SOME ASPECTS OF THE ISLAMIC «RENAISSANCE» IN POST-SOVIET RUSSIA IN THE LATE 1980s – 1990s (based on materials from the Central Volga Region)

Abstract

The article describes the content and forms of the «revival» of Islam in the Middle Volga region – an increase in the number of mosques, the training and training of ministers of the Islamic cult, the restoration of the system of Muslim education and education, etc.; the practice of interaction between authorities and believers in the conditions of post-Soviet Russia is considered. The significant role of the Muslim mass media in the process of the revival of Islam is analyzed. The newspapers in the Tatar language, for the most part, were of a cultural and educational nature and were intended for a reader who is actively interested in the traditions of his people. Compact living with the Russians and, as a result, some Russification of the Tatars on the territory of the Middle Volga region became the main reason that Muslim newspapers were published in whole or in part in Russian. Initially, there were virtually no analytical materials in the Muslim publications, the information was presented somewhat one-sided, the bulk of the publications were devoted to the description or explanation of religious rites, etc. Virtually all Islamic newspapers were loyal to federal and local authorities. The process of reviving Muslim education is also considered. Almost in all regions of compact residence of Muslims, secondary, higher and special religious educational institutions were established. The Islamic «renaissance» proceeded at a slower pace than the Orthodox, and, first of all, in the Middle Volga region, since the local party and Soviet authorities were characterized by strong inertia, misunderstanding of the processes taking place; there were no corresponding serious spiritual structures and organizations that could become the initiators and implementers of new tasks. Islam in post-Soviet Russia existed fundamentally in different conditions than in the Russian Empire or the USSR. The relationship between the muftis – leaders of the Spiritual Directorates of Muslims and the federal authorities – was characterized by constancy and certainty. Representatives of the Islamic cult were represented in almost all high government levels in the country. At the turn of 20th – 21st centuries. Islam in the Middle Volga region did not become a serious factor of political socialization and a component of the political culture of the Tatar-Muslim ethno-confessional groups.