Tsarist Russia in Greater Syria

Defending Orthodox Interests 1825 - 1917

By Najib E. Saliba History, New and Forthcoming

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.