KIRGIZ RUHANİ MİSYONUNUN KURULUŞU VE FAALİYETLERİ 1895-1905
THE ESTABLISHMENT AND ACTIVITIES OF THE KYRGYZ SPIRITUAL MISSION 1895–1905

Summary/Abstract: This study deals with the activities of the Independent Kyrgyz Spiritual Mission between 1895–1905, which was a reflection of the administrative, social, and religious policies of the Russian Tsartsva. Initially affiliated with the Altai Mission and having acquired an independent status in 1895 by the decision of the Holy Synod, the mission was attached to the Omsk Diocese and organized in the Semipalatinsk and Akmola regions. The main purpose of the mission was not only religious propaganda and Christianization but also the settlement of the nomadic Kyrgyz, the establishment of a new social order together with Russian settlers, and the consolidation of state authority. The land, animals, clothing, food, fishing licenses, and tax exemptions given to the baptized reveal that the mission reinforced its religious propaganda with material privileges. At the beginning of the twentieth century, famine and drought seriously affected the activities of the mission. The massive loss of animals and hunger made the newly baptized communities completely dependent on the mission centers. In addition to this, the increase of Russian settlers and land allocations caused tensions between the Kyrgyz and the new settlers. Missionary reports contain not only religious propaganda but also important ethnographic observations about the social structure of the Kyrgyz, their nomadic lifestyle, hospitality, and the role of Islam in the region. For this reason, the Independent Kyrgyz Mission constitutes a remarkable example both in terms of missionary religious activities and in terms of the data it provides about Kyrgyz society of the period.

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