Inclusion of the former Uniates of Belarus into the cultural and religious space of the Russian Empire in the modern historiography of Belarus and Russia (2001-2018)
The introduction substantiates the relevance of studying the modern historiography of Russia and Belarus on the integration of former Uniates into the cultural and historical space of the Russian Empire. The scientific novelty consists in studying the problem of the development of historiography in line with the problems of the existence of the post-Uniat community on Belarusian lands in 1839-1917. The main part reveals the basic tendencies in the interpretation of the considered historical phenomenon in the period of Modern times on the basis of the researches of Belarusian and Russian historiographic studying traditions of confessional history. The purpose of the study is to present an nalytical review of these concepts in the Belarusian and Russian historiography of the specified period. The specific features of these historiographical traditions, their interpretation of the ethnic and state factors in the process of reunification of the Uniates and Orthodox in the bosom of the Orthodox Church are noted. Also the works of the leading historians of the East Slavic world are highlighted, in which the problem of the history of the Uniate Church received a synthesical and conceptual coverage. It is concluded that the recent historiography of the CIS countries has a pronounced tendency to view the Uniates as an object of influence of the confessional policy of the Russian Empire. Any researcher who directly or indirectly touches upon the problem of studying a particular denomination or denomination of the Russian Empire within the borders of the 19th century, one way or another, considers the complex vector of relations between ethnic groups, believers of different faiths, actions of the authorities and the reaction of the local population as a condition of objectivity. The conclusion notes that, to date, Belarusian modern historiography lacks a special comprehensive study analyzing the process of integrating former Uniates into the Orthodox religious and cultural environment in the context of the new socio-political situation, as well as characterizing the religious and mental conversion of former Uniates. The scope is humanitarian education, cultural and educational activities.