Russian properties in Palestine

The properties of the Russian institutions in the Holy Land before the First World War belonged to the Russian Government, The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission. During the British administration of Palestine (1917–1948) they were a subject of endless discussions. Both the Russian emigrant organizations (the Palestine Society abroad and the Ecclesiastical Mission, subject to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad) on one side, and the Soviet Government on the other side pretended to be legal owners of the properties. The administration of the mandate took the responsibility over the Russian properties, rented them out and used the money for supporting the Russians in Jerusalem and for maintenance of the buildings. The British authorities put the issue on a solid law base and did not admit to the administration either the Soviet representatives, or the Russian emigrants. The correspondence about the visit to Palestine in Summer 1923 of Paul Anderson, member of the Young Christian men’s organization, famous for his activities among the Russian emigrants, contributes to the picture of the complicated relations between the Palestine Society and the British administration. The documents on Anderson’s visit are of primary importance for the history of the Palestine Society abroad and its contacts in the 1920s. They are a logical supplement to the series of attempts of the Society to restore its legal status in Palestine, which it undertook during the whole period of the British Mandate.