Imperial Russia and the European powers in Ottoman Palestine: similar institutions, divergent actions

Throughout the 19th century, Tsarist Russia created institutions in Palestine similar to those in England, France, and Prussia (and later the German Empire): missions, committees, and learned societies. However, even though Russian officials drew heavily on foreign experiences, the specific characteristics of the Russian Empire's development - and above all the importance of religion in Russia's self-representation - had a strong impact on the actions of these institutions in Palestine. In this article, I present the French, British, and German modes of action, and then compare them with those of imperial Russia.