RFE/RL Russian Political Weekly: The Muslim Factor in Russia

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RFE/RL Russian Political Weekly: The Muslim Factor in Russia


RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL RUSSIAN POLITICAL WEEKLY
Vol. 1, No. 26, 22 October 2001
 
A Weekly Review of News and Analysis of Russian Domestic Politics

..........

THE MUSLIM FACTOR. The dissolution of the ministry devoted to
federation affairs at this particular time - when President Putin is
forming Russian foreign policy vis-a-vis U.S.-British air strikes
against an Islamic country, Afghanistan - may strike some observers as
a little odd. After all, President Putin, unlike some other world
leaders, has to take into account the likely reaction to his
initiatives among Russia's sizeable Muslim population - about 10
million officially. Already, NTV has carried two reports of Tatars in
Tatarstan volunteering to help their Taliban co-religionists (see
"RFE/RL Russian Federation Report," 17 October 2001).

But Putin was not even a glimmer in Boris Yeltsin's eye the last time
that Russian foreign policy ran afoul of sentiments among its ethnic
population that is traditionally Muslim. During NATO air strikes
against Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999, a number of regional
leaders, including Bashkortostan President Murtaza Rakhimov and
Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev, raised objections to various
aspects of Moscow's policy (see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Policy, 21
April 1999). Shaimiev, for example, raised objections to the
recruitment of volunteers in his republic to fight on the side of
Kosovar Albanians.

This time round there is little talk of sending Russian - that is
non-Muslim - volunteers to Afghanistan. But there is a new problem,
arising from the fact that during the last decade many of Russia's
young Muslims underwent religious training in Arab countries - because
of the lack of opportunities to do so in their own country, according
to "EWI's Russian Regional Report" on 17 October. In an interview with
Interfax, Ravil Gainutdin declared that there is a real threat of
extremism among Russia's Muslim population, because young people after
returning from training in Arab countries "seek the same conditions
for our Muslims that exist in Muslim countries." Gainutdin called for
setting aside state money to aid Russia's Muslims, warning that "if
the situation does not change, in several years we will face radical
and extremist groups of people." Meanwhile, in a recent survey of the
state of Islam in Russia on 17 October, "Izvestiya" concluded that
"the Islam which traditionally existed in Russia undoubtedly is under
threat" from both "the processes of the post-Soviet rebirth" of that
religion and the negative impact of foreign "well-wishers." (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 18 October 2001) (Julie A. Corwin)

Ethnic Groups in Russia That Are Traditionally Islamic

Name of Peoples___________________No. of persons, in thousands

Tatars________________________________5,522,000
Peoples of Daghestan*_________________1,749,000
Bashkir_______________________________1,345,000
Chechens________________________________899,000
Kazakhs_________________________________636,000
Kabardins_______________________________386,000
Azerbaijanis____________________________336,000
Ingush__________________________________215,000
Karachai________________________________150,000
Uzbeks__________________________________127,000
Agygei__________________________________123,000
Balkars__________________________________78,000
Cherkess_________________________________51,000
Kyrgyz___________________________________42,000
Turkmen__________________________________40,000
Tajiks___________________________________38,000
Abaza____________________________________33,000
Crimean Tatars___________________________21,000

Source: 1989 Soviet census as reported by "Izvestiya" on 17 October

*This includes the Avars, Dargins, Kumyks, Lezgins, Laz, Tabasaran,
Nogai, Rutuls, Aguls, Tsakhurs

..........

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Copyright (c) 2001. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
The "RFE/RL Russian Political Weekly" is prepared by Julie A. Corwin
on the basis of a variety of sources. It is distributed every Monday.

Direct comments to Julie A. Corwin at [email protected].
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