“Catherine’s Korans” in the National Library of Russia

Abstract

The article for the first time investigates in detail the issue of two copies of the socalled “Catherine’s Korans”, kept in the National Library of Russia (NLR). More than 7 thousand copies were published in St. Petersburg in 1787—1797. It was the world’s first example of a printed Koran, prepared in accordance with Muslim traditions. These books were published after vast territories with Muslim population were adjoined to Russia, which was of great political importance. The article examines the Koran, which was received by the NLR from the Imperial Hermitage Foreign Library at the end of 1861 — the beginning of 1862, and for the first time introduces information about the Koran belonging to the famous bibliophile General P. Sukhtelen, which came to the NLR in 1836. On the basis of comparing of two copies of the Koran it is concluded that the holy book of Muslims from Sukhtelen’s library belongs to an earlier edition than the Koran from the Imperial Hermitage Foreign Library.