Elena Golovneva, Irina Shmidt Religious Conversion, Utopia, and the Saced Site: Okunevo Village in Western Siberia Elena Golovneva - Cultural Studies and Design Department, Ural Federal University (Ekaterinburg, Russia). golovneva.elena@gmail.com Irina Shmidt - Theology and World Cultures Department, Omsk State University named after F.M. Dostoevskiy (Russia). rebew@rambler.ru This paper reflects on the experience of theorizing a sacred place emerged in the last two decades in Okunevo village in Western Siberia. Using discourse analysis and the ideas of social constructivism, authors specify some contemporary narratives related to Okunevo village. They view this "holy site" as a social product and the interplay of mythological narrative, archeological interpretation and a result of tourist practices. The production ofmythos and "invented traditions" are vital ways in which non-traditional religious communities in Okunevo remember, retell and rearticulate crucial aspects of their religious identity. Specified discourses, being considered as social logics of development of sacred site and forms of its representation, allow us to analyze this sacred space from the historical perspective. Keywords: new sacred space, non-traditional religions, mythology, archeological heritage, Okunevo, Omsk region. Golovneva E., Schmidt I. Appeal to faith, utopia and sacred place (Okunevo village in Western Siberia) / / State, religion, Church in Russia and abroad. 2015. N 3 (33). pp. 291-321. Golovneva, Elena and Shmidt, Irina (2015) "Religious Conversion, Utopia, and the Saced Site: Okunevo Village in Western Siberia", Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkou' v Rossii i za rubezhom 33(3): 291 - 321. page 290Introduction The process of religious revival unfolding before our eyes leads to the emergence of" holy places", sacred spaces, and the invention of new traditions. Such spaces turn out to be anthropologically important places, with a special atmosphere and aura, the significance of which c ... Читать далее