The Christian Dimension of Russia’s Policy in al-Mashreq al-Arabi

The Center for Arab Unity Studies issued the book The Christian Dimension of Russia’s Policy in al-Mashreq al-Arabi by Dr. Salim Hani Mansour.

The focus was often given to the Jesuit, Catholic and Protestant missions and their role in serving the colonial projects of France and Britain in the Arab Mashreq region, while the research on the role of the Russian Orthodox missions did not receive this much attention, perhaps because of the early retreat of Russia’s colonial role in the region after the victory of the Bolshevism revolution in 1917, and the expose of the colonial policies of the major powers in the region, including the role of Tsarist Russia, by the new Soviet regime.

This book examines the role of religion in Russian politics in the Arab Mashreq and the change in the centrality of this role according to the different historical phases that Russia has gone through since the Tsarist era, through the Soviet communist era, to the era of the current nationally oriented President Vladimir Putin.

The book sheds light on the similarity of the tools that Russia used in the arena of competition and conflict with Western countries in the region, such as missions and the establishment of churches and schools. The book presents Russia’s relationship with Christians, the Orthodox in particular, and its role in caring for the Holy Land and defending the Orthodox in the face of other Christian sects in the region.