The article reveals the reasons for disobedience and forms of protests among tatar peasants of the Muslim religion in the Volga and Ural regions in the post-reform period, which was held under “religious connotation”. Motivation of antigovernment protests organized by tatar farmers involved closely intertwined ethno-confes-sional and social aspects. The protests of the peasants were directed against the establishment of the new order and at the preservation of the existing social relations. Even cases of protest against the abuses of the authorities had a distinct interfaith connotation, because the peasants considered it was about the actions of officials of the Orthodox faith against the Muslim population and representatives of the traditional faiths. As illustrated in the article, the reasons for the protest social behavior of rural societies of Muslims were often violations of traditional ways of life caused by the requirements of the veterinary - sanitary and medical measures. The religious mentality and ignorance of the tatar farmers of the Russian language and literacy, rumors about the upcoming mass forced baptizing of Muslims also contributed to protest the social behavior of rural societies.