The role of the Prison Trusteeship Society in organizing the construction and maintenance of churches at prison castles (based on the example of the charitable activities of N. I. Popov, the Director of Kozlov Prison Department)

The article examines the issues of organizing the construction and maintenance of churches at prison castles using the example of the construction of a prison church in Kozlov prison castle by a hereditary honorary citizen, director of Kozlov Prison Department, merchant Nikolai Ivanovich Popov. The history of creation of the Prison Trusteeship Society and its interaction with the Russian Orthodox Church and government agencies, documents and materials reflecting the goals and objectives of the Society in the field of spiritual, moral and religious education of convicts have been studied. The study used materials stored in the funds of the State Archive of the Tambov Region, regulatory documents governing the activities of the Prison Trusteeship Society in the Russian Empire. Particular attention is paid to studying the activities of the Tambov Provincial Prison Trusteeship Committee and the Kozlov Prison Department. The service in the position of director of Kozlov Prison Department and the work of Kozlov merchant N. I. Popov as the warden of the prison chapel have been analyzed. The article reveals N. I. Popov’s charitable activities within the Prison Trusteeship Society, his contribution to the development of the penal system, and ensuring the activities of Kozlov prison castle. As a result, the need to preserve the memory of the activities of outstanding fellow countrymen in the framework of the implementation of spiritual, moral and educational work with society has been substantiated. Proposals for preserving the historical memory of N. I. Popov’s charitable activities have been worked out.