Publication

This paper discusses the policy of the Soviet Union toward Islam during the Khrushchev-era from 1954 to 1964, focusing on foundations of the Soviet presentation of Islam. The paper introduces Soviet anti-religious measures and statements under Khrushchev and explores approaches to Islam and Russian Orthodoxy. Subsequently, the paper sheds light on the role of the Soviet orientalists and of the polemicists that wrote against Islam. The paper concludes that the anti-Islamic campaign facilitated long-lasting changes in how the Soviet government and academia analyzed Islam and Muslim life.