The Volga-Ural Region through the Eyes of the Tsarist Missionary Press: The Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik Journal and the Russian-Tatar Rivalry

Emre Özsoy

Makale detayları

The Volga-Ural Region through the Eyes of the Tsarist Missionary Press: The Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik Journal and the Russian-Tatar Rivalry

Yazarlar:

Emre Özsoy

Yayıncı:

Ege University

Ana Başlıklar:

Türk Halkları ve Toplulukları

Dergi:

Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.175-204

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351583

pISSN:

1301-2045

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 The Tsarist administration launched a large-scale missionary activity in the Volga-Ural region following the occupation of the Kazan Khanate. Although coercive methods were used in the early years of this process, which was carried out as a state-church partnership, the failure to achieve the desired results led to new methods. In this context, especially the nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of new educational practices aimed at redefining the role of education within society. Under this new missionary program, two primary objectives were pursued in the Volga-Ural region. The first was to suppress the activities of Muslim communities, particularly the Tatars; the second was to prevent the Islamization of non-Russian populations by promoting their Russification and conversion to Orthodox Christianity. To achieve these goals, a variety of instruments were employed, including the establishment of missionary schools and societies, the provision of education in local languages accompanied by translation efforts, the comprehensive training of missionaries, and the publication of materials grounded in Orthodox doctrine. One of the publications that emerged within this scope was Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik. This article examines the struggle of the Russian missionary movement with the Muslim Tatars in the Russification and Christianization activities of the non-Russian peoples in Volga-Ural through the publication organ of the Russian Orthodox Missionary Society, Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik magazine. This study will demonstrate that the missionary programimplemented through the collaboration of the state and the Churchultimately failed to achieve its intended goals. Instead, Tatar society, and by extension the Islamic faith, emerged as a formidable alternative in the Volga-Ural region. By exerting influence over the surrounding non-Russian populations in areas such as language, culture, education, the press, and the economy, the Tatars effectively facilitated the transformation of these communities into Muslim Tatars.

 The Tsarist administration launched a large-scale missionary activity in the Volga-Ural region following the occupation of the Kazan Khanate. Although coercive methods were used in the early years of this process, which was carried out as a state-church partnership, the failure to achieve the desired results led to new methods. In this context, especially the nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of new educational practices aimed at redefining the role of education within society. Under this new missionary program, two primary objectives were pursued in the Volga-Ural region. The first was to suppress the activities of Muslim communities, particularly the Tatars; the second was to prevent the Islamization of non-Russian populations by promoting their Russification and conversion to Orthodox Christianity. To achieve these goals, a variety of instruments were employed, including the establishment of missionary schools and societies, the provision of education in local languages accompanied by translation efforts, the comprehensive training of missionaries, and the publication of materials grounded in Orthodox doctrine. One of the publications that emerged within this scope was Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik. This article examines the struggle of the Russian missionary movement with the Muslim Tatars in the Russification and Christianization activities of the non-Russian peoples in Volga-Ural through the publication organ of the Russian Orthodox Missionary Society, Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik magazine. This study will demonstrate that the missionary programimplemented through the collaboration of the state and the Churchultimately failed to achieve its intended goals. Instead, Tatar society, and by extension the Islamic faith, emerged as a formidable alternative in the Volga-Ural region. By exerting influence over the surrounding non-Russian populations in areas such as language, culture, education, the press, and the economy, the Tatars effectively facilitated the transformation of these communities into Muslim Tatars.

 The Tsarist administration launched a large-scale missionary activity in the Volga-Ural region following the occupation of the Kazan Khanate. Although coercive methods were used in the early years of this process, which was carried out as a state-church partnership, the failure to achieve the desired results led to new methods. In this context, especially the nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of new educational practices aimed at redefining the role of education within society. Under this new missionary program, two primary objectives were pursued in the Volga-Ural region. The first was to suppress the activities of Muslim communities, particularly the Tatars; the second was to prevent the Islamization of non-Russian populations by promoting their Russification and conversion to Orthodox Christianity. To achieve these goals, a variety of instruments were employed, including the establishment of missionary schools and societies, the provision of education in local languages accompanied by translation efforts, the comprehensive training of missionaries, and the publication of materials grounded in Orthodox doctrine. One of the publications that emerged within this scope was Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik. This article examines the struggle of the Russian missionary movement with the Muslim Tatars in the Russification and Christianization activities of the non-Russian peoples in Volga-Ural through the publication organ of the Russian Orthodox Missionary Society, Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik magazine. This study will demonstrate that the missionary programimplemented through the collaboration of the state and the Churchultimately failed to achieve its intended goals. Instead, Tatar society, and by extension the Islamic faith, emerged as a formidable alternative in the Volga-Ural region. By exerting influence over the surrounding non-Russian populations in areas such as language, culture, education, the press, and the economy, the Tatars effectively facilitated the transformation of these communities into Muslim Tatars.

 Çarlık idaresi, Kazan Hanlığının işgalinin ardından İdil-Uralda büyük ölçekli bir misyonerlik faaliyetine girişti. Devlet-kilise ortaklığı ile yürütülen bu sürecin ilk yıllarında cebri yöntemlere başvurulmakla birlikte istenilen sonucun alınamaması yeni metotları doğurdu. Bu kapsamda özellikle on dokuzuncu yüzyıla gelindiğinde eğitim üzerine temellendirilmiş yeni uygulamalar kendisini gösterdi. Bu yeni misyonerlik programında İdil-Ural bölgesi özelinde kısaca iki şey üzerinde yoğunlaşıldı. İlki; Müslüman unsurların daha çok Tatarların her türlü faaliyetlerini kısıtlamak, ikincisi; gayri-Rus halkların İslamlaşmasını önlemek ve onları Ruslaştırıp samimi bir Ortodoksa dönüştürmek. Bu amaca yönelik olarak; misyoner okulları ve cemiyetler açmak, yerel dilde eğitim vermek ve çeviri çalışmaları yapmak, misyonerleri her yönden eğitmek ve Ortodoks inancına dayalı yayınlar çıkarmak gibi çok sayıda araca başvuruldu. Bu kapsamda ortaya çıkan yayınlardan biri de Pravoslavnıi Blagovestnik oldu. Bu makalede; Rus Ortodoks Misyoner Cemiyetinin yayın organı Pravoslavnıi Blagovestnik dergisi üzerinden, Rus misyonerlik hareketinin, İdil-Uraldaki gayri-Rus halkları Ruslaştırılma ve Hristiyanlaştırma faaliyetlerinde, Müslüman Tatarlarla giriştiği mücadelesi ele alınmaktadır. Çalışmada, devlet ve kilise iş birliği ile yürütülen misyonerlik programından istenilen sonuca ulaşılamadığı, Tatar toplumunun ve dolayısıyla İslâm inancının İdil-Uralda bir rakip olarak ortaya çıktığı, çevresindeki gayri Rus halkları dil, kültür, eğitim, matbuat ve ekonomik alanda etkisi altına alarak Müslüman Tatara dönüştürdüğü görülecektir.

Makale detayları

The Volga-Ural Region through the Eyes of the Tsarist Missionary Press: The Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik Journal and the Russian-Tatar Rivalry

Yazarlar:

Emre Özsoy

Yayıncı:

Ege University

Ana Başlıklar:

Türk Halkları ve Toplulukları

Dergi:

Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.175-204

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351583

pISSN:

1301-2045

Pravoslavnii Blagovestnik

Volga-Ural Tatars

Russian Missionary

Nikolay Ilminsky

Tsarist RussiaPravoslavnıi Blagovestnik

İdil-Ural Tatarları

Rus Misyonerliği

Nikolay İlminski

Çarlık Rusya

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Emre Özsoy

Yayıncı: Ege University

Ana Başlıklar: Türk Halkları ve Toplulukları

Dergi: Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.175-204

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 6/2025

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001351583

pISSN: 1301-2045

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Emre Özsoy

Yayıncı:

Ege University

Ana Başlıklar:

Türk Halkları ve Toplulukları

Dergi:

Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.175-204

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351583

pISSN:

1301-2045