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Kalandarov T. Ismailis in the Russian Strategy of Solving the ‘Muslim Question’ in Central Asia (Late 19th — Early 20th Centuries)

Tokhir Kalandarov
N. N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS
Moscow, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0001-8454-1784
E-mail: tohir_s70@mail.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The article examines the strategy of solving the ‘Muslim Question’ in the Russian Empire on the example of Tajik Ismailis. Using archival documents, the author analyzes how Tsarist Russian authorities tried to solve the ‘Muslim Question’ in their new lands. The annexation of Central Asia to Russia led to an increased interest in the East in the academic and military circles of Tsarist Russia. Oriental studies were enriched with new knowledge about the Muslims of Central Asia. The first studies on the Ismailis of the ‘roof of the world’ also appeared. However, sometimes the centres of decision-making on Muslims (Tashkent, St. Petersburg) omitted the presence of Ismailis. By analyzing archival documents and scientific literature, the author concludes that the Ismaili community was viewed through the prism of the activities of their spiritual leader, Imam Aga Khan III. Despite the fact that Aga Khan III himself, in his memoirs, spoke warmly of Russia, its people, and its culture, in the eyes of Tsarist authorities he was a conductor of British policy in the region. England and Russia were longtime rivals in the ‘Great Game’ in Central Asia in general and in the Pamirs in particular. With the declassification of archival materials, the author was able to use documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire. The article indicates that the Russian Empire used for its own purposes Tajik Ismaili religious figures, who occasionally traveled to pay homage to Aga Khan III.

 

KEYWORDS: Tajik Ismailis, Aga Khan III, ‘Muslim Question’, Tsarist Russia, Pamir, Russian scholars

 

FOR CITATION: Kalandarov T. Ismailis in the Russian Strategy of Solving the ‘Muslim Question’ in Central Asia
(Late 19th — Early 20th Century). Kunstkamera. 2025. 2 (28): 69–83. (In Russian). DOI: 10.31250/2618-8619-20252(28)-69-83

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-2(28)-69-83
UDC 94(47).083

 

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