The activity of missionaries in the Qazaq steppe in the context of the religious policy of the Russian Empire (end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69567/3007-0236.2025.2.167.183Abstract
Religion is relevant at different times. The question of religion was frequently raised during the Tsarist era, during the Soviet system Фand after the country's independence, and different opinions and views emerged. Since the country's independence, religions have been analysed from social, cultural, political, economic, legal, philosophical and other points of view, and the power of religion and spirituality has been evaluated from a scientific point of view. One of the methods used by the Russian government to colonise the Qazaq steppe was to change religious beliefs: It was important to include native children in the education system in order to teach them Orthodox religious teachings. By sending missionaries to the Qazaq steppe, they began to study literary works and cultural values of the locals to strengthen their faith in religion. They pointed out that the opening of Russian-indigenous schools would gradually lead Qazaq children to baptism and displace Islam. Such missionaries as Nikolai Ilminsky, Alexander Alektorov, Vasily Katarinsky and Nikolai Ostroumov, who were sent to the Qazaq land, took an active part in this work. Books in which Christianity was preached were included in the reading system and thus firmly anchored in the consciousness of the people. Schools were opened in the outskirts of Russia to train Russian missionaries. The article states that the textbooks written by the missionaries for the locals were a special means of russification and baptism. The opinions of representatives of the Qazaq intelligentsia on religious issues are analysed
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