Internet and History: Moscow to present an Internet project "Protopop Avvakum. A Person and an Epoch in Archival Documents"

On December 16, 2020, the Russian State Archives of Ancient Documents (Moscow) will present the Internet project "Protopop Avvakum. A Person and an Epoch in Archival Documents". It marks the 400th anniversary of Protopop Avvakum (1620-1682), a prominent church and public figure, one of the leaders of the Old Believers, an outstanding Russian writer and thinker.

The information resource provides an extensive selection of documents reflecting the main stages in the life of Protopop Avvakum and the milestones of his literary work, as well as the dramatic events of the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in the XVII century. The project included documents stored in the Russian State Archives of Ancient Documents, books and collections from the manuscript collection of the Moscow Main Archive of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, documents from the collection of the office of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the Solovetsky Monastery, etc. Especially for this project, the Russian State Archives of Ancient Documents digitized the original autographs of Protopop Avvakum: letters to his family, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Feodosia Morozova, the famous spiritual companion.

The Internet project contains a total of 270 documents, including engravings, plans, as well as a memorial item - the famous canvas mitten bag - an envelope for secret messages to Moscow by the exiled Protopope Avvakum. This bag was captured along with the correspondence and delivered to investigators. The project also features modern photographs and videos of places associated with the service and exile of Avvakum.

The presented documentary sources include materials of the Great Moscow Synod of 1666-1667 that deprived Nikon of his patriarchal dignity and sentenced Protopope Avvakum. There are also documents about the places of his exile, persecution of followers of the old faith, printing newly edited books, the Siege of the Solovetsky Monastery, an early manuscript of outstanding autobiographical work - The Life Written by Himself.

Illustrative material from the State Historical Museum represents the historical realities of the XVII century. For the first time, the project showcases photographs of archaeological finds discovered by OOO "Krasnoyarsk GeoArcheology" during recent excavations at the Yenisei settlement. These images give a visible representation of the objective world of the Siberian exile of Archpriest Avvakum.

The project's chronology covers a whole century - from 1620, the year of birth of Archpriest Avvakum, to 1720, when his son Ivan died in the Peter and Paul Fortress of Saint-Petersburg, accused of adherence to the old faith.

The project has six sections: 1. Nizhny Novgorod - the Homeland of the Ascetic. The Origins of the Priest; 2. "Nikon's Changes'': Beginning of the Reforms by Patriarch Nikon. Siberian Exile of Protopop Avvakum; 3. "Trial of the Russian Church'': Great Moscow Synod of 1666-1667; 4. "Solovetsky Sitting": Siege of the Solovetsky Monastery of 1668-1676; 5. Literary Oeuvre from the Pit. Avvakum and Pustozersk Fellow Prisoners; 6. The Split in the History of Russia. Besides, the project promotes the chronicle of Avvakum's life and documentary materials about researchers of his life and work.

All archival documents in the full-text format are available for detailed study. The papers of the XVII century, written in cursive, are supplemented by excerpts from the text. Cartographic materials and selected documents (for example, certificates and engravings) are in high resolution for easy viewing of small details. Specialists developed the easy interface including personal and geographical indexes, a list of abbreviations, an interactive list of documents.

The resource will be available by the link: http://avvakum.rusarchives.ru/.