The article examines the religious teachings of the peasant T.M. Bondarev on “grain labor”, which reveals the evolution of the ideological foundations of labor activity among the Russian peasants during the modernization process of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It argues that Bondarev's philosophical and religious justifications for the significance of agricultural work were based on the Old Testament commandments of the first Gospel of labor, the essence of which is that man is called to actively participate in God's plans to transform nature through work. This understanding of the purpose of labor is closer to Protestantism, which proves the similarity of evolutionary trends within different branches of Christianity. The meaning of Bondarev's socio-religious utopia is interpreted through the prism of reflecting the transition era in the minds of peasants who have not yet lost their patriarchal appearance and are trying to develop a social ideal in changed conditions based on compulsory agricultural labor as a way to overcome the antinomy between rural and urban civilization and harmonize relations between humans and nature. This manifests the egalitarian imperative inherent in patriarchal peasant consciousness, which potentially contains a tendency towards totalitarian transformation in society.
Key words: T.M. Bondarev, peasantry, the first Gospel of labor, socio-religious utopia, the law of “grain labor”, sectarians
DOI: 10.22250/20728662-2025-4-50-59
About the author
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Vera I. Fedorova – D.Sc. (History), Professor of the Department of National History, Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University n.a. V.P. Astafiev; 89 Lebedeva St., Krasnoyarsk, 660125, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |