ABSTRACT
Dr Walter Arnstein's great contribution to nineteenth-century British history lies in his works which remind us today of the multiple roles, both conscious and unconscious, played by religious organizations. Established in 1812 at the initiative of the British and Foreign Bible Society and with the blessing of Tsar Alexander I, the Russian Bible Society sought to disseminate the scriptures without comment, thus making an inter-denominational movement possible. Close analysis of these missions illuminates important aspects of the disparate nature of the British Missions in Asia in the nineteenth century. The British missionaries were to prepare the ground for conversion, thus bringing the local non-Russian population closer to Russia. In essence, the mission had the affect of shoring up the Russian Empire. The Russian government sought to bring a politically volatile and strategically important region closer to the Russian culture of Christianity.
