TRANSFER OF THE PALESTINE IMAGE TO THE SIBERIAN REGION IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

The article is devoted to the transfer of the image of "imaginary Palestine" to the Siberian region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The article is based on the materials and texts published in the Central editions of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society and in the local Siberian Diocesan Gazette. The key problem is the analysis of how the image (the concept of representation and reflection) of Palestine was constructed in the Russian Empire. The authors seek to identify the mechanisms of translation and image transfer tools not so much at the "general imperial level", but rather at the regional level. In methodological terms, the authors rely on the concept of the "imaginary territory". Through this approach, Palestine appears not only as a historical-geographical and political-administrative reality, but also as a complex mental structure, with dynamic boundaries, which are difficult to define. The authors conclude that, for all the regional specifics of the Siberian region, the IOPS used standard tools for transferring the images to Siberia (Palestinian readings, press, stories of pilgrims, scientific publications, and literary works). Those tools were typical for the entire Russian Empire, but the importance of this transfer for the Trans-Urals was more significant than for the central provinces. The transfer of images took place not only in time dimensions of "present" and "past" Palestine, but also in the dimension of the future Palestine. The "Past" Palestine appeared in the image of the biblical Holy land, the "real" one - as the arena for the struggle for dominance in the Holy places, and the "future" Palestine was seen in the return to the origins of the Holy land. There was a refraction of the images of biblical Palestine with geographical and new political data.