Old Believers-pilgrims in the context of civilizational approach to the Russian history. Reflections on the book of E.E. Dutchak

This article analyses the monograph of E.E.Dutchak (From "Babylon" to "Belovodye": adaptive capacity of taiga communities of Old Believers-pilgrims (the 2nd half of the XIXth century- the beginning of the XXIst century), Tomsk, 2007). The authors examine the factors and conditions of self-preservation of radical religioustraditions denying social and cultural patterns of Empire, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. The authors raise an issue of the use of term"civilizational alternative" in case of religious isolation. Based on T. Parsons concept they propose to consider the complexity degree ofisolated confessional system properties, harmonious functioning of the production/adaptation, goal setting, integration and "modelmaintenance" subsystems as the main indicator of "civilizational properties". The particular feature of Old Believers isolated confessionalsystem is domination of "model maintenance" subsystem, i.e. sacral (eschatological) knowledge. The thesis about physical rupture with the"world of Antichrist" could be an example of such knowledge. The basic concept of the "way" is a system idea because it substantiates thenotions about form and direction of the historical movement and it determines perception of modernization impulse. The ability of Old Believers-pilgrims to adapt to the modernization challenges is provided by "axial age" tradition elements such as idea of freedom of choice andpersonal responsibility for deeds, rationality in economic life. Old Believers-pilgrims propose their own version of goal setting function, i.e.the way of participation in political life. On the one hand, they deny the official state as "Antichrist"; on the other hand they appeal to thetraditions of peasant self-government and present themselves as invested with true sacral knowledge and so invested with true authority.Further research on radical and moderate confessional directions should answer the question: whether the Old Belief is civilizationalalternative or it is one of the variants of Russia's social and cultural integrity preservation.

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