Скопческий процесс 1888 г.: дело братьев Федосеевых в контексте противосектантских следственных и судебных практик

Abstract

This article examines the investigation and trial of 115 individuals suspected of belonging to a sect of skoptsy (eunuchs). The hearings were held in the Tverskoy District Court from November 15 to 21, 1886. Using the criminal case and accompanying court records, the article examines the role of the Fedoseyev peasant family in organizing the sect, the methods used to recruit new adherents, and ritual practices. The sect's rapid expansion was facilitated by the negligence of local civil and clerical authorities, who failed to detect the large eunuch community, which had spread across several districts of the Vyshnevolotsk District. However, thanks to the prompt actions of police and judicial authorities, the entire sectarian network was quickly uncovered and its further expansion prevented.