M. Ju. Nečaeva / V. P. Mikitjuk: Imperatorskoe Pravoslavnoe Palestinskoe Obščestvo v kul’turnoj srede rossijskoj provincii. Moskva: Indrik, 2014. 383 S., Abb. Tab. ISBN: 978-5-91674-314-2

M. Ju. Nečaeva / V. P. Mikitjuk: Imperatorskoe Pravoslavnoe Palestinskoe Obščestvo v kul’turnoj srede rossijskoj provincii. Moskva: Indrik, 2014. 383 S., Abb. Tab. ISBN: 978-5-91674-314-2.

In the last decade or so, Russian historians have given increased attention to the religious organizations, as one dimension of the development of civil society in late Imperial Russia. The present volume constitutes a significant contribution to that new scholarship. Although civil society organizations leave a relatively sparse archival trail (in this case, for example, only four of fifty-two local branches of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society bequeathed an archival fond), they generated a huge volume of contemporary publications and reports, not to mention a mountain of materials in the diocesan and secular press. The authors systematically examine the printed sources and also tap unpublished materials in the foreign ministry archive as well as local archival repositories for Perm’ and Ekaterinburg dioceses.

All that diligent research makes it possible to provide a rich picture of the profusion – and problems – of religious civil organizations. In terms of the institutional expansion of the Imperial Palestinian Society, the authors show that provincialization produced a rapid growth in the number of branches during the 1890s, and that these local units eventually arose in more than three-quarters of all dioceses. That growth applied not only to the number of provincial branches but also to membership: the Society grew from an initial membership of 615 members in 1885 to 5,116 members in 1902. That expansion was accompanied by a change in social composition, from an initial cohort comprised predominantly of secular elites to a clerical dominance, especially in the provincial branches (in Ekaterinburg, for example, the clerical component rose from 41 percent in 1894 to 76 percent in 1901).

Significantly, however, the Imperial Palestinian Society failed to sustain that growth after the turn of the century: in the last decade before the Great War it added few new branches and even showed a sharp decline in total membership (falling from 5,116 in 1902 to 2,917 members in 1914). That decline was partly due to demographics (the passing of the older generation of early members), but mainly to the exclusion of members who failed to pay dues (the latter accounting for about three-fourths of the decline). The authors also provide a fascinating analysis of statements by members and offer much insight into the motive for membership: more than a few sought less to promote the Society’s philanthropic and religious goals than to obtain the honorific medals and the prestige that membership conveyed. The author’s case study of Perm’ and Ekaterinburg show that this Society also found itself confronted with intense competition from the plethora of other civil society organizations, all seeking members – and money – in the last years of the ancien regime.

This monograph also provides a comprehensive chapter on what the Society did at the provincial level – from the dissemination of literature to public lectures about the Society and its work, all aimed to encourage pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The authors also compile fascinating data on the pilgrims; conveniently summarized in a table (pp. 136–137) on pilgrims in the years 1895–1899, the authors show the diverse social make-up of pilgrims but the striking predominance of peasants (71 percent of the 26,104 reported pilgrims) among those making the trek to the Holy Land. The authors also provide a close analysis of the Society’s finances – its main revenue sources and expenditures. In the spirit of post-Soviet “local history”, the monograph includes a lengthy chapter on the Society’s activities in two Ural dioceses.

This superb combination of the general patterns and two case studies sheds valuable new light on social development at the provincial level in late Imperial Russia. It demonstrates the highly active role of the clergy, but also other groups in society, especially hyperactive figures from the new entrepreneurial elites. This study also suggests that Orthodox civil society was relatively underdeveloped, even noncompetitive, with its secular counterpart, especially in the last decade before the outbreak of World War I. To be sure, this work is not without shortcomings – most important, the lack of a comparative framework or familiarity with theoretical or specialized literature in foreign languages. Nonetheless, this monograph represents a valuable contribution to the social and religious historiography on late Imperial Russia.

Gregory Freeze, Waltham, MA