WHO WERE THE DOUKHOBORS DISCUSSED BY HERZEN IN MY PAST AND THOUGHTS?
In the 4th part of My Past and Thoughts, Herzen recalls his life in Novgorod in 1841-42 and, inter alia, tells a story about a certain «Doukhobor leader», allegedly imprisoned by the Emperor Paul I. Even though the story looks rather far-fetched, it seems to stem from real historical events - the 1800 investigation into the religious dissenters from the Novgorod Gubernia and certain episodes from the life of Kondratiy Selivanov, the leader of the Scoptsy (Castrates) movement. The article deals with the social, historical, and religious contexts of the narrative told by Herzen.