Flappers & Fiction

In the vast Russian Empire, the clergy forms a world apart, divided sharply between the wealthy, celibate monks and the married “White Priests” who struggle to feed their families. This 1886 account introduces us to a hereditary caste where survival often means bargaining over the price of a burial or a wedding. It is a portrait of contradictions, you see. We find priests who might trick a peasant for a rouble, yet brave a lethal blizzard to comfort the dying. It is a study of faith, poverty, and the very human need to survive.