The long history of Islam in Russia is grand and glorious. Islam is currently the second most widely professed religion in the Russian Federation. The 2002 census found 14.5 million Muslims in Russia (around 10 percent of the population). However, in 2005, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Seigei Lavrov advanced the number to 20 million.
Others claim that Russia could have as many as 26 million, including Azeri and Central Asian migrants. Not only important in numbers, the Muslim population of Russia is also very important historically. Islam arrived in Russia even before Christianity and it is only after long deliberations that Prince Vladimir of the Kievan Rus chose this second religion for his people in 987. After the conquests of Kazan and Astrakhan by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, Russia became a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state in which Muslims and Christians have had to learn to live together.
Muslim communities are concentrated among minority nationalities residing between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea: Adyghe, Balkars, Chechens, Circassians, Ingush, Kabardin, Karachay and numerous Dagestanis. Also, in the middle of the Volga Basin reside populations of Tatars and Bashkirs, many of whom are Muslims. In the last few years, Russia has intensified its diplomatic engagement of the Muslim world and has clearly identified Muslim countries as an ideal ground to position itself favourably in the 21st century world order and to increase its influence in the Middle East.
This new dynamic in Russia’s foreign policy can be explained in part by the country’s growing Muslim population and the need to either accommodate or integrate them in Russia’s path to become again a major world power. The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Karachi organised a photo exhibition at its premises on Tuesday titled “Muslims of Russia”. The event was aimed at highlighting the cultural impact of Islam on Russia and the significance of Muslim communities in development of the country.
It costs Moscow nothing politically to advertise Russia as a diverse society with many Muslims when their audience is in a distant country. But Russia itself is being hijacked by Orthodox Christian/Slavic Russian supremacists. This has been going on since the Soviet Union collapsed and has accelerated over the last ten years. Now, even so-called moderates must pander to right-wing populists in order to survive, and there is no better way of doing this than by scapegoating Muslims. Millions of Muslim migrant workers from other ex-Soviet countries still flock to Russia for jobs, but the bigotry they face in Russia is hard to exaggerate (which says a lot about the poverty, oppression, and hopelessness in their own countries). Now, Russian paranoia is even turning on native minorities like the Tatars and Bashkirs who have been ruled by Russia for almost five centuries and are often Muslim only in their identity or heritage but not in actual practice.
I apologize for sounding completely critical because it's good to see Moscow acknowledge that Muslims are indeed native to Russia. But this message urgently needs to be given more in Russia itself than in Pakistan, especially with the open endorsement of the Russian government. Moscow should not pander to its bigots or even persecute them and fuel their silly victimization complex. Instead, it should shame them for their ignorance and lack of culture. Russians pride themselves on being a cultured society. This is the perfect venue for drawing upon that pride… and for validating it too.
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