Historical and Confessional Study of the Peoples of the Middle Volga Region in the Kazan Theological Academy in the Second Half of the XIX – the Beginning of the XX Centuries

The urgency of the problem under investigation is caused by the increased interest of modern researchers in the problems of interethnic and interconfessional interaction. The aim of the research consists in the objective representation of history of the missionary departments of the Kazan Theological Academy, the study of the educational, scientific and public work of its teachers and graduates, the analysis of scientific works on history, ethnography, language and culture of the Turkic, Finno-Ugrian and Mongolian peoples of the Middle Volga region in Kazan in the second half of the XIX – the beginning of the XX centuries. The Kazan Theological Academy was one of the largest religious and educational, missionary, ethnic and political institutions in Russia and, at the same time, one of the leading centers for studying history, culture, ethnography and language of the Turkic, Finno-Ugrian and Mongolian people in the second half of the XIX – the beginning of the XX centuries. The article deals with the scientific and educational activity of the only missionary departments of the Kazan Theological Academy in Russia (1842 - 1921), the contribution of such great teachers as N.I. Ilminsky, G.S. Sablukov, E.A. Malov, V.T. Timofeev, N.P. Ostroumov, M.A. Mashnov to the process of studying history, ethnography, language and culture of the peoples of the Middle Volga in Kazan in the second half of XIX – the beginning of XX centuries and to the covering of Islam and Christianity problems. The teachers of the Kazan Theological Academy made a great contribution to the historical, confessional, ethnic and political study of the Turkic, Finno-Ugrian and Mongolian people of Russia, and, moreover, they helped to preserve and develop the languages, form national education and promote integration of the people into a single cultural, educational and informational space of the Russian state. The professors of the missionary departments revealed and collected a huge amount of various materials (historical, linguistic and ethnographic) about the Tatars, the Maris, the Chuvashes, the Udmurts and the Mordvas, which are of great importance for the research of the sources of the modern international and interconfessional relations in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Federation. The article can be useful for all people who are interested in the modern ethnic and political processes in the Russia Federation.