Description
Book SynopsisColonizing Russia's Promised Land: Orthodoxy and Community on the Siberian Steppe, examines how Russian Orthodoxy acted as a basic building block for constructing Russian settler communities in current-day southern Siberia and northern Kazakhstan.
Trade Review"This work does fill an important gap in our knowledge and understanding of the Orthodox Church’s important role in Russifying the empire’s Siberian frontier in the last decades of the tsarist regime. It should be of interest to scholars specializing in Russian imperial history as well as the history of Christian missions in settler colonial situations." -- Sergei Kan, Dartmouth College *
The Russian Review *
"In this engaging monograph, Aileen Friesen examines the role of the Orthodox Church in colonizing, Russifying, and "civilizing" the Siberian frontier between 1895 and the Bolshevik Revolution." -- J. Eugene Clay, Arizona State University *
Sibirica *
"Friesen’s work makes a valuable contribution to the growing historiography on Siberia and more broadly on Orthodox identity and lived religion as she exposes the diversity of ‘authentic expression of Orthodox belief.’ Her writing is rich with vivid descriptions of the Siberian landscape and amusing anecdotes that bring the conflicts and contradictions over the nuances of religious ritual to life." -- A.J. Demoskoff, Briercrest College and Seminary *
Journal of Mennonite Studies *
Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1 A Settler Diocese 2 Churches as a National Project 3 Parishes under Construction 4 The Politics of Pastoring 5 Living and Dying among Strangers 6 An Anthill of Baptists in a Land of Muslims Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
