The digitisation of private provincial archives of the Old Believers of Central Russia (EAP1369)

Aims and objectives

This project intends to digitise, preserve and make publically available three important private provincial archives of the Old Believers of Central Russia: collections of Alexey Belas (St. Nicholas Church, Novozybkov), priest Mikhail Egorov (Church of Virgin Mary's Birth, Pavlovsky Posad) and nun Zinaida (Kolomna). These archives contain unique materials about history and spiritual culture of regional Old Believers communities: manuscripts and old printed books XVIth–XXth centuries, letters, various documents and photographs. A lot of the documents are in a bad state. During the project about 500 acid-free cardboard boxes will be made. 100 of the most significant and important manuscripts, old printed books and photographs will be digitised.