Review of Pre-Revolutionary Historiography of Schismatics, Heresies and Sectarianism in The Russian Empire

The article reviews the pre-revolutionary historiography of the history of schismatics, heresies and sectarianism in the Russian Empire. The topicality of the solution of the problem of schism and sects by the Russian government is outlined. The main classifications of all sects existing on the territory of the Russian state were established: "harmful", "particularly harmful", "less harmful", and "disfiguring sects". For a fuller understanding of the problem posed, the concepts of schism, heresy and sect, very often used synonymously, but having not only semantic but also legal differences in the context of scientific debates of the 19th and early 20th centuries, are specified. It is shown that scholarly works of pre-revolutionary authors were often published not only as monographic studies, but were very often published on the pages of Orthodox magazines: Christian Reading, Missionary Review and others. Some of these journals were specifically published as a means of countering schism, sectarianism and mysticism. In the article four approaches are outlined to classify the whole body of historiographical material on the history of schism and sects in the Russian Empire: chronological - to select the complex of scientific works published after 1850s; typological - to distinguish trends and interpretations in Russian schism, sectarianism and dissent with the identification of their specific and universal characteristics; thematic to outline the main directions and problems of research, which were emphasized by the pre-revolutionary scholars; method of attribution - to determine the main problems of schism and sectarianism.