Ven. Kögshn Bagshi Memorial Facility (Tsatsa) in the Locality of Chapchachi (Iki Tsokhor Ulus, Kalmyk Steppe): A Review of Early 20th Century Regional Interagency Correspondence

Introduction. The article examines and introduces into scientific circulation a set of archival documents discovered at the State Archive of Astrakhan Oblast (file 480, collection 597 ‘Astrakhan Eparchial Committee of Missionary Orthodox [Christian] Society’) and supplemented with publications of Astrakhan periodicals (Astrakhanskiy Listok, Astrakhanskie Vedomosti) containing interdepartmental messages of regional authorities pertaining to a memorial facility (Kalm. tsatsa) in the locality of Chapchachi (Iki Tsokhor Ulus of Kalmyk Steppe). Materials and methods. The article employs the comparative and historical descriptive methods of research. The analyzed narratives comprise a number of 1900–1902 archival documents as follows: report by Ven. V. I. Kryazhimsky, missionary of Astrakhan Eparchial Committee; letters of response by the Committee of Kalmyk People’s Administrative Department and Astrakhan Governor M. A. Hasenkampf; article published in Astrakhanskiy Listok. Results. The work introduces documents dealing with the early 20th century interdepartmental discussion over preservation of the Ven. Kögshn Bagshi memorial facility in the locality of Chapchachi. Conclusions. The attitudes towards the memorial building of tsatsa (the tradition of worshiping Ven. Kögshn Bagshi) was typical of Russian spiritual and secular authorities in the latter’s contacts with the Buddhist tradition throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries at large. The Russian Orthodox Church was wary of the active ritual practices performed by Buddhist clerics of Kalmyk Steppe and sought to prevent an increase in the number of Buddhist priests and neutralize their influence on the population. Operating within the legal framework, the provincial authorities remained neutral towards the activities of the Buddhist clergy and made efforts to legally oppose the aggravation of confessional controversies in the region. 

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