The theme of the old believers in the dilogy of P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky "In the woods", "On the mountains"

In the period of liberal reforms of Emperor Alexander II the theme of the old believers in the Russian literature was raised repeatedly. However, most writers of the time spoke about old believers in a fairly intolerant form, despite the widespread calls for tolerance towards non-Orthodox faiths. P.I.Melnikov-Pechersky creation is markedly different from works of his contemporaries not only by deep understanding, but also by the scale of the research work. But it would be a mistake to assume that the ideological foundations of the old believers` theme of Melnikov-Pechersky was formed immediately. Together with the writer they have passed a long way from the worldview of the officer on special assignments of the Ministry of internal Affairs to eradicate the Church schism to the liberal patron of old believers. This difficult, thorny path formed their own outlook independent of the official position of the belief system reflected in his works.