Who would have thought that in the distant 18th century a sect would arise in the Russian Empire, whose members would emasculate themselves, and also force other people to do this. And all because of a certain interpretation of faith.
Skoptsy exiled to Yakutia.
It all started with the fact that the peasant Kondraty Selivanov founded a community in the Tambov province and began to preach his doctrine. He believed that people need to overcome lust and offered very specific actions for this (simply speaking, castration), he proved his innocence by the fact that he is the son of God and acts on the direct orders of God.
Kondraty Selivanov.
Actually, he called the ritual "fiery baptism" and was carried out by specially trained people, sometimes, however, people did it on their own. It is noteworthy that not only men, but also women could undergo the ritual, in which case the labia and breasts were removed.
Skoptsy in Yakutia.
Surprisingly, the sect grew rapidly. That is, people, for the most part, voluntarily agreed to such a procedure. There were several reasons for this, firstly, the adepts tried to attract rich peasants to the sect, inspiring them that they would turn into angels already on earth, and through wealthy citizens they influenced the rest of the village population, which was often in debt to the previous category. Thus, promising to forgive debts and, moreover, a comfortable life, the followers lured new members to them. Secondly, people went to them themselves. After all, the eunuchs were really wealthy, as depriving themselves of carnal urges, they limited themselves in everything else, accumulating huge money in the community and for obvious reason they could not have children. That is, people followed a prosperous and comfortable life. But there were also cases of emasculation of younger relatives against their will.
This, of course, could not last long. And the authorities became interested in a new exotic trend in their land. Measures were taken and the eunuchs began to be arrested and then tried. Subsequently, more than 300 people were exiled to Siberia. Kondraty Selivanov was with them, however, he managed to escape.
Promotional video:
Yakutia. a merchant from eunuchs E. P. Eresko.
Surprisingly, this man was able to regain his influence and live a fairly long life. During the reign of Alexander I, the police were forbidden to enter Selivanov's house. And he, without fear of anything, castrated young people. However, in 1820, the relatives of the emperor's favorite, namely Count Miloradovich, got into the sect. And the power still imprisoned Kondraty in one of the monasteries, in which he later died in 1832.
It would seem that the story should have ended there, but no. A huge number of followers of this teaching remained, they had already worked out the tactics of attracting new members, and they continued to grow. And the authorities began to fight this problem seriously. Whoever was even suspected of collaborating with them was immediately exiled to Siberia. The most famous community of eunuchs in Yakutia. The people of the sovereign believed correctly that among the Yakuts this religious teaching would not have any success at all (I must say, they were right).
Members of the eunuchs sect.
Hundreds of Skoptsy exiled to Yakutia and lived here. I must say they were not specifically prohibited from conducting their religious activities within the community. Namely, their rituals. They usually met on Saturdays in a special house. There they read special prayers, sang, danced, spun, etc. It was like a kind of trance that people put themselves into. Often people fell exhausted, because they tirelessly jumped and spun in a trance.
Ritual of eunuchs.
However, in Yakutia, eunuchs became noticeable to others. In this harsh winter land, they managed to establish a high level of agriculture, get large yields of wheat, have flower beds and vegetable gardens. Their houses were built so soundly that some of them have survived to this day.
House of eunuchs.
The streets of their villages were clean and tidy. They also had workshops, shops and even windmills. All this is understandable, because people did not drink and did not indulge in other pleasures. All their life energy was directed to work. Thanks to their hard work, they managed to accumulate large sums, which, however, sent to the development of their teachings. For example, there are cases of buying children and their further emasculation. Also, the money was spent on bribes and bribery.
Tea drinking eunuchs.
However, no amount of money could help the eunuchs to develop in these harsh lands. People simply died without a natural continuation. It is interesting that the last eunuchs were condemned in the USSR in 1929. And so this strange story ended.