Updated: Jun 16, In this interview with fellow Peripheral Histories? What motivated you to write a book about prostitution in late imperial Russia?
I have been interested in the history of the Russian Empire since I began studying the revolutions at my secondary school aged When I went to university, I was drawn to the history of prostitution because it was at the meeting point my various research interests, including gender history, the history of sexuality, and histories of crime and deviance. I found these books hugely inspirational, and they all informed my own perspectives on the topic.
How did your experience of doing research outside of St. Petersburg and Moscow shape your understanding of how the tsarist state attempted to regulate prostitution? Did you encounter any challenges in the course of conducting research for the book in different countries and archives? Doing research in a variety of different locations was integral to my understanding of the tsarist regulation of prostitution.
Regulation was organised and funded by provincial authorities, so there was significant variation in the formulation and implementation of policy across the Russian Empire. Looking solely at documents held in the imperial capital of St Petersburg only gives us part of the story. Capital cities usually have the most developed policing apparatus and are home to the most socially and ethnically diverse populations.
Looking beyond the metropole allows us to see how the policing of prostitution was influenced by the social, cultural, and environmental characteristics of a particular place. For example, prostitution was more likely to be understood as just another form of seasonal labour in regions where labour migration was crucial for the economic survival of the local population. Archivists and reading room staff raised their eyebrows at times when I explained my project, but I was never denied access to materials nor asked to explain why I was interested in the topic of prostitution.
