Annual reports to the Holy Synod as a historical source on the history of the Turkestan diocese and the Turkestan Governorate-General of the late 19th – early 20th centuries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2026-16-2.78-94Keywords:
Turkestan diocese, Orthodoxy, Turkestan Governorate-General, Holy Synod, K.P. von Kaufman, Sophonia (Sokolsky), Dmitry (Abashidze), Innocent (Pustynsky)Abstract
This article analyzes the annual reports of the ruling bishops of the Turkestan Diocese to the Holy Synod on its status. These reports are a vital source for the history of Russian Orthodoxy in Turkestan during the Synodal period, covering topics such as the organization of church life, the specifics and challenges of diocesan life, the clergy's attitude toward Islam, and so on. They are equally valuable for studying the broader context – the history of the Turkestan Governorate-General. The purpose of this article is to conduct a structural analysis of the annual reports of Turkestan bishops on the status of the diocese in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Assessing the informative and source-analytic potential of these reports, it can be concluded that they are an extremely informative source, containing valuable and comprehensive information about the life of the Turkestan Diocese, one of the poorest in the Russian Empire. The bishop's personality, and most importantly, his experience of service prior to Turkestan, always undoubtedly influenced the quality and content of the report. This circumstance makes this type of source unique. Working with it requires knowledge and understanding of the broader regional historical and political context.
For citation: Kotyukova T.V. Annual reports to the Holy Synod as a historical source on the history of the Turkestan diocese and the Turkestan Governorate-General of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2026, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 78–94. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2026-16-2.78-94 (In Russian)
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