American philanthropy among Russians: The work of the YMCA, 1900--1940

This dissertation analyzes the impact of the philanthropic activities of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) on Russians during the late imperial and early Soviet periods. The YMCA, the largest American service organization, initiated its intense engagement with Russians in 1900. During the First World War, the Association organized assistance for prisoners of war, and after the emigration of many Russians to central and western Europe, founded the YMCA Press and supported the St. Sergius Theological Academy in Paris. This work argues that the YMCA contributed to the development of late imperial Russian civil society, provided insightful eyewitness assessments and interpretations of Russia's revolutions, demonstrated the complex interaction of philanthropy and American diplomacy, and supported the expansion and enrichment of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Finally, it played a major role in preserving an important part of pre-revolutionary Russian culture in Western Europe during the Soviet period until the repatriation of this culture following the collapse of the Soviet Union. This activity has been known to specialists, but this is the first comprehensive discussion of an extraordinary period of interaction between American and Russian cultures. The research is based on the YMCA's archival records, observations found in Moscow and Paris archives, and memoirs of both Russian and American participants.