An unsuccessful attempt at the restoration during July 1682 of the old faith, as state confession it led to the fact that the significant number of old believers from Moscow and Moscow area preferred to leave these regions, which were being been under the control strict of state. After adoption by tsarevna Sofiya's government in 1685 of the new law, which strengthened fight with the church opposition ("12 articles"), the dissenters moved into the sparsely populated, and therefore are more the "free" places: in the Don, in maritime, to Kerzhenets, into Poland, where soon were formed the new centers of staroveriya. In the literary- publicistic creation of old believers together with the eschatological thematics, to the foreground began to be advanced the internal differences among the medium dissenters, connected with the separation of staroveriya into two basic directions: to popovshchinu and to bespopovshchinu.
In 1680- e yr. of popovtsy they especially actively mastered Volga Region. Here on the left tributary of the Volga To kerzhenets river in the short time appeared more than 70 monasteries, whose population consisted of more than 2 thousand Old-Believers. Kerzhenskiy center became one of the strongholds of popovshchiny. Cathedrals there frequently called, debates about the correction of the books conducted, about writings of the apologists of old faith from others it was center. Special incandescence these disputes acquired at the end OF THE XVII - beginning OF THE XVIII of the substances, when father superior of one of the monasteries Onofre, supported the ideas of the messages ("false") of the proto-priest of Avvakum about Troitse, Soshestvii into hell , etc. by the enemy of Onofre appeared Old Faith monk yevfrosin. On the version P. S. Smirnov precisely this Yevfrosin was the author of treatise "otrazitel'noye writing about the newly-invented way suicidal of deaths" (1691 ), where hotly it protested against the self-immolations. In 1710-30- e yr. special popularity on Kerzhentse enjoyed the name of the quick priest of Matvei Andreev, who was joined into staroveriyu in 1708 known his composition "exposure about lzheuchitelyakh and prelestnikakh, addressed fedoseyevtsu to Ignatius Trofimov, and also questions to foreign fedoseyevtsam (1715 g.) and the description of conversations with them (1722-1736 ).
Kerzhenskiy center became the place of creation of one of the most known compositions of old believers -popovqev. In 1729 the Old-Believers headed by deacon Aleksandr composed "answers to 130 questions of Nizhniy-Novgorod yep. Pitirim. "d'yakonovy answers" played the salient role in the protection of Old Faith from the strengthened offensive of missionaries and, to a certain extent, they had an effect on appeared 5 for years later "seacoast answers". The value Of "d'yakonovykh answers" estimated the representatives of the orthodox church: on the order yep. Pitirim Aleksandr together with his comrades they chained into the shackles, under the torture they forced otrech'sya from the "answers" and executed in 1720 . With the name of Aleksandr is connected one additional composition - "message" to the branch 1716 , which it wrote together with the priests by Andrey and Gerasim. The authors of message requested vetkovskikh Old-Believers to participate in the work on the composition of "answers".
After the loss of Aleksandr the large number of followers of his study was moved to the branch. The base of this center of popovshchiny was assumed even in the second-half 1680- X yr., when old believers, who escaped from Starodub'ya, were based on the island branch on r. Sozh near Gomel. At the beginning THE XVIII century the branch became one of the main places of the concentration of beglopopotsev, which at this time it was counted to 4 thousands. To strengthening branch contributed the appearance of here one of the best leaders of popovshchiny of "black priest" Theodosius.
In 1720- e yr. began the discord between vetkovtsami and d'yakonovtsami arrived here. By the main ideologist of d'yakonovtsev it was Timofey Of matvevich Of lysenin, and the main point of differences became a question about kazhdenii (2- multiple or 3- multiple). T. Lysenin as early as 1709 dedicated to this the special "book" of 51 chapter, in which also were examined the study about the trinity, questions of worship to icons, controversy with the admirers of the study of Avvakum. In response to the "errors" of d'yaknovtsev, arkhimandrit Pokrovskiy monastery Joseph it composed "word vozrazitel'no on the the lzheuchiteley and the the razdirateley the peace of God, novoyavivshikhsya kadil'nikov...." In 1720 . "word" was sent out on the the vetkovskim to settlements and signified by itself the beginning of controversy. In 1725 one additional representative Of vetkovskikh pomortsev Joseph artem'ev created "writing", where he proved, that "tri-fold kazhdeniye is Christ's", and "twofold is heretical".
Russian government repeatedly undertook measures for the destruction of vetkovskogo center. Thus, in 1735 took place the first "distillation", when into Russia were moved about 14 thousand old believers. The second "distillation" followed in 1764 posle, the value this center of popovshchiny considerably it was lowered.