PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS OF ORTHODOX CRIMEA AND SEVASTOPOL IN 1991-2014: THE VARIETY AND SPECIFICITY OF ACTIVITIES
Background. Today one of the new forms of public activity are Orthodox Public Associations, which are a kind of modern institutions of the Russian civil society. This new (for Orthodox citizens) form of social activity raises many questions of practical nature. A study of the experience of similar public associations in the Crimea and Sevastopol in 1991-2014 contributes to the enrichment of the Arsenal of forms and methods of work of these associations. The purpose of this article is to reveal the activities of public associations of the Orthodox in the Crimea and Sevastopol over the previous two decades in the political transformation of the regional community. Materials and methods. This goal was achieved through the study and analysis of documents of legal character regulating the activities of public associations, internal archives of public associations and statistical materials of the state management bodies on the activities of religious associations, the media archives. Results. The article gives characteristics of the religious component of the Crimean regional community in the middle 1990s - early 2000s, discusses the activities of public organizations of the Orthodox Crimea and Sevastopol from a historical perspective, over the previous two decades. The author highlights their specificity, characteristic directions of activity. The article determines the contribution of these associations in maintaining and strengthening the Russian cultural space in the region in terms of political transformation in Ukraine at the turn of XX-XXI centuries. Conclusions. The study of activity of the organizations allows to make a conclusion about the important role of these organizations in upholding spiritual and moral values of the regional community, preserving the Russian cultural space, forming a conscientious Christian worldview. The attention to this issue contributes to the understanding of the specificity of the political processes unfolding in the Crimea and Sevastopol at the turn of XX-XXI centuries.