Russian “Jerusalem Project” of Mid-19th Century : Activities of B. P. Mansurov and Russian Society of Shipping and Trade

Abstract

The activity of the official of the Maritime Ministry B. P. Mansurov as an agent of the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade is considered. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that in 1857—1860 the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade combined the tasks of setting up new transport lines in the East and caring for Russian pilgrims. It is noted that Mansurov’s activities marked the beginning of the construction of Russian Palestine. It is shown that Mansurov’s reports became the main documents of the “Jerusalem Project”, designed to unite different departments in order to strengthen Russia’s influence in the East. It is emphasized that Mansurov drew the attention of both the authorities and the Russian society to the situation of the pilgrims and contributed to the successful construction of Russian Palestine. The novelty of the research lies in the introduction of new documents into the scientific circulation, allowing to trace the history of relations between Mansurov and the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade, the reasons and process of the shipping company's exit from the Jerusalem Project, financing of the care of pilgrims by the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade.

Keywords

• russian palestine
• jerusalem
• “jerusalem project”
• russian society of shipping and trade
• the palestinian committee
• ministry of foreign affairs
• the holy synod
• pilgrims