The project Dr. Grishin is pursuing during the VORL program is developing his dissertation into a book manuscript dedicated to the role of language in the identification and consequent persecution of religious dissent, specifically of Russian religious groups known collectively as the “Schism” (Raskol), or the Old Belief (staroverie). The book would attempt to change the scholarly conversation about the Old Belief/“Schism” altogether. On the one hand, he examines the history of the described conflict in Muscovy within a wider framework of the Early Modern European movement for religious renewal and transformation started with the Reformation(s). The Muscovite case follows in this trend, he argues. On the other hand, he demonstrates that the “Schism” as a unified phenomenon is a discursive construct that received a tangible form primarily thanks to the performative power of ecclesiastical and legal languages.
Evgeny Grishin is a historian of Early Modern Russia with particular interests in language, religion, and materiality. He received his Bachelor’s degree in History and Law from Viatka State University of Humanities in Kirov and his Master’s degree in Russian History from the European University at St. Petersburg. In 2017, he earned his PhD in History from the University of Kansas. Right after graduation, he secured a three-year contract as a faculty member at the School of Advanced Studies in Tyumen, Russia. Since 2020, he has been residing in Dublin, Ireland, together with his family. He is a Spring 2021 Virtual Open Research Laboratory Associate.
