Based on the materials from the State Archives of the Russian Federation and State Archives of the Republic of Buryatia, this article analyzes the activities of Protestant religious organizations in the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Buryat ASSR) in the period from the mid-1960s to 1991. It notes that both registered and unregistered Protestant groups operated on the territory of Buryatia. The only officially registered religious organization was the Evangelical Christian-Baptist Church. In addition, Pentecostalists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Seventh Day Adventists also conducted their activities in different periods in Buryat ASSR. During this period, control over these Protestant organizations was exercised by the Council for Religious Affairs, which had representatives in all administrative regions of the country, including Buryat ASSR, under the authority of the Council of Ministers of USSR. In addition, the gender composition of the religious communities of Baptists and Seventh Day Adventists was examined. The authors note that most parishioners were older women. In addition, financial and economic activity of the Baptist community in Ulan-Ude was analyzed. Despite a small amount of funds, receipts and expenses were constant and covered the main expenses of the religious organization. During the modernization process in the USSR in the late 1980s, there was a slight increase in the number and share of younger members in the Baptist religious association. This may be due to the influence of liberalization and democratization taking place in Soviet society at that time on religious processes in different regions, including Buryatia.
Key words: Buryat ASSR, state-confessional policy, protestant communities, Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostalists
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662-2025-2-49-63
About the authors
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Petr K. Dashkovskiy – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Regional Studies of Russia, National and State-Confessional Relations, Head of the Laboratory of Ethnocultural and Religious Studies of the Institute of Humanities of Altai State University; 61 Lenin Ave, Barnaul, 656049, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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Egor A. Traudt – research assistant at the Laboratory of Ethnocultural and Religious Studies, Altai State University; 61 Lenin Ave, Barnaul, 656049, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |