Confessional issues in the western Russian dioceses of the Russian empire: the view of western Russian governors based on correspondence of provincial offices with the Department of theological affairs of foreign denominations (1905-1909)

The entry into force of the manifesto “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” of April 17, 1905 caused a new wave of confessional and national confrontations in the Western Russian provinces of the Russian Empire. New changes in religious legislation made the authorities, governors in particular, to resolve the problem of the escalating confrontation between the Orthodox and Catholic parts of the population of the provinces entrusted to them. An attempt is made to highlight the opinion of the governors of the Western Russian regions of the Russian Empire on the aggravated religious issues caused by the publication of the manifesto under discussion. The source of the publication is unique archival documents of the Department of Theological Affairs of Foreign Denominations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire, which are stored in the Russian State Historical Archive (St. Petersburg).