Historiographic Analysis of the Role of Christian Culture in the Formation of the Yakut Writing System

This manuscript studies the role of Christian culture and missionary efforts in the process of the interpenetration of Russian and Yakut cultures. In the pre-revolutionary period, conversion to Christianity played an important role as a unifying factor in relations between peoples and in the formation of self-consciousness of the Sakha people as an integral part of the multinational Russian people. A special study of the significance of Christian culture in the development of the literature of the Sakha people represents a new scientific direction in the study of the history of Yakut literature. In this perspective, special attention is paid to the study of early editions of spiritual literature in the source study aspect. The relevance of the manuscript is in the study of early sources stored in museums and archives of the republic and beyond. The study systematizes the historical sources and literature on the efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska, who played a significant role in the development of not only the Yakut Diocese but also in the development of the spiritual culture of the Yakuts. The personal contribution of Saint Innocent of Alaska is highlighted, during whose missionary efforts significant historical events occurred in Yakutia the first translated publications and the conduct of church services to the Yakut language.


Introduction
Various factors play a decisive role in the origin and formation of written language: from the division of labor to the processes of formation of statehood. All these factors are united by social significance, which is distinguished by the decisive factor in the distribution of written language. Indeed, the increase in population density, the increased relationship of responsibilities, and interdependencies require the organization of public life. Along with social factors, scientists identify psychological and cultural reasons, which undoubtedly reflects the stages of the historical formation of the state and relations between peoples. In this regard, the study of the spiritual origins of the formation of written language is also being updated, since the emergence of written language as a conscious product is due to religious influence.
The first translated literature, associated primarily with the church and official needs, is of particular importance in the formation of written Yakut language. In this aspect, the scientific interest in the spread of Christianity in Yakutia is due precisely to missionary efforts in the XIX century, at a time when handwritten Yakut literature begins with translations of church literature. In this case, special attention is paid to historical and literary sources as sources of information of historical and social reality, which are interpreted in the general cultural situation with which they arise and function.

Analysis of the current state of research
Currently, many sciences are becoming interdisciplinary in nature; humanitarian studies often overlap in the field of studying a person's personality and understanding issues. These aspects are of great importance for historical, literary, and linguistic research. Historical and literary source study today is being separated as a special humanitarian discipline that studies the theory and methodology of obtaining historical and literary facts.
An integrative approach, spreading in the field of a person's personality and understanding issues is of great importance for various humanitarian practices, including for various types of work with text. Thus, the interpretation of a literary text requires the broadest context: it is not only an understanding of the linguistic means used in this text, but also an understanding of culture, the historical era, style, genre, emotive meanings in the text, and much more. The text is seen not as a system enclosed in itself (internal linguistics in the theory of F. Saussure), but as a product obtained in a communication situation, depending on its structure and many extralinguistic factors.  (1994). Of particular importance are the articles by S.Yu. Neklyudov "Motive and text" (2004), "On some aspects of the study of folklore motifs" (1984) and the monograph by M. A. Lifshits (1979) dedicated to mythology as an ancient phenomenon, but of particular importance in the modern literary process.
Textual analyzes of the works, their variants (editions) are based on the works by N. S. Nadyarnykh "Axiology of enumerations" (2008), N.N. Mikhailov "Theory of literary text" (2006); on the collections of articles based on materials from international conferences "Textology and Genetic Criticism: General Problems, Theoretical Prospects" (2008), "Textological Temporary. Questions of textology and source study" (2009).

The purpose and objectives of the research
This article attempts to study the efforts of the Orthodox missionary Saint Innocent of Alaska in aspects of the study of the first editions of spiritual literature as the beginning of writing in the Yakut language. Systematization of historical sources and literature on the efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska will reveal the specifics of conversion of Yakutia to Christianity as a whole, but also the personal contribution of Saint Innocent of Alaska to the development of the spiritual culture of the Yakuts.

Research methods
The authors propose to identify the role and significance of spiritual culture in the formation of the Yakut written language via the source study method as the main research method, which includes two main stages: source study analysis and source study synthesis. The source study analysis reveals the circumstances and the purpose of translating Christian literature into the Yakut language, which becomes an incentive for creating the first brief grammar of the Yakut language, compiled by priest D. Khitrov, which is generally perceived as a convincing tribute to the native customs of the Sakha people.
The purpose of source synthesis is to study the historical source as an integral work of the culture of its time; placing the source in historical reality. In this regard, the search for the place of specific documents among other sources is carried out in identifying the degree of preservation of the first Christian publications in the archives of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Conversion to Christianity in Yakutia
The Orthodox Church participated in the formation of foreign and domestic state policy, which served as a basis for shaping the culture, life, and worldview of society. Researchers emphasize that the confessional policy of the Russian state concerning Siberian foreigners was an integral part of imperial policy in Siberia as a whole (Yurganova, 2017). The basis of all the events of autocracy in the church sphere in Asian Russia is the recognition of the great political and socio-cultural significance of the spread of Orthodoxy among non-Slavs. The adoption of Orthodox Christianity by the local population was considered an obligatory and important part of the integration policy, thereby political and socio-cultural goals complemented each other in the Russian colonization model of the eastern outskirts of the empire.
According to L.M. Dameshek, this is one of the differences between the colonial policies of Russia concerning the outskirts of the state from the colonial empires of the West. Therefore, throughout the XIX century, there is a further strengthening of the financial condition of the Orthodox Church in the region, which was accompanied by numerous organizational reorganizations in church administration, an increase in the number of churches and dioceses. If there were only five dioceses in Siberia in 1840, then their number increased to eleven by the beginning of the XX century. Per thousand parishioners, the most churches were in the Irkutsk diocese, followed by the Yenisei, Tomsk, Tobolsk, and Yakut dioceses (Dameshek, 2016).
Researchers of the history of the conversion of Yakutia to Christianity identify two main reasons for the "organization of the Orthodox Church" in the vast territory of the Lena Territory: the need to influence service members, commercial and industrial people who were "difficult to keep in obedience through coercion", and the conversion of local residents to Christianity (Shishigin, 1997). This generally confirms the opinion of L.M. Dameshek about the spread of Orthodox Christianity as part of the state policy of the Russian Empire.
However, it cannot be argued that Christian culture immediately spread to Yakutia and found a response among the local population. Protopriest Konstantin Kostromin, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Theological Work of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, notes that Christianity initially penetrated Yakutia at a not very favorable moment. "After all, the spread of the Russian population to the East under the conditions of the Livonian war, the oprichnina, the Time of Troubles, the difficult era of rebuilding the country in the second quarter of the XVII century, the Old Believer schism and the riots of the archers and the Cossack Razin (this is far from an incomplete list of the hardships of that era) occurred not in search of a good life" (Kostromin, 2019). Circumstances favored precisely economic motivation in the development of Siberia, rather than the spread of the word of God. Protopriest Konstantin Kostromin also adds that in the first decades, there was a keen sense of the absence of diocesan administration as such, and the appearance in 1620 of the Siberian and Tobolsk Diocese practically did not change the situation.
Besides, the remote territory of Siberia and the Far East was used as a place of exile for political and criminal prisoners, which, in turn, did not contribute to the expansion and rooting of Christianity in Yakutia. Protopriest Konstantin Kostromin notes that attempts to convert the Far East to Christianity without a systematic approach and in the absence of a trained clergy were practically unsuccessful. "Not only the region's underdevelopment by the beginning of the XVIII century, even though it was annexed to Russia a century earlier, but also the reluctance of the archiereuses to manage these territories, it is an unauthorized departure of the Irkutsk bishop Varlaam Kossovsky to Petersburg, as well as the lack of great success with Innocent of Irkutsk. If we consider the intensified missionary work of the Lamaistic clergy at the end of the XVII century, it becomes clear that the conversion of the region to Christianity throughout the XVII century was practically at zero level".
In the authors' opinion, the underdeveloped region means that it is underdeveloped in terms of improvement in general, due to severe climatic conditions and vast territory. As for the spread of Christianity among the local population, such a lengthy process is evidence of a sufficiently strong spread of the pagan faith among the Yakuts, which has survived to this day, despite the rooting of Christianity in the region.

Historiographical overview
Many scholars have been studying the role and spread of Christianity in Yakutia at different times, considering this issue both from the history of Yakutia and the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. There is an extensive literature on various aspects of the penetration of Christian culture in the Yakut region, which allows for eliciting the specifics of the study of this issue.
Russian historiography. Russian historiography distinguishes three periods on the study of the conversion of Yakutia to Christianity. These are pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and modern periods, each of which has its distinctive features, due to the demand for this issue, the historical realities of the era, and the level of development of the scientific base. A whole layer of literature arose in the pre-revolutionary period. Historical-geographical and church subjects divided this layer. First, it is worth noting the materials collected by members of numerous expeditions, members of various societies, and institutions representing materials of geographical, historical, ethnographic, and archaeological content. Manuscripts of church historians are published from the first half of the XIX century, which became the basis for subsequent generations of researchers.
Of the particular value of this period are the works by I.A. Khudyakov "A Brief Description of the Verkhoyansk District" (1869), V.L. Seroshevsky "Yakuts. The Experience of Ethnographic Research" (1896), V.F. Troshchansky "The Evolution of the Black Faith (Shamanism) of the Yakuts" (1902). These works of exiled scholars include references to the beliefs of the local population and the efforts of the Orthodox Church.
One of the first researchers in the history of Orthodoxy in Yakutia is Grigory Andreevich Popov (1887-1942), a descendant of Protopriest Vasily Popov, who arrived in Yakutsk from the city of Veliky Ustyug. Continuing his kind of clergy on both the paternal and the maternal lines, G.A. Popov studied at the Yakut Theological School (1899)(1900)(1901)(1902)(1903)(1904)(1905) and the Yakut Theological Seminary (1905)(1906)(1907)(1908)(1909)(1910)(1911). In 1917, he defended his thesis on divine services on the topic: "Christian enlightenment of the Yakuts and other non-Slavs of the Yakut Territory". However, subsequently G.A. Popov, under the influence of historical events of that time and the change of political power in Russia, begins to deal with issues of local history and is one of the founders of historical science in Yakutia, local history and museum affairs (Antonov, 2017).
The Soviet period of study is presented quite fragmentarily, considering the historical reality of this time, as a whole, is represented by issues of integration of the north-east of Russia into the all-Russian historical process in the period from XVII century until 1917 (Yurganova, 2017). The director of the Yakutsk State Museum of History and Culture of Northern' peoples named after Yemelyan Yaroslavsky, Yegor Spiridonovich Shishigin, who in 1975 defended his thesis on the topic: "Conversion of the peoples of Yakutia to Christianity".
For over twenty years, he has been dealing with the spread of Orthodoxy in Northeast Asia; the history of political exile in Yakutia; issues of theory and practice of museum work. Ye.S. Shishigin is the author and general coordinator of the international program "Saint Innocent of Alaska -The Holy Hierarch of Alaska and Yakutia", in the framework of which international scientific conferences were held in Mirny (1996) The current stage in the study of the history of the Russian church is characterized by increased interest of scholars in this subject in interdisciplinary aspects. Inna Igorevna Yurganova, the leading researcher at the Institute for Humanitarian Research and the problems of small indigenous peoples of the North of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, revealed the fullest topic of the efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Yakutsk region. I.I. Yurganova defended her doctoral dissertation in 2017 on the topic: "The Efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Yakutsk Territory: incorporation into Russian statehood (XVII -early XX centuries)". I.I. Yurganova believes that "the study of the process of asserting state power on the outskirts of the empire is connected with the history of Orthodoxy in Yakutia since Orthodoxy has become one of the main elements of the region's incorporation into the all-Russian political and socio-economic structure" (Yurganova, 2017).
In recent decades, the number of studies on the missionary efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska has been increasing. In 2013, a cultural and educational project "The Way of Saint Innocent of Alaska" was developed on the initiative of the Irkutsk Oblast Administration. There were scientific conferences held in the framework of this project. Among many works, the studies by E.V. Ilyina on the documentary sources of the Siberian region on the activities of Saint Innocent of Alaska (Ilyina, 2016) are of particular interest.
The employees of Yakutsk State University did a lot of work to perpetuate the memory of Saint Innocent of Alaska. In 1995-1997, they implemented international program "employees of Yakutsk State University -the Enlightener of Alaska and Yakutia". In the framework of this program, a bibliographic index "Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Saint Innocent of Alaska -the Enlightener of Alaska and Yakutia" was published. Scientific works, letters of the saint, memoirs of him were also reprinted. International conferences were held. Short films were shot about Saint Innocent of Alaska and the problems of spiritual revival, preservation of cultural, historical and architectural monuments. Cult monuments were restored. A chapel was built on the territory of the Yakutsk State Museum (the former Yakutsk Spassky Friary); memorial plaques installed. The St. Nicholas Church, now Grado-Yakuts St. Nicholas Cathedral, was consecrated after restoration.
On October 10, 1996, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted a program to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Saint Innocent of Alaska, which includes festive services, processions, the consecration and laying of churches and chapels, naming streets and squares in honor of the Holy Hierarch, and the holding of scientific and theological conferences and seminars, the opening of anniversary exhibitions, making films, publishing the life and works of Saint Innocent of Alaska. Since 2014, an annual scientific and practical conference dedicated to the history of Christianity in Yakutia and features of ministry in the Far North has been held at the Yakut Theological Seminary. E.P. Gulyaeva, the Professor of the Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts, deals with the issues of publishing church books in the Yakut language. In his works, the researcher emphasizes the role of the missionary efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska in the Yakutsk Territory in the aspect of the appearance of the first mass print publications in the Yakut language, designed for the widest readership, both in circulation, in the number of titles, and the thematic structure of published books (Gulyaeva, 2004).
Foreign historiography. Enduring interest in the history of the Russian church is also observed in foreign historiography. In general, these are works devoted to the history of the Russian Spiritual Mission in North America and the history of Russian America. Oxford University Member S.A. Musalimas, who gained academic degrees in Orthodox theology and social anthropology, made a great scientific contribution and takes direct personal participation in joint international projects. One of the latest publications is a collection of materials of scientific and practical conferences "Saint Innocent of Alaska. The holy hierarch of the peoples of Alaska and Yakutia" (2018), dedicated to the anniversary dates of Saint Innocent of Alaska. This work includes the works of people of different nationalities (Tlingits, Aleuts, Yakuts, and Americans) and specialties (linguists, anthropologists, historians), thereby expanding the boundaries of the scientific problem of research.

Archival and printed sources
There are several archival and printed sources of the XVIII-XIX centuries related to the history of church efforts in Yakutia. The collections of the National Archives of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) provide a large collection of archival documents related to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Yakutia. There are more than forty collection funds of primary sources covering the conversion of the Yakutsk Territory to Christianity: the Grado-Yakut Spassky Friary (I-228) 1663, the Yakut Spiritual Board (I-225) 1774, etc. Information on the efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska is available in the following archival funds: Yakutsk Spiritual Authority (f. 225), Kamchatka Spiritual Chancery (f. 227), Yakutsk Diocesan Patronage of Saint Innocent of Alaska (f. 277), and Yakutsk Spiritual Censorship Commission for Translation into the Yakut Language (f. 276). These primary sources, presented by decrees of Saint Innocent of Alaska on governance, rewarding clergy, on the construction of chapels in the villages of the Yakutsk region, on the conduct of worship in the Yakut language; prescriptions for teaching children to read and write, on the translation of liturgical books, the archbishop's correspondence with the Holy Synod, etc., constitute the historical basis for research, making it possible to assess the real degree of participation of Saint Innocent of Alaska in solving church problems in Yakutia and to give an adequate assessment of his missionary efforts.
The surviving originals of the first translated editions constitute the main source of the research. A well-known fact is that at the beginning of the XIX century there were attempts to publish church literature in the Yakut language. Thus, F.G. Safronov, V.F. Ivanov, dealing with the emergence of the Yakut written language, noted, "In 1812, church authorities in Irkutsk published "Prayers. The Creed and the commandments of God (elementary knowledge of the religious doctrine in the Yakut language)". Then, in 1819, the "Abbreviated catechism for teaching Christian Orthodox law to youth, translated into the Yakut language with an appendix on the front of the table for cards and reading of the Russian type" was printed in the governorate-printing house. The next period of mass translated literature is associated with translation efforts during the work of Saint Innocent of Alaska in Yakutia. In the years 1857-1858, six books of church service use were printed at the Moscow Synodic Printing House (the Holy Gospel, the Apostle with the book of Genesis, the Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom and the Prayer Book, the Reader of Cannons, Horologion and the Book of Psalms, "Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven" and teachings in the Yakut language), as well as "A Brief Grammar of the Yakut Language" and "Yakut-Russian Primer" (D. Khitrov). Significant is not only the appearance of translated literature in the Yakut language but the first attempts to create the Yakut alphabet and educational literature. Currently, not all primary sources have been preserved, but many are available in electronic form.
The fundamental collection of the most important archival documents and materials on the Yakut period of missionary efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska is the collection "Saint Innocent of Alaska in Yakutia", which contains published documents from the collections of the National Archives of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). This collection contains six thematic sections that reveal historical documents on the efforts of the Committee for the translation of sacred and liturgical books into the Yakut language; on the construction of the Dupsin Trinity Church, and services in the Yakut language. In total, 120 documents from five funds were published, the total number of storage units of which is 6,788.
Documents of these archives constitute a reliable scientific and historical basis for the study of the efforts of the Orthodox Church in Yakutia. They make it possible to assess the degree of real participation of Saint Innocent of Alaska, to assert that church issues in the regions served as an important component of Russian foreign policy.

Conclusion
For a short period of missionary efforts in Yakutia, Saint Innocent of Alaska made a significant contribution to the development of the region. By this time, in the Yakutsk region totaled up to two hundred thousand Yakuts, Evenks, Yukagirs, who had already been baptized earlier. However, researchers note that only education was limited to the baptism of the local population. Saint Innocent of Alaska attached particular importance to the spread of the word of God through the language of the local population. This is confirmed by translations of church books and worship in local languages during missionary efforts in the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. It is assumed that Saint Innocent of Alaska, understanding the importance of the language and culture of the local population, deliberately spread Christianity through the native language of the population, thereby bringing the word of God closer to the locals and the realities of their existence. Moreover, he also taught various crafts to residents, such as construction, including carpentry, thereby spreading the Christian culture through practical skills.
Without changing his views in Yakutia, from the very beginning of his efforts, Saint Innocent of Alaska paid special attention to translations of the Holy Scriptures and liturgical books in Yakut to continue the enlightenment of Yakuts in their native language. Moreover, even before moving to Yakutsk in his letter (1841) to the priest of the Yakut Church of Transfiguration Dmitry Khitrov blessed him to translate holy books into the Yakut language, obliging him to fulfill that intention. At the initiative of Saint Innocent of Alaska, a Committee was established in Yakutsk to translate sacred and liturgical books into the Yakut language (1853), and Archpriest Dimitry Khitrov was appointed as a chairperson. The committee was also attended by protopriests Yevgeny Popov, Nikita Zapolsky, priests Mikhail Oshchepkov, Petr Popov, and Philip Popov. As a result of the efforts of the committee from 1857 to 1858, the Moscow Synodic printing house printed the Holy Gospel (600 copies), the Apostle with the book of Genesis (200 copies), the Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom and the Prayer Book (300 copies), the Reader of Cannons (300 copies), the Horologion and the Book of Psalms (300 copies), "Indication of the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven" and teachings in the Yakut language (400 copies), "A Brief Grammar of the Yakut Language" compiled by Protopriest D. Khitrov (600 copies) and his "Yakut-Russian Primer" (3,000 copies).
The period of the appearance of a large number of translated and published church literature in the Yakut language, and subsequently the mass distribution of these books, testifies to the demand for literature in the native language, at least the distribution of the Yakut literacy among theological educational institutions. The result of Saint Innocent of Alaska's efforts and his associates was a liturgy, first held in the Yakut language on July 19, 1859 in the Trinity Cathedral of Yakutsk. Later, many scholars of both the Russian Church and scholars of the Yakut language will write about the liturgy, emphasizing the significance of this event. For the Yakutsk region, where Christianity has been spread for two centuries, service in the native Yakut language has become one of the most significant events, especially since later the Yakut speech was regularly sounded during church services throughout the Yakut region, and translations of church books in Yakut language continued.
Overall, the contribution of the missionary efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska is evidenced by his participation and assistance in creating an independent diocese in Yakutia. Nevertheless, before that, permission was received to create a separate archiereus's department -the vicar of the Kamchatka Diocese (1860). On March 28, 1870, the Yakut flock solemnly celebrated the opening of its diocese.
Thus, we can conclude that this source study base is an integral part of the research topic and contains valuable information for future developments. Their content allows us to delve into the subject of research, to reveal new facts about the conversion of Yakutia to Christianity. The presented primary sources are fundamental for studying the missionary efforts of Saint Innocent of Alaska not only in Yakutia but also in Siberia and Alaska. The study of the emergence of written Yakut language, and subsequently literature in the mother tongue is impossible without the study of translated literature, associated primarily with church and service needs. In this aspect, the scientific interest in the spread of Christianity in Yakutia is due precisely to missionary efforts in the XIX century, at a time when handwritten Yakut literature begins with translations of church literature. The personal contribution of Saint Innocent of Alaska is highlighted in this aspect, during whose missionary efforts significant historical events occurred in Yakutia -the first translated publications and the conduct of church services to the Yakut language.