Muslims and the Civil War in Russia, 1917-1921

The documents in the set deal with the period of the Russian civil war in the former Russian Empire and the Muslim peoples’ attitude toward the Russian internecine strife. These documents contain diverse kinds of information about what happened at the time in various territories of the unified state that no longer existed; the role that various Muslim religious leaders played; what gave rise to the socio-political activities of Muslims in a given territory; and what they were striving for during the Russian civil war. This process had its own specific features in the Caucasus, the Urals, Crimea, the Volga Region, Siberia and Central Asia.

The documents show how Muslim organizations participated in meeting the challenges posed by the Russian Revolution, both in Petrograd and Moscow and in the specific conditions typical of the Muslim regions of the disintegrating Eurasian empire.

The documents reveal the multifaceted activities of both the central and the regional governmental authorities of the Muslim peoples, re-create a picture of their life, their most pressing problems, and show the role of Muslim organizations and leaders throughout the postimperial Eurasian territories. By taking part in legislative activities, Muslim politicians in various parts of Eurasia not only consolidated their own authority with the support of the local populace but also combated the revolutionary chaos and lawlessness that had taken hold in the country.

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Introduction by Salavat Iskhakov
Documents 

• Salavat M. Iskhakov