Formation and evolution of Muslim communities in Troitsk and Chelyabinsk in the late 18th – early 20th centuries

Abstract

The article studies the evolution of the Muslim urban communities’ social life in Troitsk and Chelyabinsk. We prove that at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and in the early twentieth century, the public self-organization basis was made up of mosques and madrasahs, charitable societies, printing houses, periodicals, and schools. If in the pre-February period the basis of the Tatars’ social movement was represented by charitable societies, then after February 1917 they were Muslim committees and bureaus, and after the 2^nd All-Russian Muslim Congress in July 1917 - Milli Shuro (National Councils), that is, bodies focused on meeting the needs population in the field of education, charity, and religion. These committees and bureaus were formed from representatives of the bourgeoisie, clergy, and teachers; therefore, in July 1917, three ministries were created as part of the government of the national-cultural autonomy of Milli Idare, which represented the interests of the bourgeoisie (Maliya Nazaraty), the clergy (Diniya Nazaraty), and teachers (Magarif Nazarats). The article systematizes factual material indicating the evolution of these bodies’ activities exemplified by Troitsk and Chelyabinsk: from the time these cities and their Muslim communities were created to the final transition of the region into the hands of the Soviet regime at the end of 1919.