95–100% | |
90–95% | |
50–70% | |
30–35% | |
10–20% | |
5–10% | |
4–5% | |
2–4% | |
1–2% | |
< 1% |
Islam is a majorreligious minority in theRussian Federation, which has the largestMuslim population in Europe.[2] According to the USFederal Research Division 1998 reference book,[3] Muslims in Russia numbered about 19% of thereligious population.
Recognized under the law and by Russian political leaders as one of Russia's traditional religions, Islam is a part ofRussian historical heritage, and issubsidized by the Russian government.[4] The position of Islam as a major Russian religion, alongsideOrthodox Christianity, dates from the time ofCatherine the Great, who sponsoredIslamic clerics and scholarship through theOrenburg Assembly.[5]
The history of Islam and Russia encompasses periods of conflict between the Muslim minority and theOrthodox majority, as well as periods of collaboration and mutual support. Robert Crews's study of Muslims living under the Tsar indicates that "the mass of Muslims" was loyal to that regime after Catherine, and sided with it over theOttoman Empire.[6] After theRussian Empire fell, theSoviet Union introduced a policy ofstate atheism, which impeded the practice of Islam and other religions and led to the execution and suppression of various Muslim leaders. Following thecollapse of the Soviet Union, Islam regained a legally recognized space inRussian politics. Despite having madeIslamophobic comments during theSecond Chechen War, PresidentVladimir Putin has since subsidizedmosques and Islamic education, which he called an "integral part of Russia's cultural code",[7][8] and encouragedimmigration from Muslim-majorityformer Soviet states.
Muslims form amajority of the population of therepublics ofTatarstan andBashkortostan in theVolga Federal District and predominate among the nationalities in theNorth Caucasian Federal District located between theBlack Sea and theCaspian Sea: theCircassians,Balkars,Chechens,Ingush,Kabardin,Karachay, and numerousDagestani peoples. Also, in the middle of theVolga Region reside populations ofTatars andBashkirs, the vast majority of whom are Muslims.[3] Other areas with notable Muslim minorities includeMoscow,Saint Petersburg, the republics ofAdygea,North Ossetia-Alania andAstrakhan,Moscow,Orenburg andUlyanovskoblasts. There are over 8,000 registered religious Muslim organizations,[9] equivalent to almost one fifth of the number of registered Russian Orthodox religious organizations of about 42,000 as of 2022.[10]
In the mid-7th century AD, as part of theMuslim conquest of Persia, Islam was introduced to theCaucasus region, parts of whichwere later permanently incorporated byRussia.[11] The first people to become Muslims within current Russian territory, theDagestani people (region ofDerbent), converted after theArab conquest of the region in the 8th century. The first Muslim state in the future Russian lands wasVolga Bulgaria[12] In 922, TheTatars of theKhanate of Kazan inherited the population of believers from that state. Later most of the European and CaucasianTurkic peoples also became followers ofIslam.[13] The Mongol rulers of theGolden Horde were Muslims from 1313. By the 1330s, three of the four major khanates of theMongol Empire had become Muslim.
The Tatars of theCrimean Khanate, the last remaining successor to theGolden Horde, continued to raidSouthern Russia andburnt down parts of Moscow in 1571.[14] Until the late 18th century, theCrimean Tatars maintained the massiveCrimean slave trade with theOttoman Empire and the Middle East, exporting about 2 million slaves from Russia and Ukraine over the period 1500–1700.[15]
From the early 16th century up to and including the 19th century, all ofTranscaucasia and southernDagestan was ruled by various successiveIranian empires (theSafavids,Afsharids, and theQajars), and their geopolitical and ideological neighboring arch-rivals, on the other hand, theOttoman Turks. In the respective areas they ruled, in both theNorth Caucasus andSouth Caucasus,Shia Islam andSunni Islam spread, resulting in a fast and steady conversion of many more ethnic Caucasian peoples in adjacent territories.
The period from theRussian conquest of Kazan in 1552 byIvan the Terrible to the ascension ofCatherine the Great in 1762 featured systematic Russian repression of Muslims through policies of exclusion and discrimination - as well as the destruction ofMuslim culture by the elimination of outward manifestations of Islam such asmosques.[16] The Russians initially demonstrated a willingness in allowingIslam to flourish asMuslim clerics were invited into the various regions to preach to the Muslims, particularly theKazakhs, whom the Russians viewed with contempt.[17][18] However, Russian policy shifted toward weakening Islam by introducing pre-Islamic elements of collective consciousness.[19] Such attempts included methods of eulogizing pre-Islamic historical figures and imposing a sense of inferiority by sending Kazakhs to highly éliteRussian military institutions.[19] In response, Kazakh religious leaders attempted to bring religious fervor by espousingpan-Turkism, though many[quantify] were persecuted as a result.[20] The government of Russia paidIslamic scholars from the Ural-Volga area working among the Kazakhs[21]
Islamic slavery did not have racial restrictions, but only war prisoners were considered slave according to the Quran. Slavery was allowed but it had a huge contrast with other forms of slavery. Muhammad told Muslims - “Your slaves are your brothers. Allah has put them under your authority. So whoever has a brother under his authority should feed him from what he eats and clothe him with what he wears…”(Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim) and Harsh treatment was banned as Muhammad told Muslims -“Whoever slaps his slave or beats him, the expiation is that he should set him free.”(Sahih Muslim). Germans, Poles, and Lithuanians were allowed to be sold to Crimean Tatars in Moscow. In 1665, Tatars were allowed to buy Polish and Lithuanian slaves from the Russians (for theCrimean slave trade). Before 1649, Russians could be sold to Muslims under Russian law in Moscow. This contrasted with other places in Europe outside Russia where Muslims were not allowed to own Christians.[22]
TheCossack Hetmanate recruited and incorporated MuslimMishar Tatars.[23] Cossack rank was awarded to Bashkirs.[24] MuslimTurkics and BuddhistKalmyks served as Cossacks. TheCossack Ural,Terek,Astrakhan, andDon Cossack hosts had Kalmyks in their ranks. Mishar Muslims, Teptiar Muslims, service Tatar Muslims, and Bashkir Muslims joined theOrenburg Cossack Host.[25] Cossack non-Muslims shared the same status withSiberian Cossack Muslims.[26] Muslim Cossacks in Siberia requested an Imam.[27] Cossacks in Siberia included Tatar Muslims like in Bashkiria.[28]
Bashkirs andKalmyks in theImperial Russian Army fought againstNapoleon'sGrande Armée during theFrench invasion of Russia.[29][30] They were judged suitable for inundating opponents but not intense fighting.[31] They were in a non-standard capacity in the military.[32] Arrows, bows, and melee combat weapons were wielded by the Muslim Bashkirs. Bashkir women fought among the regiments.[33]Denis Davidov mentioned the arrows and bows wielded by the Bashkirs.[34][35] Napoleon's forces faced off against Kalmyks on horseback.[36] Napoleon faced light mounted Bashkir forces.[37] Mounted Kalmyks and Bashkirs numbering 100 were available to Russian commandants during the war against Napoleon.[38] Kalmyks and Bashkirs served in the Russian army in France.[39] A nachalnik was present in every one of the 11 cantons of the Bashkir host which was created by Russia after thePugachev Rebellion.[40] Bashkirs had the military statute of 1874 applied to them.[41] Muslims were exempt frommilitary conscription duringWorld War I.[42]
While total expulsion (as practiced in other Christian nations such asSpain,Portugal andSicily) was not feasible to achieve a homogeneousRussian-Orthodox population, other policies such as land grants and the promotion of migration by other Russian and non-Muslim populations into Muslim lands displaced many Muslims, making them minorities in places such as some parts of theSouth Ural region and encouraging emigration to other parts such as theOttoman Empire and neighboringPersia, and almost annihilating theCircassians,Crimean Tatars, and various Muslims of the Caucasus. The Russian army rounded up people, driving Muslims from their villages to ports on theBlack Sea, where they awaited ships provided by the neighboring Ottoman Empire. The explicit Russian goal involved expelling the groups in question from their lands.[43] They were given a choice as to where to be resettled: in the Ottoman Empire, in Persia, or Russia far from their old lands. TheRusso-Circassian War ended with the signing of loyalty oaths by Circassian leaders on 2 June [O.S. 21 May] 1864. Afterward, the Ottoman Empire offered to harbor the Circassians who did not wish to accept the rule of a Christian monarch, and many emigrated to Anatolia (the heart of the Ottoman Empire) and ended up in modern Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, and Kosovo. Many other Caucasian Muslims ended up in neighboring Iran - sizeable numbers of ShiaLezgins,Azerbaijanis,Muslim Georgians,Kabardins, andLaks.[44] Various Russian, Caucasus, and Western historians agree on the figure ofc. 500,000 inhabitants of the highland Caucasus being deported by Russia in the 1860s. A large proportion of them died in transit from disease. Those that remained loyal to Russia were settled into the lowlands, on the left bank of theKuban' River. The trend ofRussification has continued at different paces in the rest ofTsarist andSoviet periods, so that[citation needed] as of 2014[update] more Tatars lived outside theRepublic of Tatarstan than inside it.[13]
A policy of deliberately enforcing anti-modern, traditional, ancient conservativeIslamic education in schools and Islamic ideology was enforced by the Russians in order to deliberately hamper and destroy opposition to their rule by keeping them in a state of torpor to and prevent foreign ideologies from penetrating in.[45][46]
Communist rule oppressed and suppressed Islam, like otherreligions in the Soviet Union.[when?] Many mosques (for some estimates,[47] more than 83% in Tatarstan) were closed. For example, theMärcani Mosque was the only acting mosque inKazan at that[when?] time.
There was much evidence of official conciliation toward Islam in Russia in the 1990s. The number of Muslims allowed to make pilgrimages toMecca increased sharply after the embargo of the Soviet era ended in 1991.[48] In 1995, the newly established Union of Muslims of Russia, led by Imam Khatyb Mukaddas ofTatarstan, began organizing a movement aimed at improving inter-ethnic understanding and ending lingering misconceptions of Islam among non-Muslim Russians. The Union of Muslims of Russia is the direct successor to the pre-World War IUnion of Muslims, which had its own faction in the RussianDuma. The post-Communist union formed a political party, the Nur All-Russia Muslim Public Movement, which acts in close coordination with Muslim imams to defend the political, economic, and cultural rights of Muslims. The Islamic Cultural Center of Russia, which includes amadrassa (religious school), opened in Moscow in 1991. In the 1990s, the number of Islamic publications has increased. Among them are few magazines in Russian, namely: "Ислам" (transliteration:Islam), "Эхо Кавказа" (Ekho Kavkaza) and "Исламский вестник" (Islamsky Vestnik), and the Russian-language newspaper "Ассалам" (Assalam), and "Нуруль Ислам" (Nurul Islam), which are published inMakhachkala, Dagestan.[3]
Kazan has a large Muslim population (probably the second after Moscow urban group of the Muslims and the biggest indigenous group in Russia) and is home to theRussian Islamic University inKazan,Tatarstan. Education is inRussian andTatar.InDagestan there are number of Islamic universities andmadrassas, notable among them are: Dagestan Islamic University, Institute of Theology and International Relations, whose rectorMaksud Sadikov was assassinated on 8 June 2011.[49]
Talgat Tadzhuddin was the Chief Mufti of Russia. Since Soviet times, the Russian government has divided Russia into a number of Muslim Spiritual Directorates. In 1980, Tazhuddin was made Mufti of the European USSR and Siberia Division. Since 1992, he has headed the central or combined Muslim Spiritual Directorate of all of Russia. In 2005, Russia was granted the status of an observer state in theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation[50] Russian presidentVladimir Putin has said thatOrthodox Christianity is much closer to Islam thanCatholicism is.[51][52][53][54] A chain e-mail spread a hoax speech attributed to Putin which called for tough assimilation policies on immigrants, no evidence of any such speech can be found in Russian media or Duma archives.[55][56][57][58]
Islam has been expanding under Putin's rule.[60] Tatar Muslims are engaging in a revival under Putin.[61] According toThe Washington Post, "Russian Muslims are split regarding the [Russian]intervention in Syria, but more are pro- than anti-war."[62] TheGrand Mufti of Russia, Talgat Tadzhuddin and other Russia's Muslim leaders supported theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[63] Chechnya'sKadyrovite forces have fought alongside the Russian forces in Ukraine.[64][65]
After a Quran burning incident that happened inSweden duringEid al-Adha,[66] Russian president Vladimir Putin defended the Quran by stating that It's a crime in Russia to disrespect the Quran and other holy books.[67]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, theNorthern Caucasus experienced an Islamic (as well as a national) renaissance. Also radical and extremist streams of Islam started taking root, initially in western (upland)Dagestan.[68]
In 1991,Chechnya declared independence as theChechen Republic of Ichkeria.Russian Army forces were commanded intoGrozny in 1994, but, aftertwo years of intense fighting, the Russian troops eventually withdrew from Chechnya under theKhasavyurt Accord. Chechnya preserved itsde facto independence until 1999. However, the Chechen government's grip on Chechnya was weak, especially outside the ruined capitalGrozny. The areas controlled by separatist groups grew larger and the country became increasingly lawless.[69]Aslan Maskhadov's government was unable to rebuild the region or to prevent a number of warlords from taking effective control. The relationship between the government and radicals deteriorated. In March 1999, Maskhadov closed down the Chechen parliament and introduced aspects ofSharia. Despite this concession, extremists such asShamil Basayev and theSaudi-born IslamistIbn Al-Khattab continued to undermine the Maskhadov government. In April 1998, the group publicly declared that its long-term aim was the creation of a union of Chechnya andDagestan under Islamic rule and the expulsion ofRussians from the entire Caucasian Region.[70] This eventually led to theinvasion of militants in Dagestan and the start of theSecond Chechen War in 1999. The Chechen separatists were internally divided between the Islamic extremists, the more moderate pro-independent Muslim Chechens and the traditional Islamic authorities with various positions towards Chechen independence. An interim Russian-controlled administration was imposed in Chechnya in 2000, headed by the ex-Mufti and, therefore, religious leader ofSufism,Akhmad Kadyrov. Encouraged by the Russian strategy of using the traditional Islamic structures and leaders against the Islamic extremists, there was a process of religious radicalisation in Chechnya and other Northern Caucasus regions.[71]
At the end of the Second Chechen War, in 2005, Chechen rebel leader,Abdul-Halim Sadulayev, decreed the formation of aCaucasus Front against Russia, among Islamic believers in the North Caucasus, in an attempt to widen Chechnya's conflict with Russia. After his death, his successor,Dokka Umarov, declared continuingjihad to establish an Islamic fundamentalistCaucasus Emirate in the North Caucasus and beyond.Insurgency in the North Caucasus continued until 2017. The police and theFSB carried out mass arrests and used harsh interrogation techniques. Some of those who closely followed the teachings of Islam have lost their jobs; mosques have also been closed.[68]
Russian presidentVladimir Putin has allowed the de facto implementation of Sharia law in Chechnya byRamzan Kadyrov, including polygamy and enforced veiling.[72]
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There was large anger from mostly Muslims from the Caucasus against theCharlie Hebdo cartoons in France.[73] Putin is believed to have backed protests by Muslims in Russia against Charlie Hebdo cartoons and the West.[74]
In 2004, several factions of self-identified Russian Muslims founded theNational Organization of Russian Muslims (NORM), explicitly limiting membership to ethnicRussians.[75] The organization's spiritual leader wasGeydar Dzhemal, a controversial Islamic intellectual and political activist.[75] Some researchers identify within this milieu a distinct ideological movement known asAryan Islam.[76] Its adherents characterise Islam as a "path to the rebirth of the Russian nation" and, in more radical formulations, a means to the "revival of the white race".[77] This interpretation is set out in the Declaration on the Formation of the Russian Muslim Movement, which proclaims Russian Muslims to be the "vanguard bastion of theAryan race".[75]
More than 90% of Muslims in Russia adhere toSunni Islam[3] of theHanafi andShafi'i schools.[2] In a few areas, notablyDagestan,Chechnya andIngushetia, there is a tradition of SunniSufism,[3] which is represented byQadiriyya,Naqshbandi andShadhili orders.[2] Naqshbandi–Shadhili spiritual masterSaid Afandi al-Chirkawi received hundreds of visitors daily.[78]
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About 10%, or more than two million, areShia Muslims, mostly ofTwelver Shi'ism branch.[79] At first, they are theAzeris, who historically and still currently been nominally followers of Shi'a Islam, as their republic split off from the Soviet Union, significant number of Azeris immigrated to Russia in search of work. In addition to them, some of the indigenous peoples of Dagestan, such as theLezgins (a minority) and theTats (a majority), are Shias too.[2]Nizari Isma'ili Muslims—another Shia branch—are represented only by thePamiris, migrants fromTajikistan.[80] There is also an active presence ofAhmadis andNon-denominational muslims.[81]
In 2021, Putin announced that some 20% of Russian aviation industry employees are Muslims.[82]
In 2025, theRussian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) claimed that 7% of Russians identified as Muslims[83]
Most Muslims in Russia belong to ethnic minorities but in the recent years there have been conversions among the Russian majority as well, one of the country's main Islamic institutions, the Moscow-basedSpiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation (DUM RF) estimating the ethnic Russian converts to number into the "tens of thousands" while some converts themselves give numbers between 50,000 and 70,000.[84]
A record 18,000 Russian Muslim pilgrims from all over the country attended theHajj inMecca, Saudi Arabia in 2006.[85] Due to overwhelming demand from Russian Muslims, on 5 July 2011, Muftis requested PresidentDmitry Medvedev's assistance in increasing the allocated by Saudi Arabia pilgrimage quota inVladikavkaz.[86] The III International Conference on Hajj Management attended by some 170 delegates from 12 counties was held in Kazan from 7 – 9 July 2011.[87]
For centuries, theTatars constituted the only Muslim ethnic group in European Russia, withTatar language being the only language used in their mosques, a situation which saw rapid change over the course of the 20th century as a large number of Caucasian and Central Asian Muslims migrated to central Russian cities and began attending Tatar-speaking mosques, generating pressure on the imams of such mosques to begin using Russian.[88][89]
A survey published in 2019 by thePew Research Center found that 76% of Russians had a favourable view of Muslims in their country, whereas 19% had an unfavourable view.[90]
According to the 2010 Russian census, Moscow has less than 300,000 permanent residents of Muslim background, while some estimates suggest that Moscow has around 1 million Muslim residents and up to 1.5 million more Muslimmigrant workers.[91] The city has permitted the existence of four mosques.[92] The mayor of Moscow claims that four mosques are sufficient for the population.[93] The city's economy "could not manage without them," he said. There are currently four mosques in Moscow,[94] and 8,000 in the whole of Russia.[95] Muslim migrants from Central Asia have had an impact on the culture withSamsa becoming one of the most popular take away foods in the city.[96]
| All-Russia boards | |||
| Grand Muftiates | Grand Muftis | Term of office | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
The Central Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Russia  [2][97] | Sheikh-ul-IslamTalgat Tadzhuddin | 1992–present | Ufa |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Russian Federation [97] | SheikhRawil Ğaynetdin | 2014–present | Moscow |
| Muftiate | Mufti | Term of office | Headquarters |
| The Spiritual Assembly of the Muslims of Russia [97] | Albir Krganov | 2016–present | Moscow |
| Interregional boards | |||
| Muftiates | Muftis | Term of office | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Coordinating Center of North Caucasus Muslims [2][97] | Ismail Berdiyev | 2003–present | Moscow andBuynaksk |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Asian Part of Russia [2][97] | Nafigulla Ashirov | 1997–present | Moscow andTobolsk |
| Notable regional muftiates | |||
| Muftiates | Muftis | Term of office | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Muftiate of the Republic ofDagestan[2][97] | SheikhAhmad Afandi Abdulaev | 1998–present | Makhachkala |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Republic ofAdygea andKrasnodar Krai[2] | Askarbiy Kardanov | 2012–present | Maykop |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Republic ofBashkortostan[2][97] | Ainur Birgalin | 2019–present | Ufa |
| TheSpiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Chechen Republic[2][97] | Salah Mezhiev | 2014–present | Grozny |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of theKabardino-Balkarian Republic[2] | Hazrataliy Dzasejev | 2010–present | Nalchik |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of theKarachay-Cherkess Republic[2] | Ismail Berdiyev | 1991–present | Cherkessk |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Republic ofNorth Ossetia–Alania[2] | Khajimurat Gatsalov | 2011–present | Vladikavkaz |
| The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Republic ofTatarstan[2][97] | Kamil Samigullin | 2013–present | Kazan |
| The Spiritual Centre of the Muslims of the Republic ofIngushetia[2] | Isa Khamkhoev | 2004–present | Magas |
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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![Nord Kamal Mosque in Norilsk, the world's northernmost mosque.[119]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNurd_Kamal_Mosque.jpg)
![Ivan the Terrible subjugated the Tatars and forcibly converted[citation needed] some of them to Christianity.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKorovin_kazan.jpg)
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(..) It is difficult to establish exactly when Islam first appeared in Russia because the lands that Islam invaded early in its expansion were not part of Russia at the time, but were later incorporated into the expanding Russian Empire. In the middle of the seventh century, Islam reached the Caucasus region as part of the Arabconquest of the Iranian Sassanian Empire.
[...] the Volga Bulghars adopted the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, as practiced in Khwarazm.
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Country Studies.Federal Research Division.
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| North Caucasus | |||||||
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| Volga—Urals |
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| Other European Russia | |||||||
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