In Russian Old Belief, there are many different currents, and one of the largest is the Fedoseev one. Adherents of this direction reject marriage, prayers for the tsar, and consider the Russian state completely corrupt. Moscow merchant Ilya Alekseevich Kovylin became the main promoter of this trend. The Fedoseevs faced persecution for a long time, but it was Kovylin who managed to achieve some loyalty from the authorities towards his co-religionists.

The story began in 1771 when a plague epidemic broke out in Moscow. Residents fled the city in panic, which could have led to the spread of the disease throughout the European part of Russia. The authorities proposed building checkpoints at the exits from Moscow to detain the sick. Ilya Kovylin and his friend Ivan Zenkov took advantage of this by purchasing land near the village of Cherkizovo and organizing a small Old Believer hermitage along with a checkpoint. They cared for the sick, trying to heal them, and in the process, they spoke about the Fedoseev agreement, preached, and offered to convert to ancient Orthodoxy. Many agreed. Later, houses of newly baptized individuals began to be relocated here.

The community grew rapidly and was replenished with new members. During the plague, the authorities had other priorities, so the Fedoseevs felt like full-fledged masters. Kovylin attracted new followers creatively and skillfully. To those accustomed to a strict lifestyle, he allowed some liberties, while those who behaved loosely were introduced to asceticism. Kovylin also knew how to motivate sponsors, and the community was supported by merchants and patrons.

By the beginning of Paul I's reign, the Fedoseevs had become the most numerous current of dissenters in Moscow. The new emperor was hostile towards them and wanted to close their prayer houses. However, Kovylin, using bribes and expensive gifts, managed to overturn this decision through the tsar's entourage. The day of Ilya Kovylin's death became a Day of Mourning for the dissenters. He was buried at the Preobrazhenskoe cemetery in 1809, and the Fedoseev community still exists in Moscow today.