Islam and Buddhism in the changing post-soviet religious landscape

Abstract

This chapter considers the changing religious geographies of the Russian Federation with particular emphasis on Islam and Buddhism, two of the four faiths legislatively recognized as historically integral to the Russian state by the 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations. Each religion has experienced a substantial revival in the post-Soviet period, both institutionally and among individual practitioners. We provide a brief review of the societal and political importance of Islam and Buddhism in contemporary Russia and then turn to a pair of case studies in Russia’s south, which illustrate how religion is changing the urban landscape. The multinational and multiconfessional city of Astrakhan and the construction of mosques provide insight into the role of Islam in Russian public space. Although the renovation of historic mosques in the city center are celebrated as a visible marker of Astrakhan’s reputation for religious tolerance, the debate over the demolition of a new mosque on the urban periphery challenges this image. In Elista, capital of the republic of Kalmykia, the construction of religious buildings has substantially altered the city’s post-communist appearance. The building of temples has reaffirmed the role of Buddhism in the national identity of the Kalmyks, while communist symbols have been displaced from positions of prominence by religious markers. These two cases illustrate that the continued negotiation of spatial and social identities is an on-going project in post-Soviet Russia for a wide range of national and confessional groups.