In the second half of the 17th century, at the time when the Russian Orthodox Church attained the highest dignity its division occurred. The reason for that were the reforms of the patriarch Nikon that were undertaken in order to the unification of the Russian Orthodox Church traditions with the Greek ones. They included some word writing changes in the Holy Writ, replacements of the two-finger cross by the three-finger one, carrying out of the religious procession in the opposite direction (against the sun) and some other changes. The parishes of the Old Belief who didn’t recognize such innovations were ranked as the heretics and were excommunicated from the Official Orthodox Church. Moreover, they were suffered the cruelest repressions that killed the wick persons and harden the strong ones. In form of the protest against the new doctrine, some of the Old Believers burnt themselves on fire, other organized uprisings and riots against the reforms and oppressions, many others escaped to the outlying districts of the Russian state. Eventually, the old believers divided into the small groups, and in every place of their staying they developed new lands, formed the commons and held sacred their culture and old traditions.

Some part of the Old Believers was exiled in Siberia where, initially, they were intended to be engaged in the husbandry and provide with bread the Cossacks (guarding the Russian boundaries with China) and the convicts (working in the gold and silver mines). The Old Believers arrived in Siberia started to be named as “Semeyskys” (from the Russian word “sem’ya” – family) for they were settling by families. They were who began to tillage the land by means of ploughs. The soil was sandy and stony, and was absolutely unfit for its cultivating. Nevertheless, their incessant industry and talent in farming converted stony land into the fertile soil.

Owing to the residence of the Old Believers in Transbaikalia the constant mutual interaction between the Russian and the Buryat culture in the agricultural and social spheres began. The Buryats adopted the rich Old Believers’ experience in the arable farming, house-building and farm construction, and the Old Believers, in their turn, accumulated knowledge on cattle-breeding. They became good sheep-breeders.

Despite some apartness of the Semeyskys, there weren’t infrequent the mixed marriages with the locals. The only condition for that consisted in adoption of the alien belief and pass through the taking baptism in water.

Within the Siberian settlements the Semeyskys’ ones are the most distinctive – Tarbagatay, Kuytun, Bolshoy Kunaley, Desyatnikovo that possess a special “face” recognizable even by the untutored onlooker. They made much of the outside beauty of the house, and while decorating they were widely applying colouring and painting that beset markedly housing fretwork. The tradition to have the houses painted in bright colours has been kept up to our days. The colorful decorative ornament and painting of the frames, cornices and shutters with a predominance of the red, blue, green and white colours gladify eyes a lot.  Besides, it is impossible to find two similar ornaments within one settlement.

The singing of the Semeyskys differed by its many-voiced performance and inner-vocal chants. Their characteristic drawling songs was considered to be as a genuine possession of the Semeyskys’ folk culture. They are keen on the singing. Perhaps, this is the gist of their ineradicable optimism, moral health of people that overcame all the hardships in their lives.

The word “Semeyskys” isn’t unknown for the Siberians. It is directly associated with beautifully painted houses, bright clothing and jolly dancing. This people managed to preserve a plenty of attractive traits: strong moral traditions, cult of family, veneration of the old people, enviable industry, and, the most and foremost, belief of their ancestors.