In the second half of the 19th century, St. Petersburg and Moscow became new cities in Jewish settlement history. The study views the history of St. Petersburg and Moscow Jews as a long-term process of geographical and cultural mobility. Particular attention is paid to modifying and maintaining traditional church structures and values. Yvonne Kleinmann examines Jewish social structures, forms of organization and religious articulations in the context of the legal status of Jews on central Russian territory. She describes the two multiethnic cities as places of economic competition and interethnic conflict. At the same time, it shows how it can create cultural spaces that go beyond ethnic-religious affiliation.