CC BY
8
leaders who ran the Republic. Instead of developing and boosting Balkar settlements and districts to the level of Kabardian ones, they took the simplest and the most wrong way: transfer of the ethnic Kabardian territories to the Balkars and systematic resettlement of the Balkars to Kabardian settlements. Instead of the expected recovery of the economy and culture of the Balkars this has led to the opposite result: mutual inhibition of socioeconomic and cultural development of the peoples of the Republic and a systemic territory crisis.
B. Bgazhnokov concludes that the dominance of the weaknesses of small territories and societies inevitably leads to a systemic crisis of these territories. The population in these conditions very rarely becomes a sufficiently cohesive social unit integrated on all-Russian national basis. Especially in economically backward areas of the Russian Federation, where democratic unity has not developed yet and effective control methods do not work.
The author of the abstract - E. Dmitrieva.
I. BABICH. PROTESTANTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ADYGEA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ISLAMIC RENAISSANCE* // The article is presented by the author for the publication in the Bulletin "Russia and the Moslem World".
Keywords: Islam, the Adygs, the Protestant community, the Old Believers, Orthodox Christianity, Republic of Adygea, village Khan.
* The research work was carried out under the grant of the Russian Scientific Foundation "Mechanisms for civil harmony in multi-ethnic states: Russian and foreign experience", № 15-18-00099. Head of research: E. Filippova.
I. Babich,
Chief Researcher, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. Sc. (History)
The author analyzes contemporary religious situation in the Republic of Adygea, the problem of the spread of th " communities in the context of the Islamic Renaissance among Adygs on the basis of the new ethnographic materials.
At the present time, there is a new religious situation in the Republic of Adygea, based on a significant increase of the protestant churches, due to a number of reasons. The purpose of this article is to show peculiarities of religious life in the Republic of Adygea in the context of the Islamic Renaissance, that we have seen for the last 25 years, based on the new field of ethnographic materials in 2016. This will allow us to answer the question of why we can speak about the explosion of Protestantism in the Islamic republic.
The muslim community has reached its maximum potential in the republic and almost stopped its growth. The number of muslims in Adygea increases due to the occurrence of migrants from Central Asia, respectively there is the Central Asian influence on Adygs' Islam. Muslims have found their niche in the religious-ideological-cultural space.
There is a unique cossack village in the Republic of Adygea, where various Christian churches exist, including protestant. This is village Khan. It can be traced by studying the religious life of the village, as the traditional churches - old believers and orthodox - are weakening, and as the protestant churches are actively growing, for example, the Church of Christ Evangelical "Salvation" (pentecostals). There are a lot of young people, young couples with small children, a lot of young men. The community leaders focus actively on youth, conducting youth meetings on Mondays in addition. The second most numerous in the village of Khan is a community of evangelical christians. Its members (as opposed to the Pentecostal), celebrate Saturday and spend their
on Saturdays meeting in the same house of worship, as the Pentecostal on Sundays1. There is also a church community of Jehovah's Witnesses in the village, which has re-registered as a church Bible study2.
The Republic of Adygea was involved in a common religious process of southern Russia on the one hand - the tendency of growth of the most protestant churches, their active dissemination in the south of Russia (including at the expense of immigrants-pentecostals from Belarus, baptists and adventists from the republics of Central Asia, and the expense large families with children), and on the other - their active departure for permanent residence in America, or in Central Russia3.
Adygs appeared to be more open to all new directions. There are a lot of Adygs, who preferred the Protestant direction, not Islam. They began to visit the church more or less openly, without fear of negative reaction from their relatives, especially parents, practicing Islam4.
Many Adygs, living near Krasnodar, fell under the influence of the protestant churches5. The Adygs in Adygea appeared to be disunited because of economic interests: those who live close to Krasnodar, are oriented on it in everything including ideology. The Adygs from Tahtamukaysky area, for example, are ready to join the Krasnodar region - all of them are oriented on the Krasnodar due to economic reasons6. Therefore adygs often attend services in Krasnodar: baptist and orthodox.
We describe the service at the baptist church in Adygeisk, which we have attended. Liturgy of St. Trinity was held in ordinary private house on the outskirts of the city. There were 15 people (5 men, the rest - women, 3 of them were girls of 1520 years old) at the service. Most were adygs. The service was held in Russian, but those present prayed in the Adygea language all together at the end of the service. Only 2-3 people did not do this. Adygs from neighboring villages: Gabukay, Ponezhukay, Assokolay often attend services in this church.
According to the presbyter in the baptist church in Adygeysk, the baptist leaders are trying to "bring their faith" to every nation of the North Caucasus. The most successful activities of the baptist are held: among Adygs, Balkars, Ossetians, even a baptist already exists among Chechens. June 18, 2016 meeting of baptist congregations from all over the North Caucasus was held in Nalchik. Earlier, in May, the baptists held a meeting in Vladikavkaz.
In addition, participation in the protestant movement has an economic output. For example, if an Adyg becomes a member of the muslim community, the community does not help him, and, above all, the community does not help him in economic advancement in life. But if he becomes a member of the protestant community, he begins to feel some relief right away: the community will give his child a bicycle, or then a computer to him, and most importantly - they will help him find a job.
The success of the spread of the baptist ideas, is largely explained with the activities of a protestant missionary, Leo Martensonaiz Germany, in the early 1990s in Adygea. He learned the Adygea language, translated the Gospel to the Adygea language, founded the first community of the Adygs in the North Caucasus. In 2002, he was denied a visa and prohibited activities on the territory of Adygea. But it has already been done: the Adygs were already involved in Protestantism 7.
Baptists often say that Islam in Adygeya is formal, no one knows the Arabic language and does not understand the prayers. Baptist leadership claims that the Adygs attend Orthodox churches more often than before, but orthodox priests do not want to deal with them, offering to go to the mosque. Presvitel of Baptist church in Adygeisk said, that "Adygs themselves will not kiss the cross of the people, they were conquered"8.
The Adygs have appeared in the Jehovah's Witnesses church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith "Bethany" in Maikop. Bayslan
Zaurovich Huadu directs the community to help alcoholics and drug addicts within the church "Bethany".
Migration flows in the south of Russia, have become an important factor in strengthening the Protestant movements in
the 2000s. In 1990-2000- years it has been several waves of
migrants to Adygea in general, and to the village of Khan's, in particular. These were large groups of Belarusians, Ukrainians, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, professing Protestant teachings in their regions.
There is a change in ideological and political relations between the muslim and orthodox religious leaders in Adygea. In previous years, much attention was paid to restrict the activities of protestant organizations in the Republic of Adygea. MuftiN. Emizh together with Bishop Panteleimon attracted power and government structures to their "struggle" with a negative (in their opinion) influence of protestants on the citizens of the Republic of Adygea. There was a real "fight" for the flock. However, the leadership in Spiritual Administration of Muslims, and in Maikop and Adygea diocese was replaced a few years ago: A. Kardan became the new mufti (2011)9, and Father Tikhon became the bishop (2009). The new leadership has weakened contacts largely between their departments in general, and on the activities of the protestant churches in the republic in particular. In general, communications between two religious leaders are reduced to the congratulations on the major religious holidays.
Currently, the leadership of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims actively works together with the authorities of the republic in the sphere of control of radical Muslims. And this activity is quite successful. Neither leadership of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims nor ordinary members of the Muslim Ummah see considerable threat from the Protestant movements in the Republic of Adygea in the moment. Moreover it is believed that protestants "closer" to muslims than the orthodox community, for example, because they do not have the veneration of icons, penitence and other external attributes inherent in the Orthodox Church10.
References
I Babich. Polevye materialy [Field data], Adygea, 2016 interview with the elder Evangelical village Khan, 60 years old, Russian, resident of the village //
I. Babich. Polevye materialy [Field data], Adygea, 2016 interview with the head of the Church on the study of the Bible L., 60 years old, Russian, laborer, resident of the village, June 22.
I. Babich. Aktualnye problemy zapadnyh adygov v XXI veke [Actual problems of the western Circassians in the 21 century] // Tsentralnaya Aziyai Kavkaz. Number 2, 2014. P. 135-147.
I. Babich. Polevye materialy avtora [Field data of the author], Adygea, 2016 interview with a member of the Baptist congregation of Adygeisk, S. 45, Adyg, husband I., 50 years old, village Dzherokay, June 18. I. Babich. Polevye materialy avtora [I. Babich. Field data of the author], Adygea, 2016, interview with a member of the Baptist congregation of Adygeisk, R. 60, Adyg, Adygeisk, June 19.
I. Babich. Polevye materialy [Field data] Adygea, 2016, N., Muslim Adyg, June 10.
I. Babich. Protestantskoe dvizhenie v Adygee [Protestant movement in Adygeya] / / Christianity in the North Caucasus: History and Modernity. Moscow, 2011. P. 162-185.
I. Babich. Polevye materialy [Field data], Adygea, 2016 Interview with the presbytery Sh, Head of Baptist communities of Adygeysk, Uzbek, 60, June 10, June 20.
I. Babich. "Myagkaya islamskaya revolyutsiya" v sovremennoy Adygee ["Soft Islamic revolution" in modern Adygea] / / Russia and the Muslim world. 2014. № 4. P. 31-37; I. Babich. Etapy rasprostraneniya islama v Kabarde [Stages of the spread of Islam in Kabarda]/ / Islamskoe vozrozhdenie v sovremennoy Kabardino-Balkarii, Moscow, 2003. P 7-66; I. Babich, V. Bobrovnikov, L. Soloveva. Islam I hristianstvo na Severnom Kavkaze [Islam and Christianity in the North Caucasus] / / Severnyy Kavkaz v sostave Rossiyskoy imperii. Moscow. 2007, P. 88-111. I. Babich. Polevye materialy [Field data], Adygea, 2016, Muslim, Adyg, June 10.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
