CHANGES IN LIFE STYLE OF KURSK PROVINCE RESIDENTS IN THE LATE 1910S - EARLY 1920S (ON ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS OF CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICES)

Abstract

The separation of church and state was one of the key programs of the Soviet government as part of the gradual modernization of society, which was vital in the context of international turbulence and a series of geopolitical crises in the first half of the twentieth century. This process is impossible without the introduction of new life practices into the everyday life of the average citizen. Such practices were the registration of births, marriages and deaths by civil authorities, which had previously been the exclusive responsibility of the church, as well as the authorization of civil divorces. As the analysis of archival documents has shown, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the population of Kursk Province were believers, the introduction of new secular everyday practices did not provoke widespread social resistance. However, the process was fraught with difficulties due to the imperfection of the Soviet system of administration in the late 1910s and early 1920s, the lack of trained personnel, and the resistance of the clergy, who were deprived of significant influence on society and income from the sacraments. In this regard, the state had to apply certain sanctions, as well as to punish those persons who refused to fulfill the law. Nevertheless, such cases in the period under study were isolated. The majority of citizens met the introduction of new practices into everyday life by adapting them to the already established traditions, which did not cause any objections on the part of the authorities. In addition, new practices, in particular, the introduction of the institution of divorce into family life, partly allowed to improve the lives of a certain part of ordinary residents of the province