Territorial structure of the confessional space of Latvia  in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Latvia is a multi-confessional country. All three main branches of Christianity are fully represented here: Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The eastern part of Latvia (Latgale) has long been home to Old Believers and adherents of Judaism. These religious groups of the population together form the confessional space of Latvia. The purpose of the study is to identify the main elements of the territorial structure of the confessional space in Latvia based on the results of the 1897 population census and analyze their dynamics until 1920. To achieve this goal, static and cartographic research methods are used. The novelty of the study is associated with the use of original methods for analyzing the dynamics of the territorial structure of the confessional space. As a result of the study, three main elements of the territorial structure of the confessional space of Latvia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were identified: 1) mono-confessional territories (with the dominance of the Lutheran population) in the north of Vidzeme, east of Kurzeme and west of Selia; 2) vaguely expressed confessional contact zones (with a predominance of the Lutheran population and a noticeable share of Catholics and Orthodox Christians), covering the south of Vidzeme, the west of Kurzeme and the east of Selia; 3) ) a clearly defined confessional contact zone — Latgale (with a preponderance of Catholics, but with a noticeable share of Orthodox, Old Believers and Jews).

Keywords

religious mosaic, confessional contact zones, Lutherans, Catholics, Orthodox, Old Believers, Jews

Acknowledgment

The publication was prepared at the expense of a grant from Pskov State University for the event “Carrying out scientific research and development by Russian-Belarusian scientific teams on the basis of research units of Pskov State University in 2024/2025”.

Received

06.07.2024

Publication date

27.09.2024

Number of characters

18341

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GOST	Krotok R. Territorial structure of the confessional space of Latvia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries // Pskov Journal of Regional Studies – 2024. – Volume 20. No3/2024 C. 24-39 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://prj.pskgu.ru/S221979310031532-8-1 (circulation date: 30.09.2024). DOI: 10.37490/S221979310031532-8
MLA	Krotok, Roman "Territorial structure of the confessional space of Latvia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries." Pskov Journal of Regional Studies 3 (2024):24-39. DOI: 10.37490/S221979310031532-8
APA	Krotok R. (2024). Territorial structure of the confessional space of Latvia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Pskov Journal of Regional Studies (3), pp.24-39 DOI: 10.37490/S221979310031532-8

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1	Введение. На территории Латвии исторически сложилась сложная конфессиональная структура населения. В качестве традиционных вероисповеданий местного населения здесь можно считать сразу три направления христианства: православие, католичество и протестантизм (лютеранство). Кроме того, в Латгалии (восточной исторической области Латвии) издавна проживают достаточно многочисленные группы старообрядцев и приверженцев иудаизма. Все данные религиозные группы населения в совокупности составляют конфессиональное пространство.
2	Конфессиональное пространство в статье рассматривается с позиции концепции геокультурного пространства. В соответствии с данной концепцией выделяются компонентная (по числу приверженцев разных религий и религиозных направлений) и территориальная структура конфессионального пространства. Основными элементами территориальной структуры конфессионального пространства являются «ядра» господствующих религий (моноконфессиональные территории) и контактные зоны (образовавшиеся на границах ареалов распространения религий, или же рассматриваемые как территории смешанного конфессионального состава населения).
3	Целью исследования является выделение основных элементов территориальной структуры конфессионального пространства на территории современной Латвии по итогам Первой всеобщей переписи населения Российской империи 1897 г. и анализ их динамики до 1920 г.
4	Информационной основой исследования является размещённая на сайте PopulationstatisticsofEasternEurope & formerUSSR¹статистика по вероисповеданиям и родному языку населения Лифляндской, Курляндской и Витебской губерниям по итогам Первой всеобщей переписи населения Российской империи 1897 г., по религиозной и этнической структуре населения Латвии по итогам переписи населения 1920 г., а также данные по религиозной принадлежности населения на уровне обозначенных губерний за 1795 и1851 гг., представленная в книгеВ. М. Кабузана[9].	1. Population statisticsofEasternEurope & formerUSSR. [Электронный ресурс]: URL: http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ (дата обращения: 15.05.2024).
5	Исходные предпосылки. Изучению истории формирования конфессиональных сообществ на территории Латвии посвящено достаточно много работ. В первую очередь, нужно отметить труды, где освящена история православия в прибалтийских губерниях ([3; 12; 14; 15; 31] и др.). Часто объектом этнографических исследований в Латвии являются проживающие в ней старообрядцы ([7; 11; 24; 30] и др.). Кроме того, особый научный интерес представляют латгальцы, которые исповедуют католическую религию, в отличие от собственно латышей, традиционной религией которых является лютеранство. К тому же латгальцы являются носителями диалекта, который иногда рассматривается как самостоятельный латгальский язык [2]. Также именно территория Латгалии, являющаяся восточным краем Латвии, пограничным с Россией и Белоруссией, характеризуется повышенной доля иудеев, православных и старообрядцев, что связано с историей этой части современной Латвии, долгое время входившей в состав Речи Посполитой [26].

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