Rites of Empire

Rites of Empire, Volume 1, examines the complex intersection of religion and statecraft in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Russian Empire. This history explores how the imperial state intervened in cultural and sacred life to rationalize religion and eliminate superstition. While the state sought control, urban environments fostered new religious expressions. Ellie R. Schainker investigates the reform impulses among the massive Jewish population of the Russian Empire, moving beyond simple binaries of Orthodox or secular identities.

This work of Jewish history details how many individuals sought a synthesis between modernity and religious practice. Through an analysis of the Jewish press and new urban synagogues, the text shows how debates over dietary rules, education, and prayer shaped community life. Rites of Empire, Volume 1, demonstrates how the imperial state shifted from promoting reform to supporting a politicized Orthodox Judaism to combat revolution. This history recovers a lost era of religious diversity within the Russian context.