The Discourse of Cultural Integration of the Indigenous Peoples of Asian Russia in the Publications of the Pravoslavny Blagovestnik Journal (late 19th – early 20th centuries)

This article, based on materials from the Pravoslavny Blagovestnik journal, reveals the content of the discourse on the cultural integration of the indigenous peoples of Asian Russia in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The use of research approaches and practices of “new imperial history” as well as discourse analysis methods made it possible to identify key patterns in the views of the publication's correspondents - missionaries - on models of communication with the non-Russian population of the periphery, as well as scenarios for their cultural integration into Russian society. It has been established that the Russian Orthodox Church, represented by missionaries, while generally sharing the educational principles characteristic of Russian educated society, was an active participant in the colonization process, responding quickly to the real situation. Realising the low productivity of radical Russification, missionary work gradually shifted towards “soft” methods of cultural transmission in relation to indigenous population groups: practices of religious enlightenment and education using native languages, and the organization of “platforms” for colonial mediation in foreign environments. The Pravoslavny Blagovestnik journal, as the missionary community organ, not only reflected the reception of the foreign question in the church environment, but also corrected public opinion by offering constructive options for cultural interaction with the foreign masses.