Preservation of the historical memory of the Kasimov Tatars in the 1920s

Research objectives: New publications on the medieval period led to a favorable development in the historiography of the Kasimov Tatars. The authors aims to analyze the factors and trends in the study of Kasimov Tatars history in the Soviet era, collecting and systematizing information about the Kasimov Museum of Local Lore’s formation in the 1920s of collections on the history of the Tatars of the Kasimov district of the Ryazan province as a material component of collective memory. Another aim is to show the interest of the Tatar public in the first Soviet years in preserving their historical and cultural heritage. Research materials: This article is based on the analysis of archival sources, funds of the Kasimov Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, and materials of the district newspaper «Krasny Voskhod». Novelty of the research: Scientific novelty emerges from a comprehensive study of the formation in the first decade of Soviet power of a museum’s ethnographic collection about the lives and way of life of the Kasimov Tatars and its popularization among the Kasimov people. Results of the research: As a result of the analysis of archival sources, periodical press materials, and collections from the funds of the Kasimov Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, the formation of the Muslim (Tatar) department of the Museum of Local Lore is shown and conclusions are drawn about the origin of commemoration among the Kasimov Tatars as an important means of preserving and transmitting historical memory.