Materials of meetings on combating sectarian propaganda in the Steppe region

The article considers an unexplored source - “Materials of the meeting on combating sectarian propaganda in the Steppe Region”. The document reflects the peculiarities of the spread of sectarianism in the Steppe Region, the position of local authorities on this issue, the difficulties faced by Orthodox missionaries in the fight against the sectarian movement, as well as a program to strengthen the Orthodox faith in the region. A significant place in the document is occupied by the speeches of the Governor-General of the Steppe Region, E. O. Schmit. The governor of the Akmola region, the prosecutor of the Omsk Judicial Chamber, as well as State Secretary P. A. Stolypin, an official of special assignments at the Ministry of Internal Affairs A. A. Kologrivov also made their programs. The issues of the activities of the civil authorities in relation to the sectarian movement after the release of the laws on religious tolerance are touched upon. The evolution of officials’ views on the place of non-Orthodox confessions in the Russian Empire is traced. The secular authorities, acting in favor of Orthodox missionaries, sought to reduce the role of sectarians in the Steppe Region only within the framework of legality. The conviction is being formed that it is possible to weaken the sectarian mission not so much by administrative methods as by the educational activities of the parish clergy.