“Methodology of the ‘Russian World’ and ‘Russian Islam:’ New Ideologies of the Post-Socialist Context”

Abstract

This article proposes and argues that the birth of concepts “Russian World” and “Russian Islam” – both important to the post-Soviet Russian ideological landscape – occurred not only under the influence of similar ideas and values, but also through the authorship of the same intellectuals: heirs of the Soviet semi-dissident teachings of Georgy Shchedrovitsky. In this article, we study how these two concepts were understood by the supporters of methodological doctrine. The article further substantiates relevance of a post-socialist focus in the study of countries of the former USSR, even when it relates to new religious projects. In addition, this article highlights the importance of the non-Muslim (Soviet and Russian) roots of the development of Islamic institutions in post-Soviet Russia.