Islam in Russia : the politics of identity and security / Shireen T. Hunter ; with Jeffrey L. Thomas and Alexander Melikishvili ; foreword by James F. Collins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hunter, Shireen.

Contributor:

Thomas, Jeffrey L., 1964-

Melikishvili, Alexander.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islam--Russia (Federation).

Islam.

Islam and politics.

Russia (Federation).

Muslims--Russia (Federation).

Muslims.

Islam and politics--Russia (Federation).

Muslims--Political activity--Russia (Federation).

Muslims--Political activity.

Russia (Federation)--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 566 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, [2004]

Summary:

This richly detailed study traces the shared history of Russia and Islam in expanding compass--from the Tatar civilization within the Russian heartland, to the conquered territories of the Caucasus and Central Asia, to the larger geopolitical and security context of contemporary Russia on the civilizational divide. The study's distinctive analytical drive stresses political and geopolitical relationships over time and into the very complicated present. Rich with insight, the book is also an incomparable source of factual information about Russia's Muslim populations, religious institutions, political organizations, and ideological movements.

Contents:

Part I. Islam in Russia, Past and Present: An Overview

1. Islam in Russia: The Historical Background 3

Mongol Conquest and Islam 4

Islam and the Russian Empire: Patterns of Russian Imperial Rule 6

Muslim Political Activism in Russia, 1905-1914 16

Islam and the Bolsheviks: From Allies to Enemies 20

Islam and the Soviet Experience: From Near Annihilation to Remarkable Revival 28

Soviet Islam on the Eve of the Gorbachev Era: Factors behind Islam's Vitality 33

Perestroika, Glasnost, and Gorbachev's Policy toward Islam 37

Gorbachev's Reforms: Impact on Islamic Revival 39

2. Islam in Post-Soviet Russia: A Demographic, Geographic, Institutional, Socioeconomic, Ideological, and Political Profile 42

How Many Muslims in Russia? 43

Future Demographic Outlook 44

Geographic Distribution of Russia's Muslims 45

Evolution of the Institutional Structures of Islam: Fragmentation and Reconsolidation 46

Development of the Physical and Intellectual Infrastructure of Islam 64

Muslim Political Movements 79

Different Shades of Russian Islam 79

The Appeal of Extremist Islam 85

Muslim Extremist Groups in the Russian Federation 87

Euro-Islam: The Modernist Face of Russian Islam 91

Developing an Official Muslim Position: RCM's Muslim Social Program 93

Economic Profile of Russian Muslims 97

The Muslim Establishment and the Russian Society and Government 102

The Iraq War: Source of Further Intra-Muslim Dispute 114

Islam and Orthodoxy: Dynamics of Competition and Cooperation 116

The Limited Impact of Islam on Russia's Cultural, Social, Economic, and Political Scenes 122

Part II. Identity Politics in the Russian Federation: The Islamic Factor

3. The Evolution of Russia's Post-Soviet National Identity: The Impact of the Islamic Factor 127

The Soviet Union: A Colonial Empire? 128

Socialist Utopia and the Soviet Man 129

Is Russia Going the Way of the Soviet Union? 131

Nationalism and National Identity: Diverging Concepts 136

The Evolution of Russian Identity: Ethnic and Religious Basis 141

The Role of the "Other" in the Formation of Russian Identity 143

Islam as the Hostile Other 144

The Chechen War and Its Consequences: Enhancing Islam's Image as the Hostile Other 148

Islamo-Turkic Myth-Symbol Complex: Russia as the Hostile Other 159

Russia's Other "Hostile Other": The West 161

Westernization versus Russian Authenticity 162

The Soviet Experience and the Failure of Civic Nationalism 173

Post-Soviet Spectrum of Russian Political Thought: Diverging Approaches to Nationalism, National Identity, and Islam 174

Vladimir Putin and His Vision of Russian Nationalism and National Identity 191

Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity Formation among Russian Muslims: Diverging Trends 197

4. The Evolution of Russian Federalism: The Islamic Factor 205

Soviet Federalism: Ethnic Autonomy versus Centralized Rule 207

Mikhail Gorbachev and the Rise of Ethnic Nationalism 210

Boris Yeltsin and Decentralization of the Russian State 213

The Muslim Challenge to Moscow's Rule 216

Yeltsin's Attempts to Halt Decentralization 221

Vladimir Putin's Reassertion of Central Authority 228

Muslim Nationalities in a Recentralized Russian State 233

5. Democratization and Multiparty Politics in Post-Soviet Russia: Impact on Muslim Political Mobilization and Participation 245

The Islamic Context 245

The Russian Context 247

Muslim Parties and Movements in Russian National Politics 258

Regional Islamic Parties in Russia's Muslim Republics 271

Part III. Russia and Islam: The Islamic Factor in Russia's External Relations

6. The Evolution of Russia's Foreign Policy Perspectives in the Post-Soviet Era 281

The Impact of Geography 282

Historical Experience 283

National Identity 284

Value System/Ideology 284

Domestic Context: Political Systems and Public Attitude 285

Ends and Means: Resource Constraints and Their Consequences 286

The Impact of Systemic Factors 287

Russia's Post-Soviet Foreign Policy Doctrines 289

7. The Role of Islam in Shaping Russia's Post-Soviet External Relations 313

Russia and the Muslim World before 1917 313

Revolutions in the East: Consequences for Posttsarist Russian-Muslim Relations 315

Stages of Soviet-Muslim Relations and Their Legacy for Russia 316

8. Russian Policy toward Central Asia and the Transcaucasus 327

Influence of Islam on Russian Policy toward Central Asia 327

Russia and the Transcaucasus: The Impact of the Islamic Factor 342

Islam, Russia, and the Transcaucasus after 11 September 351

9. Russia's Relations with the Northern Tier Countries 356

Pakistan and Afghanistan 356

Russian-Turkish Relations: Exercise in Ambiguity? 361

Russia and Iran: An Unequal Partnership 371

10. Russia's Relations with the Arab World and the Balkans 381

Post-Soviet Russia and the Arab World 382

Russia and the Balkans 391

11. Russian-Western Relations 400

Clash of Civilizations as the New Paradigm: The Threat of Islam 401

Islam as a Source of Discord and Cooperation 401

Conclusion: Russia's Encounter with Islam 414

Impact on Identity Formation and Worldview 415

Islam, Russia, and the World 417

Russia's Impact on Muslim Identity and Aspirations 418

Impact of the Islamic Factor on Russia's Internal Evolution 419

Difficulties of Democratic Transition in Multiethnic Posttotalitarian States 421.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 543-552) and index.

ISBN:

0765612828

OCLC:

52216153