Senior baksha Dorje Setenov and the Buddhist tradition of the Bolshederbetovsky ulus

The article examines the process of institutionalization of the Buddhist church in Kalmykia in the second half of the XIX–early XX century in the context of the restrictive confessional policy of the Russian state, aimed at reducing the number of clergy and strengthening administrative control over religious institutions. On the basis of a set of archival documents, a significant part of which is first introduced into scientific circulation, the mechanisms of interaction between the imperial administration and Buddhist communities are reconstructed at the ulus level a space where the instructions of the center were refracted through local practices, the interests of secular aristocracy and the needs of the community.

Particular attention is paid to the activities of the senior baksha of the Bolshederbetovsky ulus Dorje Setenov as an indicative example of the strategy of adaptation of the clergy to external restrictions. The research methodology is based on the approach of historical anthropology, which makes it possible to consider administrative and religious practices not only as institutional forms, but also as manifestations of the purposeful activities of specific actors.

In conclusion, the author concludes that the institutionalization of the Buddhist church in Kalmykia was not reduced to a passive perception of administrative restrictions. It was accompanied by an active search for forms of preservation and development of religious institutions, which makes significant adjustments to ideas about the nature of the confessional policy of late imperial Russia and the role of religious communities in the formation of their own survival strategies.

1. Arrival of His Imperial Majesty, Sovereign Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich, Autocrat of All Russia, at the Mineralnye Vody station of the Vladikavkaz Railway (1915). Stavropol Diocesan Gazette. 2. 61–65. (in Russian).

2. Bicheev, B. A. (2023). Diary of the Kalmyk Lama Dorji Setenov’s Trip to Mongolia. Herald of an Archivist . No. 3. 789–803. DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2023-3-789-803 (in Russian).

3. Bicheev, B. A. (2022). Buddhist Texts Published by Kalmyk Monks: 1900–1918. Mongolian Studies . No 14(4). 814–833. DOI: 10.22162/2500-1523-2022-4-814-833 (in Russian).

4. Cadio, J. Laboratory of the Empire: Russia/USSR, 1860 1940. Per. with fr. E. Kustova (2010). M.: New literary review (in Russian).

5. Central State Archive of Film, Photo, and Audio-Visual Documents of St. Petersburg (CSAFFPA-VD St.P)

6. Dordjieva, G. S. (2001). The Buddhist Church of Kalmykia in the late 19th first half of the 20th century . Moscow: Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (in Russian).

7. Dubrova, Y. P. (1998). The life of Kalmyks of the Stavropol province . Elista: Kalmyk Book Publishing House (in Russian).

8. Kurapov, A. A. (2021). The Russian State and the Buddhist Church in Southern Russia: the stages of the evolution of socio-political interaction in the XVII–early XX century. Elista: KalmSC RAS (in Russian)

9. Lidzieva, I.V., Badmaeva, Е. N. (2021). Quantitative account of the non-slavic population of the south of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Journal of Frontier Studies . No 3. 29–47 (in Russian).

10. Lvovsky, N.V. (Methodius) (2022). Kalmyks of the Bolshederbetovsky ulus of the Stavropol province. 2nd ed. Elista: KalmNC RAS. (in Russian).

11. Muchaeva, I. (2024). Formation of the Kalmyk Collection of the Museum of the North Caucasus. Kunstkamera. No 2(24). 168–177. DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2024-2(24)-168-177 (in Russian).

12. Named, announced to the Senate by the Manager of the Ministry of Justice On the procedure for managing nomads in the Stavropol province Kalmyks, and on the new border line between the Stavropol and Astrakhan provinces (1862). Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire 2. XXXV. 1. 35556. St. Petersburg: Printing house of the II Branch of His Imperial Majesty’s Chancellery. 222–223 (in Russian).

13. Ochirov, U. B. (2006). Interfaith relations and religious situation in Kalmykia in 1917-1920. Bulletin of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. Series: History of Russia . 1. 69–80.

14. Privileges granted to the deputies of the Bolshoy Derbet Kalmyk Horde (1830). Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire 1. XXVI. 19.511. St. Petersburg: printing House of the Second Section of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery. 259 (in Russian).

15. Report on the activities of the Stavropol Andreev-Vladimir Brotherhood for 1899 (1900). Stavropol diocesan vedomosti. 1900. 12. 719‒741.

16. State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia (GARB).

17. Stavropol State Museum-Reserve of History, Culture, and Nature named after G. N. Prozritelev and G. K. Prave (SSMR)

18. The history of Kalmykia from ancient times to the present day: in 3 volumes (2009). Elista: GU “Publishing House “Gerel.” 1. (in Russian).

19. The National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia ( NA RK ).

20. The State Archive of the Stavropol Territory (GASt).

21. Ulanov, M. S., Badmaev, V. N., Andreeva, A. A. (2020). The phenomenon of Buddhist pilgrimage in the history and culture of the Kalmyks. Bylye Gody. 56. 2. 398–406 (in Russian).