POLAR ISLAM IN POST-SOVIET RUSSIA: THE BIRTH OF A PHENOMENON IN THE CONTEXT OF A “NEW” ETHNO-SOCIAL MOBILITY

Abstract

Aim. To describe and identify the specifics of one of the most understudied aspects of Russian Arctic research: Muslim development in the regions of the rapidly changing Russian North. Methodology. The work analyzes migration flows, examines the process of formation of Muslim communities in the northern regions of Russia. The study is based on an analysis of the Islamic infrastructure of the Russian North: registered mosques, prayer houses and rooms, etc. Results. To describe how the emergence and development of new Islamic areas occurs, the concept of “new Muslim geography” of Russia is introduced. To get closer to a better understanding of the process described, the authors turn to the concept of “transgression”, which can explain the dynamics of post-Soviet Islamic development in various regions: from capital centres to Muslim republics, from interstate borders to the polar tundra. Research implications. The study shows that it is necessary to revise the traditional concept of Muslim regionalization, assessed within the framework of the dichotomy of two macroregions: the North Caucasus and the Ural-Volga region. The authors propose to consider polar Islam as a new phenomenon of post-Soviet Russia - as a natural product of labour migration to industrial cities of the Far North from the Muslim regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia.