THE POST-SOVIET STATE AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ISLAM IN KABARDIN-BALKARIA

Kavkazologiya ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 233-245
Author(s):  
A.A. TATAROV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Conflict ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
The North ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Religious Actors ◽  
Post Soviet Period

Since the 1990s, the North Caucasus has experienced various conflicts between state and religious actors, sometimes with dreadful consequences. A comprehensive perspective on these outbursts of conflict is often constrained by the sole focus on the revival and internal dynamics of Islam in the post-Soviet period. The changes in the Russian state since the 2000s, which were in the nature of recentralization and strengthening of the state’s monopoly over violence and the state’s control over organizations, can be considered as an important factor influencing the legal existence of opposition groups or organizations. The case study of Kabardino-Balkaria, traditionally a stable republic of the North Caucasus, contributes to understandings of how the transformation of the state in Russia since the late 1990s influenced the development of religious conflict and the institutionalization of Islam.

scholarly journals “Khrushchev Constitution”: The path of a new constitutionalism

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Anas G. Gataullin ◽  
◽  
Dinar R. Zaynutdinov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Thaw Period ◽  
Post Soviet Period ◽  
Draft Constitution

Introduction. Scientific research on the process of preparing and developing the draft Constitution of the USSR in 1964 began to appear only in the post-Soviet period. In Soviet times, this topic was banned, and the project itself, being in the archive, was not available for research. The study of the “Khrushchev Constitution” only started in the post-Soviet period. Since the constitutional reforms carried out in the last decade (2008, 2014, 2020) caused a heated discussion in the scientific community, the study of the draft Constitution of the USSR in 1964 is gaining new relevance, allowing us to look at the process of development of domestic constitutionalism more comprehensively. Theoretical analysis. The study on the development of Russian constitutionalism results in new theoretical material that can be used in Russian state building. The purpose of the publication is to summarize the experience of constitutional design of the Khrushchev Thaw period. The tasks of the research: finding the reasons for the emergence of a new need to develop the Basic Law; defining the attitude of Soviet society to the institution of the presidency; analyzing the content of the draft Constitution of the USSR in 1964. Еmpirical analysis. The end of the era of Stalinism and the beginning of the Khrushchev Thaw period required a conceptual revision of the foundations of the constitutional order in the Soviet state. During the reign of N. S. Khrushchev, there were clear trends towards decentralizing economic management and public administration, and a return to the idea of “socialist legality” became relevant. To solve these problems, the creation of an appropriate legislative base was required, which was supposed to proceed from the Basic Law of the country. However, the existing Constitution of the USSR in 1936 could not provide support for a broad liberalization of the state-party system. As a result of the challenges of the new era, the idea of adopting a new Basic law, called the “Khrushchev Constitution”, arose. Results. This article examines the development of Soviet constitutionalism during the reign of N. S. Khrushchev and concludes that the draft Constitution of the USSR of 1964 made a significant contribution to the formation of the constitutional image of the Soviet state until its collapse. In addition, the content of the “Khrushchev Constitution” allows us to emphasize its much greater democratic potential, in contrast to the USSR Constitutions of 1936 and 1977.

scholarly journals PRO ET CONTRA: about the Research of B. A. Alborov “Ossetian Safa and the Jewish Sabaoth”

2020 ◽  
pp. 357-369
Author(s):  
S. G. Ktsoeva
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Scientific Discourse ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Complex Object ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
The North ◽  
Image Characteristics ◽  
First Time ◽  
Post Soviet Period

The issue of Abrahamic borrowings in the ethnic religion of Ossetians (the only Iranian-speaking ethnic group in the North Caucasus, which is an ethnic descendant of Scythians-Sarmatians-Alans) is considered, which is a synthesis of monotheism and ancient polytheism. It has survived to this day and even survives a peculiar, renaissance in the post-Soviet period, which explains the relevance of the study. An analysis of the possible presence of Abrahamic reminiscences in the image, characteristics and functions of one of the subjects of the Ossetian ethno-religious pantheon - Safa is made. It is noted that this image is by far the most complex object in relation to both the identification of the theonym and the origin of the sacred subject itself, due to which there is no consensus in science on this issue. A historiographic analysis of scientific positions on the problem is carried out. An attempt to identify the sacred subject is made, and its main possible options are given. The author’s development of archival material - an unpublished article by B. A. Alborov on Safa is presented for the first time. One of the possible options for identifying theonym and characteristics of Safa - Arab-Islamic is introduced into the modern scientific discourse.

scholarly journals Islam among the Turkmen of Stavtopol Krai and Astrakhan Oblast.

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-234
Author(s):  
Olga Brusina
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Regional Administration ◽  
The North ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Astrakhan Oblast ◽  
Almost All

The article is devoted to the role of Islam in culture and social life of the Turkmen of southern Russia. The study is based on the author's field materials collected in 2007–2015 in the Stavropol and Astrakhan Regions. The ethnic group of the Russian Turkmen was formed in the XVII–XIX centuries and currently counts about 17,000 people. The Turkmen are Sunni Muslims, most of their customs and rituals are associated with Muslim prayers and symbolism. At the same time, the Turkmen are not among the zealous Muslims, in their spiritual culture there are folk customs and beliefs that are very superficially associated with Islam. In the Soviet period, the Russian Turkmen maintained their religion, secretly carried out Islamic rites and rules, despite the anti-religious state policy. Currently, the religiousness of the Turkmen varies greatly, but almost all families hold major religious ceremonies. Mosques play the role of community centers, social life in the Turkmen settlements is closely intertwined with religious life, and the mullahs are local leaders and take part in self-government bodies. Propaganda of fundamentalist Islam has not bypassed the Turkmen, as many regions of the North Caucasus. A peculiar situation has developed: young people have become involved in religion much more than old honored people, educated in the Soviet ideals. Residents of the Turkmen settlements and imams of mosques are trying to resist the spread of fundamentalist ideas. The situation is particularly difficult in the Stavropol Territory; so the regional administration is trying to control any cultural and religious activities on the ground, sometimes suspecting “Wahhabi sentiments” among quite loyal citizens, such as the Turkmen. It is important that the Turkmen are almost the only people of this region who, traditionally practicing Islam, retain complete loyalty to the Russian population and the Russian state

scholarly journals The Sufi Jamaat «Ismail aga» in the Territory of the Volga Region: Appearance, Distribution, Social Attitude

Islamovedenie ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 40-46
Author(s):  
Suleymanov Rais Ravkatovich ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Movements ◽  
Volga Region ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Religious Revival ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Middle Volga Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Middle Volga ◽  
Post Soviet Period

The article deals with the investigation of religious revival processes, observed in the post-Soviet period. The process of religious revival took place among the Muslims on the territory of the Volga region, accompanied by the emergence of new religious movements of Islamic origin, many of which had their spiritual centers in the Middle East. It is stated that alongside the emergence of Salafi groups, recognized as extremist and terrorist or-ganizations in the 2000s, the followers of various Sufi jamaats from Turkey also appeared – Ismail Agha is supposed to be one of the most pronounced. The peak of its activity in the region begins with Kamil Samigullin’s coming to the post of Tatarstan mufti in 2013, belonging to this Sufi community. He begins to appoint Ismail Agha murids to the posts of imams and mukhtasibs, simultaneously expanding his influence outside Tatarstan, meeting some resistance, both from the Muslim clergy and from government agencies in charge of the religious sphere in the region. At the same time, the process of strengthening the influence of this particular Sufi brother-hood is taking place against the background of a general shift towards Sufism in the Middle Volga region: today different branches of the Naqshbandi Tariqa are represented in the region, and there are also groups of murids of the Qadiri and Shazili tariqas. Such a variety of Sufism in the Muslim Ummah of the Volga region is caused by the fact that different centers of its historical area (Turkey, Central Asia and the North Caucasus) exert influ-ence through their murids. At the same time, the Sufis themselves are in no hurry to openly advertise their pres-ence, largely due to the minimization of conflicts with the Salafists, whose influence in the Islamic Ummah of Tatarstan is noticeably preserved.

scholarly journals Some features of democratization of the state-political system in the Republics of the North Caucasus in the post-soviet period

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
M. M. Aibatov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Caucasus Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Post Soviet Period

This article reveals the features and main trends of the process of democratization of the statepolitical system in the North Caucasus republics in the post-Soviet period. It is noted that the state-political systems of the North Caucasus republics are characterized by both democratic and authoritarian tendencies. The author emphasizes that in recent decades, the opportunities for democratic change of the political elite in the North Caucasus region have been significantly limited, which is primarily due to changes in legislation at the Russian and regional levels, primarily related to the actual abolition of direct national elections of heads of republics and municipalities. The national republics of the North Caucasus are characterized by a high concentration of power in the hands of top officials, which is due to the poorly established work of government bodies with appeals from citizens, the inefficiency of public chambers, the underdevelopment of the middle class, the unstructured civil society, and the lack of an effective multi-party system that can form a real opposition.

scholarly journals Russians in the republics of the North Caucasus: frontiers of geo-demographic retreat (the first half of the 21st century)

2017 ◽  
pp. 109-132
Author(s):  
Sergei Sushchiy
Keyword(s):  
Age Distribution ◽  
Russian Population ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Rapid Reduction ◽  
The North ◽  
Demographic Dynamics ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Post Soviet Period

The article analyzes the geo-demographic dynamics of the Russian population of the republics of the North Caucasus in the post-Soviet period, registering the pace of reduction for each republic and studying the central role of migration in this depopulation process. Currently, the Russian population of the North Caucasus has returned to the level of the mid-1930s. The Republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia have lost almost all of their Russian population, while Dagestan has lost a significant part of its, too. Although demographic losses in other republics of the region have not been so great, a rapid reduction in the number of Russians has become a steady trend of the entire North Caucasus. In order to determine the corridor of the most likely demographic dynamics of Russians in the region up until 2050, a series of calculations was carried out, establishing that by 2030 the number of Russians in the North Caucasus will be reduced to 690-780 thousand people, and by mid-century – to 490-700 thousand. No less a threat will come from the deterioration of the age distribution of the local Russian population, which could lead to its demographic "collapse" in the period 2060-2070.

Don historian P.G. Chernopitsky: “The main thing for him was the truth”

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (12-1) ◽  
pp. 150-167
Author(s):  
Alexey Grishchenko
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
State University ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Collective Farm ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Life Path ◽  
Main Thing

The article tells about the life path and research work of the Don agricultural historian P.G. Chernopitsky. The stages of scientific creativity are determined, the main scientific works in the context of the era are considered, its position on the debatable problems of the Don and North Caucasus history, in particular, on the essence and stages of decossackization is determined. The contribution of P. G. Chernopitsky to the study of the socio -economic history of the Soviet pre -collective farm village, collectivization, the famine of 1932-1933 in the North Caucasus, the history of the Don Cossacks in the Soviet period is demonstrated. Relations with colleagues at Rostov State University are highlighted.

scholarly journals THE TIME CAPSULE IN THE POST-SOVIET SOVKHOZ

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (47) ◽  
pp. 84-110
Author(s):  
Elena Malaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Logic ◽  
Soviet Economy ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Historical Time ◽  
State Farm ◽  
The Past ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Time Capsule ◽  
Post Soviet Period

The article is devoted to ideas about the Soviet era, widespread in а village in the north-east of Crimea. The paper offers an analysis of how the community, formed around a partially preserved state farm, builds its own picture of historical time, expands the imaginary boundaries of the Soviet period, and also thinks of it not so much as the past, but as the past future. Particular attention is paid to the object that organizes its temporality — а time capsule, which was laid twice in the studied village (in 1967 and in 2017), as well as its connection with the teleology of modernism. The article compares letters to descendants, sealed in two time capsules, as well as additional documents sent to the future. The text of the 1967 letter is based on a progressive narrative and contains a list of economic indicators of the success of the Soviet economy. By contrast, the 2017 text creates a picture of an unstable time of change, in which the focus is not on the predictable future, but on the vague past and present. The author of the article explains the nostalgia for the Soviet era in the studied community by the reaction to the changes and crises of the post-Soviet period, and suggests using temporal logic in the research of post-socialism.

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