The role of the religious factor in the Bashkir rebellion of 1755-1756

In the academic literature dedicated to the Bashkir rebellion of 1755-1756, the prevailing viewpoint posits that this movement was characterized as a religious war. Only in a handful of recent studies have attempts been made to illustrate the broad spectrum of factors that contributed to the uprising. However, there exists no comprehensive research elucidating why this particular rebellion is articulated in a religious discourse. This article demonstrates that the source of such an approach can be traced back to the reports of Orenburg Governor I.I. Neplyuev, who was the first to point out the religious character of the uprising. Notably, he was not the sole representative of the higher regional administration who emphasized the impossibility of a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the Orthodox state and its Muslim subjects. During the mid-18th century, similar perspectives were expressed by Kazan and Astrakhan Governors A.P. Volynsky. It is noteworthy that the 1720s marked an epistemological transition in the worldview of the ruling Russian elite. The previous dichotomy categorizing peoples based on the nature of their acceptance of Russian citizenship shifted towards a classification system wherein religious affiliation served as the defining criterion. After the suppression of the uprising of 1755-1756, decrees are issued addressed to Muslim subjects without specifying their ethnic affiliation. This redefinition of identity and otherness coincided with the broader socio-political dynamics of the era, suggesting that the religious factor was not merely a superficial aspect of the rebellion but rather a fundamental element intertwined with the sociopolitical fabric of the time.