The Pashkovite women in Russia

Abstract

Neither the secular nor ecclesiastical Russia of the second half of the nineteenth century left much room for women’s activity outside the home. The situation slowly began to change by the turn of the century when women started to gain access to higher education, jobs, and so forth. From the outset the Radstockist-Pashkovite movement was strongly characterised by the active participation of women. In fact the movement started with women inviting Lord Radstock to St. Petersburg and opening their homes to his sermons/preaching. This article reveals the Pashkovite women to be the main missionaries as the movement spread across the capital. They participated actively in various philanthropic projects. Finally they spared the Pashkovite movement in St. Petersburg some difficult times after the exile of its original leaders in 1884.