The solution by the authorities of the Russian Empire of the “Muslim question” among the Kazakhs

Abstract

The article deals with the evolution of the imperial Russian government and regional policy on the so-called Muslim issue among the Kazakhs. An attempt was made to periodize from the rejection of Kazakh Islam, to its use as a tool for incorporating Kazakhs into imperial structures with the help of, first of all, Tatar mullahs and specially created bodies, primarily the muftiate, to the emergence of two parallel lines in the policy of the Orenburg and West Siberian authorities to wary attitude on the part of the government, which noticed in Kazakh Islam elements of politicization and the threat of the development of separatist tendencies. At the same time, issues of education using elements of Islamic education, expanding the penetration of Islam into the Kazakh environment by changing the number of cultists, and attempts by the authorities to use Islamic institutions as official positions in the grassroots colonial administration are considered. The issues of the evolution of the perception of Kazakh and Central Asian Islam by the administration, travelers, researchers are also considered; as well as the perception of the ongoing reforms by the Kazakhs. The evolution of the political process is considered in connection with other administrative reforms of Russia in the Kazakh steppe and among the Muslims of the empire, the place and role of this issue in colonial policy at various stages are determined. It also analyzes the correction of the position of the Russian authorities, depending on the change in the foreign policy situation and changes in the boundaries of possessions. The source complex was made up of published and archival documents and materials from the repositories of Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, a number of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.