Scientists from four countries studied ethno-religious processes in the transboundary space of Siberia and Central Asia
For three years, an international team of historians and religious scholars from Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia has been studying ethno-religious processes in the transboundary space of Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia in the context of state policy in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The general management of this international project was carried out by Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of Regional Studies of Russia, National and State-Confessional Relations Pyotr Dashkovsky.
Petr Dashkovsky commented on this study as follows:
“The study of ethno-religious processes in the transboundary space of Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia in the context of state policy in the XX - early XXI century seems to be a fairly relevant topic of scientific research, which is due to several circumstances. Firstly, during this period, Russia (Russian Empire, USSR, the Russian Federation), the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Mongolian People's Republic have gone a long way of political, socio-economic and ideological modernization. It is quite natural that these transformations could not but affect the peculiarities of the development of the ethno-religious situation, as well as the principles of the formation and implementation of the state-confessional policy. Secondly, Western Siberia and Eastern Kazakhstan are closely interconnected not only by their territorial proximity, but also by the general historical processes that took place in this territory during the existence of the Russian Empire and the USSR. Also, in the post-Soviet period, the territory of Western Siberia and adjacent regions of Kazakhstan also found itself in a certain relationship, including in ethnic and religious aspects, despite the formation of two independent states - the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. This is largely due to the fact that ethnic Kazakhs professing Islam, as well as Russians and other Slavic peoples, professing predominantly Orthodoxy, have been living in these two regions in large numbers. In this regard, the leadership of Russia and Kazakhstan, along with a common policy aimed at democratization and strengthening the principles of freedom of conscience and religion, have to take into account territorial proximity, common history of development at a certain stage, modern migration processes and national interests of the two countries".
The international team studied the selected issues based on the analysis of various archival sources, regulatory legal documents, as well as the results of sociological research on the territory of the Russian Altai, Eastern Kazakhstan and Western Mongolia. The team included scientists from scientific and educational centers of Russia (Barnaul, Tomsk, Kemerovo, Gorno-Altaisk, Kazan), Kazakhstan (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Mongolia (Khovd, Ulanbaatr) and Lithuania (Kauna). At the final stage, the study was carried out within the framework of the implementation of an international grant from the RFBR and the Ministry of Culture, Education, Science and Sports of Mongolia on the topic "Ethno-religious and social processes as factors of intercultural interaction of the population in the transboundary space of Altai, Tuva and Mongolia: history and modernity", project No. 19 -59-44002 (supervisor P.K.Dashkovsky).
Petr Dashkovsky noted:
“Not only the activity of various Muslim, Buddhist and Christian communities, but also the dynamic spread of the so-called new religious movements of various orientations and their influence on the traditional culture and worldview of the population of these regions is becoming a noticeable phenomenon. In addition, it should be emphasized that the ethno-religious factor is of particular importance in the border regions of Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, in which polyethnicity and polyconfessionalism have historically been observed. In this regard, the study of the development of the ethno-religious situation in the transboundary space of Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia is of scientific significance, firstly, from the point of view of studying the historical experience of state regulation of these processes. Secondly, monitoring the modern ethno-religious situation in the transboundary space allows us to assess the degree of tolerance / intolerance of the population of these regions and their readiness for intercultural interaction, which seems relevant from the point of view of the development and strengthening of both interregional and international relations between Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia".
The results of the work of the international team are presented in the collective monograph "Ethno-religious processes in the transboundary space of Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia in the context of state policy in the 20th - early 21st centuries", published by the Altai State University publishing house, which is posted on the platform elibrary.ru and on the website of the Department of Regional Studies Russia, national and state-confessional relations.
