«If the mosques open, who will visit them?»: Kasimov Tatars religious life in 1943 on the basis of the data by G.P. Snesarev

Abstract

Studying the everyday life of the religious and understanding the relations between the USSR government and the religion requires insertion of new sources of information. Fragments of the materials by G.P. Snesarev devoted to the existence of Islam among Kasimov Tatars fi rst published in this paper makes it possible to fi nd out the key junctures in the history of the religion. Dated by the end of 1943 this report demonstrates the realities of the new Soviet policy towards the religion. Detailed information about the spreading of ritual practices, about the processes of secularization, describing the «life without a mosque» and the status of women of the period expands our knowledge of the social history and the situation with Islam in the USSR.