Discursive formations in the period of perestroika: believers and party and state leaders about confessional politics (1985-1991 years)

The studying of discursive formations in official correspondence with public authorities and in local and central newspapers is offered as a part of discourse analysis of perestroika. Discursive events are based not only on facts but also on the action models of believers and civil servants. The characteristics of contents of resources given in the article enabled the new sphere for analyses of state-confessional relations. The analysis helped to understand the discursive practices of the believers and high-level personnel, which include a wide range of issues: the return, restoration and construction of religious buildings, financing, management of religious communities, the functioning of religious legislation. The author demonstrated that the discursive practices are associated with social practices. This approach allowed tracing the transformation of the relations between the state and religious organizations after the discursive events.