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The large and rapidly increasing Muslim population of the USSR put an immense strain on the Soviet political system, dominated as it is by Russians. The problems were not confined to internal tensions between ethnic groups but extend also to relations with neighbouring Muslim states, as the invasion of Afghanistan graphically illustrated. This volume, first published in 1984, addresses this field of unique importance. Topics covered encompass the living standards of the Soviet Muslim population, the religious revival, relations with the Arab world, the Soviet experience of guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan and many more. In short it provides coverage of the sociological, political, cultural, economic, ideological and international dimensions of Soviet-Muslim relations.
List of contents
Part 1. The Soviet Domestic Context: Socio-Political Aspects 1. National Symbiosis: Vitality, Religion, Identity, Allegiance Michael Rywkin 2. The Central Government and Peripheral Opposition in Khiva, 1910-24 Dov B. Yaroshevski 3. Central Asian Political Participation and Soviet Political Development Steven L. Burg 4. Trends in the Soviet Muslim Population: Demographic Aspects Murray Feshbach 5. The Soviet Muslim Population: Trends in Living Standards, 1960-75 Alastair McAuley Part 2. The Soviet Domestic Context: Cultural and Ideological Aspects 6. The Significance of Increasing Bilingualism among Soviet Muslims Paul B. Henze 7. The Effect of the USSR’s Language Policy on the National Languages of its Turkic Population Michael Bruchis 8. The Impact of the Islamic Fundamentalist Revival of the Late 1970s on the Soviet View of Islam Yaacov Ro’I Part 3. Foreign Policy Aspects 9. Soviet Central Asia: a Model of Non-Capitalist Development for the Third World Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone 10. Soviet Experience of Muslim Guerrilla Warfare and the War in Afghanistan Chantal Lemercier-Quelquejay and Alexandre Bennigsen 11. First Steps in Soviet Diplomacy toward Afghanistan, 1917-21 Michael Volodarsky 12. Soviet Policy and the Constraints of Nationalism in Iran and Afghanistan Marvin G. Weinbaum 13. Saudi Arabia’s Attitude toward the USSR, 1977-80: Between Saudi Pragmatism and Islamic Conservatism Jacob Goldberg 14. Dilemmas of Arab Communism: the Case of the Syrian Communist Party, 1969-73 Dina Kehat
About the author
Yaacov Ro'i
