This book tells the story of a very special village. Bol S oj Kunalej is located in southeastern Siberia, not far from the Mongolian border. Founded by Old Believers, a Russian Orthodox community outside the state church, it grew rapidly and by around 1900 had a population of 5,000, more than a small Russian town. Religion shaped life and led to a separation from the outside world. Nevertheless, it was also caught up in the whirlpool of events that turned the Russian Empire upside down after 1914. World War I, the February and October Revolutions of 1917, the occupation by the Cossack Ataman Semjonov, and finally the Bolshevik takeover created fundamentally new conditions. How did these affect the administration, economy, and religious practices of the inhabitants? The author answers this question with a wealth of information.