https://doi.org/10.31648/ep.5754
Economic factors played the most important role in the dissolution of monasteries in the Russian Empire in the 19th century, but other factors were also considered. Officially, the Russian authorities claimed that all monastic property was to be used for the upkeep of schools, board and care facilities, and charitable institutions. In reality, however, the land owned by monasteries was confiscated by the public treasury, while monastic property that could not be sold for various reasons was transferred to local governorates and the Orthodox Church.
For a long time, the authorities did not recognize the value of monastic properties. Most property did not find new users, and deserted buildings fell into disrepair. The situation changed in 1850, when another wave of monastery closures was underway. Detailed plans were developed to turn the confiscated buildings to new uses, but even then, a significant number of buildings remained vacant. On 31 July 1854,the Ministry of the Interior ordered an inventory of State-owned monastery buildings to determine which properties were suitable for further use. The civil administration in Kiev, Podolia and Volyn Governorates took more than 6 years to implement this order. The Volyn Governorate inventory lists 28 objects and
provides the following information: 1. original user of the object (building/complex); 2. date of foundation and construction; 3. concise architectural description; 4. legal and ownership status, users; 5. technical condition; 6. recommendations concerning the object’s future, sources of funding for renovation work. At the time of the inventory, 8 former monastic complexes were managed by the Volyn Governorate Chamber of State Property, which in practice meant that monastery buildings were defunct and ruined. Eleven monastery estates fell under the management of the Orthodox Church, but only 4 monastery buildings were actively used, which considerably slowed down their damage. The army used 4 former monaster ies, one of which was shared with a Catholic parish. Four monasteries were handed over to the local administration and county courts. All 28 buildings/building complexes were in poor condition, and more than half of them were qualified for demolition. However, only several objects, such as the Dominican monastery in Vladimir, were torn down. Other ruined monasteries were left to their fate, and their ruins survived until Poland regained its independence.
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