The Old Believers of Guslicy

The article deals with the history and culture of a special ethnographical group of old believers (edinovercy), who live in Guslicy (Orexovo-Zuevo district, Moscow region). After the schism, or raskol in the 17th century, they kept their traditional customs and rites. The authors tried to show the peculiarities of old believers' life style in the past and present times. The close metropolis of Moscow (50-100 km away) affects Guslica's special identity. Its young population migrates to Moscow while the abandoned houses are bought as summer bungalows or dačas. This trend may lead to the full transformation of the former traditional old believing villages into typical modern settlements not inheriting local cultural and architectural traditions. The old-day Guslicy cannot be saved. However, some elements of its heritage still can be preserved in the museums