“If you would visit the rector, make a plan…” A. P. Bashutsky’s Letter about the Publication of a Periodical Leaflet at the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy

In November 1858, Alexander Pavlovich Bashutsky wrote to his long-time friend and comrade Stepan Anisimovich Burachk a letter discussing working issues related to the passage of their works of spiritual censorship. In those days, secular authors writing about religion were required to interact with spiritual censorship committees at Theological Academies, and in most cases these relations became friendly, especially if there were joint projects. One of these projects was the idea of A. P. Bashutsky, S. A. Burach and Prince N. S. Golitsyn published an apologetic leaflet “Sopernik” (“Rival”), which they hoped to establish with the support of archimandrite Feofan (Govorov), the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, later bishop and recluse of Vyshensk. The article contains an introduction that describes all the initiators of the projects, briefly describes the general situation of spiritual censorship and journalism of the period, and comments on the content of the document. The published letter was preserved in the personal Fund of S. A. Burach (F. 34) of the Manuscript Department of the Institute of Russian literature (Pushkin house).