The Unorthodox offers a new history of Ukraine and Russia's Protestant communities, from the religious resurgence of World War II through four decades of the Cold War. The subject of bureaucratic reports, sensationalist newspaper stories, and court transcripts, these communities generated disproportionate attention in the Soviet Union. Miriam Dobson examines why they provoked such interest for the communist regime and—challenging ideas about the communist state and its repression of religion—argues that the Soviet regime used religious traditions to claim its own modernity. The Soviet preoccupation with the Protestant minority was later reproduced in the western media.

Subjected to scrutiny, those who belonged to Evangelical Christian-Baptist and Pentecostal congregations responded in varied ways. Some believed it possible to be both "Soviet and Protestant." Others concluded Christian life in the USSR was impossible. A minority developed alternative institutions, such as the all-female Council of Prisoners' Relatives, a highly effective producer and exporter of samizdat texts.

Using oral history interviews and unpublished letters, The Unorthodox explores the sense of purpose and belonging that congregational life provided and also the possibilities for conflict and discord as members navigated what it meant to live in accordance with Scripture in a modern, secular world. Dobson pays particular attention to gender dynamics within these predominantly female congregations.