreign Old Believers.

Subsequent developments have shown that the criticism of the Council was by no means unfounded. The Council's projects related to the settlement of displaced persons, the organization of consumer societies and credit partnerships among new settlers, the establishment of schools, and the construction of churches have not been implemented in practice. The insignificant amounts on the Council's balance sheet were not provided for direct assistance to the displaced persons. The Lipovans themselves were overwhelmingly poor people.

The migrants who arrived in the Amur region faced a lot of difficulties. The lack of material resources for the majority of Lipovans, as well as the climatic features of the region, which differed significantly from those in the places of emigration, forced many "foreigners" to return to the abandoned countries. According to official statistics, in 1911 alone, 633 Romanian Old Believers left the Amur region - almost a third of all "converts" during the reporting year.