Yakut Department of the Imperial Orthodox Church Palestinian Society in the History of Yakutia

The relevance of the research topic lies in the analysis of the historical experience of the activities of the Yakut department of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), which contributed to identifying the characteristics of communications between the authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church, the clergy and believers, as well as identifying its educational and translation work. For the first time, the purpose of the research is to study the characteristics and role of the IOPS department in the history of Yakutia. The article uses materials from the periodical “Yakut Diocesan Gazette”: orders of the leadership of the IOPS, reports, lists of members, texts of bishops’ speeches, information on meetings, etc., as well as published letters of Bishop Dionysius. The article uses the methodology of intellectual history, civilizational approach, methods of cultural transfer and statistics. A fivefold increase in the number of the Yakut department of the IOPS by 1900 and the active involvement of the indigenous population in its composition amounting to 36 percent of the community were revealed. It has been established that despite the dispersed type of settlement, the absolute lack of roads and the widespread poverty of the Yakuts, the proportional amounts of donations on their part exceeded similar indicators in the center of Russia. The origin of the Yakut pilgrimage to Palestine and Greece is considered, which had a beneficial effect on the development of the intellectual and creative abilities of the pilgrims themselves. The influence of the IOPS on the genesis of imperial identity among indigenous peoples was determined, which for a long period allowed the Yakuts to resist the propaganda of exiles. We draw a conclusion on the role of the IOPS in the formation of the monarchical, conservative and anti-Zem movement of the Yakuts led by M. S. Shelomov by 1905, as a serious alternative to the liberal movement of the intelligentsia led by V. V. Nikiforov