НАСТУП НА ІДЕНТИЧНІСТЬ СТАРОВІРІВ (ЛИПОВАН) БУДЖАКУ В ПОВОЄННІ РОКИ
AN ATTACK ON THE IDENTITY OF THE OLD BELIEVERS (LIPOVANS) OF BUDJAK IN THE POST-WAR YEARS

Summary/Abstract: The article is dedicated to studying the aspects of the assault on the identity of the Lipovan Old Believers in Budjak in the context of political and social changes after World War II. The Lipovans faced a harsh campaign by the Soviet authorities, aimed at assimilating them into the Soviet people. Based on the analysis of historiography and a wide range of archival sources, the study examines how Soviet power affected the ethnoreligious identity of this group and identifies the factors that helped the Old Believers preserve their faith and culture. In the postwar period, the activities of Old Believer communities were coordinated by the Council for Religious Cults. Representatives of the Council for Religious Cults in the Izmail region recorded the number of Old Believers in each community, gathered biographical information on clergy, inspected the composition of the "twenty" (community council), and familiarized themselves with the customs and lifestyle of the Old Believers. Some small communities (in Bolgrad, Reni, Izmail, and the village of Tatarbunary) and all three monasteries (near Vylkove, Nova Nekrasivka, and Muravlivka) were closed by the authorities. The paper highlights the unique aspects of the Old Believers’ lives, customs, and practices as seen through the eyes of the Council representatives. It analyzes what aspects of their life surprised the officials, leading them to label the Old Believers as fanatics, ignoramuses, and accuse them of mysticism. The study also investigates the measures taken by the Soviet authorities to dismantle the traditional way of life of the Lipovans. The authorities closely monitored that the youth did not attend churches, prohibited the teaching of Church Slavonic literacy and church singing. Active anti-religious propaganda was carried out in schools and workplaces, leading some Old Believers to abandon their faith. Despite these challenges, the core traditional customs were preserved, largely thanks to the family unit, which played a key role in passing on ethnocultural traditions to the next generation.

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