Tsarist Russia in Greater Syria

Description

Syria has garnered international news headlines since
the Civil war that began in 2011. Foreign intervention has been a major aspect
of that conflict and attention has been drawn particularly to that of Russia.
Current events can be better understood when examined with an understanding of
the history that precedes them. This book illuminates a particular part of the
history of the region by examining the legacy of the Russian Empire’s activities
in the Near East in the century before World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution.
Motivated by feelings of kinship between Orthodox communities, the Russian
Empire played a key role in the Eastern Mediterranean, from conflicts such as
the Greek War of Independence and the Crimean War to ecclesial matters such as
supporting the birth of a native Arabic-speaking hierarchy for the Church of
Antioch. Particular attention is drawn to  the establishment of the Russian
Ecclesiastical Mission in the Holy Land whose philanthropic actions ranged from
building schools, hospitals, and churches, to giving material aid to native
clergy, and assisting pilgrims. The author shows that the deep historic and
religious ties binding these regions together have not dissipated since that
time, but continue to influence the Russian state’s foreign policy to this
day.