Source Studies Aspects of the History of Islam in Russia on the Pages of the "Maglyumat" Magazine: 1908–17

The early 20th century saw a rapid development of the Turkic Muslim periodical press in Russia. In a short time, a significant number of magazines and newspapers of various directions appeared in the country. They published materials about life, socio-economic situation of the peoples of Russia. The article is to analyze the articles and publications of the Arabic-language Turkic magazine Maglyumat, published in Ufa by the Orenburg Mohammedan Spiritual Assembly. It examines the history of the magazine’s creation and analyzes its publications. The object of the study is issues from 1908–10 and 1916–17. The research is based on materials from the issues preserved in the Manuscript Fond of the G. B. Khusainov Order of the Badge of Honor Institute of History, Language, and Literature of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UFITs RAN) and in the Department of Rare Books of the Scientific Library of the UFITs RAN. Comparative-historical, systemic, and historical-typological methods have been used in the study. Archeographic study and systematic analysis of various issues show that the magazine’s publications were not limited to religious topics. They covered a wide range of issues of the Muslim population’s life, from government orders and resolutions to opening of new mosques and madrasahs. Unlike many other magazines of the period, it contained materials on the Muslims’ situation in the Russian Empire. Much attention was paid to the position of the Bashkirs, the land issue, there were publications of sources and historical works on the history of Bashkortostan, some were translated from Russian. Much attention was paid to the history and activities of the Orenburg Mohammedan Spiritual Assembly. A number of materials highlighted the publishing program of the magazine. At the time of its existence, the issue of Muslim education remained an urgent problem. The discussion continued between supporters of old- and new-fashioned education. One of the articles in defense of the new methods in education was written by a well-known Muslim figure Z. Rasulev together with like-minded people. Socio-political changes in the country after 1917 were also reflected on its pages. The research shows that the Maglumat is a valuable source for studying various spheres of the Muslims’ life in the early 20th century. Its materials reflect different aspects of the life of the society of the specified period and its condition, provide information on the socio-economic situation, cultural development of the Russian Muslims.