Castration and the Heavenly Kingdom: A Russian Folktale

Castration and the Heavenly Kingdom examines the Skoptsy, a Christian sect in 19th century Russia that practiced ritual castration. This historical account follows the movement from its origins through its interactions with Russian authorities and society. The narrative centers on the sect's founder Kondratii Selivanov and traces how his teachings spread through imperial Russia's countryside and cities. Through court documents, police reports, and personal testimonies, the book reconstructs the beliefs and practices of this radical religious group. The story encompasses the broader context of Russian peasant life, Orthodox Christianity, and the state's attempts to control religious expression. It documents how the Skoptsy maintained their communities despite persecution and created economic networks that helped them survive. This work raises questions about religious freedom, the limits of bodily autonomy, and the complex relationship between spiritual beliefs and state power. The book serves as a lens through which to view the tensions between traditional Russian society and modernizing forces in the 19th century.

Readers note this is a detailed historical account of the Skoptsy religious sect in Russia, based on archival research and primary sources. Readers appreciated: - Clear explanation of complex theological beliefs - Balance between academic rigor and readability - Inclusion of court documents and personal testimonies - Thorough coverage of the sect's origins through decline Common criticisms: - Dense academic writing style - Too much focus on bureaucratic/legal aspects - Limited exploration of daily life within the sect - High cost of the hardcover edition Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (12 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (4 ratings) A history professor on Goodreads wrote: "Engelstein navigates difficult subject matter with scholarly precision while maintaining narrative momentum." One Amazon reviewer noted: "The legal documentation is exhaustive but comes at the expense of human interest stories that could have brought the subject to life." Very few reader reviews exist online for this academic text.

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🔹 The Skoptsy, the Russian religious sect at the center of this book, believed that removing sexual organs would bring them closer to God and restore humans to their pre-Fall state of androgyny. 🔹 Author Laura Engelstein is a prominent historian of Russia who taught at Princeton and Yale, specializing in the cultural and social history of modern Russia. 🔹 The Skoptsy sect survived persecution under both the tsarist regime and the Soviet government, maintaining their practices from the 1760s until the 1930s, when Stalin's forces finally succeeded in eliminating them. 🔹 Members of the sect included wealthy merchants and peasants alike, and they developed elaborate networks of mutual support and secret communication across the Russian Empire. 🔹 The book's title references the Biblical passage Matthew 19:12, which speaks of those who "made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake" - a key text used by the Skoptsy to justify their practices.