The Old Believers in imperial Russia : oppression, opportunism and religious identity in Tsarist Moscow /

Orthodox Christianity remains a central feature of Russian national identity and state legitimacy in the 21st century. The Old Believers in Imperial Russia presents a complex history of religious schism and dissent reaching back to the emergence of the modern Russian state. De Simone reframes the history of the group that emerged from that schism, the Old Believers, by focusing on a visible, prosperous, and, in his words, opportunistic urban community in Moscow. He organizes the monograph chronologically, beginning with the origins of the Old Believer community around the Rogozhskoe Cemetery in Moscow and tracing its development and pursuit of economic opportunity in the empire's second city amid the ebb and flow of religious toleration. De Simone argues that rather than accepting seclusion or exile, Old Believers in Moscow openly pursued a desire to better the whole society as a model Christian community and cultural answer to the pressures of modernization and emerging capitalism. Overall, the study will be of primary interest to scholars and students of Russia and Orthodoxy, but it also constitutes a meaningful contribution to the study of religious minority communities and urban history. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students through faculty. --Steven G Jug, Baylor University