On Some Aspects of Foreign Historiography on State-Muslim Relations in the USSR

Abstract

An analysis of the works of foreign authors on the problem of state- Muslim relations in the Soviet state shows the possibility of their classification on various grounds. The article gives several options for the author’s classification of works of foreign researchers studied state- Muslim relations in the Soviet Union not only during the existence of this state, but also after its collapse. One of the motives that guided the author during the preparation of the article is the belief in the importance and urgent need to draw the necessary lesson for the Russian Federation — its authorities and the scientific community. The need to formulate such a lesson is due to the fact that in the works of a significant number of foreign scholars who analyze state- Muslim relations in the Soviet state, there is a number of negative trends: the substitution of concepts, the lack of a verified source base, conclusions one-sidedly characterizing the religious policy of the Soviet state in general and state- Islamic relations in particular. At the same time, despite the collapse of the USSR, authors from various foreign countries continue to be interested in the history of its state- Muslim relations. The most striking content of these works, published in recent years by foreign authors, is analyzed in the article, along with works published back in the years of the existence of the USSR.