Mosques of Kabardino-Balkaria: features of functioning and development in the Soviet period (1917–1991)

The paper examines the peculiarities of the functioning of mosques in Kabardino-Balkaria during the Soviet period. Their role and place in society in the period preceding 1917 are considered. It is concluded that their activities were multidisciplinary. The article reveals the specifics of the position of mosques in the early years of Soviet power. The beginning of the implementation of measures to progressively close them and redevelop them is associated with the deployment of the processes of comprehensive socialist modernization. The sharp decline in the number of mosques that occurred in the second half of the 20s and early 30s of the 20th century is explained by internal processes in the KBAO, mainly by mass peasant unrest. It is noted that during the occupation of the territory of the republic during the Great Patriotic War (August 1942 – January 1943), the German command carried out active measures to reopen mosques, which was an integral part of their policy aimed at attracting the local population. It is argued that in the post-war Soviet decades, a typical system of circumvention of the requirements of current legislation regarding religious buildings took root and spread widely in the republic. It consisted mainly of giving them the status of outbuildings that were not subject to official registration. Similar structures in Kabardino-Balkaria in the 40s–80s were present in many settlements and represented the main form of mosques operating in the period under review.

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