Russia and Islam

The Protohistory (Ninth to Twelfth Centuries): -In the tenth century, when Russians were still
Russia's position on the eastern flank of Europemostly pagans, Islam had already penetrated
has often been compared to that of Spain on theEastern Transcaucasia and Daghestan. It had
western side. Both are seen as bulwarks ofconquered the whole of Turkestan south of Syr
Christendom facing the hostile world of Islam, ofDarya and the King of Bulghar in the far north had
civilization facing 'barbary'. Russia exhaustedadopted the religion of the Prophet, Except for
herself in a heroic struggle of several centuries,the Bulghar Kingdom, all these territories had long
but this sacrifice was not to be in vain, for Europebeen settled with highly developed urban societies
was saved and could go on to develop its brilliantgoing back to the second millennium BC. Even the
civilization well protected by the Russians. Thenomadic Turks of the Caspian steppes - the
price of this voluntary sacrifice was heavy, sinceKhazars - whose feudal nobility had adopted
in order to survive and finally to overcome theJudaism as their official religion, had attained a
'Asia barbarians', Muscovy was obliged to adopthigher level of political and cultural development
their ways, such as tyranny, despotism, serfdomthan the ancestors of the Russians, their vassals
and lack of liberty. Such is the picture that isin the eighth and early ninth centuries.
painted in nearly all Russian and Soviet historicalDuring the eleventh and twelfth centuries political
works. Far-fetched as it is, there are deepand cultural equilibrium was established between
reasons for defending this absurd concept.the sedentary Kievian Rus, Christianized and
According to the Russians, 'they have sufferedcivilized by Byzantium and the nomadic Qypchaqs
more than any other people' and have 'played the(Polovtsy) - heirs to the Khazars who ruled over
role of protectors and saviours', a kind of Stthe Steppe territories between the Dniepr and
George killing the Asiatic dragon and rescuing thethe Aral Sea.
European princess. This exclusive position 'givesContrary to the commonly accepted but totally
the Russians certain messianic rights', in particularmisleading version put forward by Russian
the right to assume the leadership over theirhistorians, relations between sedentary Russians
lesser European brothers and to 'civilize' the worldand nomadic Turks were not limited only to
Asiatics.plundering expeditions and punitive
The reality is of course far from this Manichaeancounter-expeditions, but included wide cultural and
approach to history. When the ancestors of thediplomatic exchanges between partners who
Russians first came into contact with Asia in thetreated each other as equals. Moreover, during
ninth century they were the 'Barbarians', not thethis period Turkic princesses often married Kievian
highly civilized Muslims.princes. (It is a well known historical fact that the
In the early tenth century, the borderline betweenvassal seeks the hand of his suzerain's daughter.)
'Civilization' and 'Barbary' followed more or lessThis happy period ended with the Mongol invasion,
exactly the frontier which today separates thebut not before a considerable number of Turkic,
Slavic 'European' people of the USSR from theIranian and even Arabic words synonymous with
area populated largely by Muslims: Middle andadvanced societies were borrowed and have
Lower Volga, North Caucasian mountains,become so thoroughly Russified as to make it
Derbent, Syr Daria. However, 'Barbary' at thisnearly impossible to recognize their Asiatic origins:
time was represented by the 'Europeans',chugun, bulat, topor, sablia, saray, bumaga, khram,
ancestors of the Russians. (There are those whoterem, yazyk, ochag, cherdak, loshad', chemodan,
believe that the position has altered little overbogatyr, magazin, karandash, karaul, etc. In
time.)contrast, Slavic vocabulary made no impression
For the Muslims, the 'Rus' were wild and primitiveon Turkic languages - at least until the nineteenth
natives, purveyors of rare blond slaves and suchcentury.
precious raw materials as fur and ivory. But theyIn the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the
were dangerous neighbors and their plunderingequilibrium which existed between the sedentary
expeditions (912 and 941-4 raids in the CaspianKievian civilization and the steppe nomads in the
Sea, the destruction of the Khazar Empire in 945Black Sea-Caspian Sea area could be likened to an
and 985 expedition against Bulghar) wereoutwardly similar situation between the sedentary
described in gruesome detail by early MuslimIrano-Turkic and nomadic Turko-Mongol worlds
chroniclers.along the line of Syr Daria. To draw any sort of
During 942-4 the 'Rus' devastated all Muslimparallel would, however, be wrong. In Central Asia,
Transcaucasia. Berdea, the most prosperous cityBukhara of the Samanids and Empire of the
of Azerbaijan, was completely destroyed and itsSeljuqs were the great centers of world culture
inhabitants slaughtered. According to Ibn Hawkal,at that time and the defense line on Syr Daria
from the 1,200 5 remained. In 1850, a Russianmarked the border between civilization and
historian, Grigor'ev, wrote"Barbary. There could be no borrowing of
When anarchy, fanaticism and barbarity wereMongol-Turkic or Manchu words from the Qara
disputing the domination of Europe, the KhazarKhitay by the Persians or the Seljuqs and a
Empire was a center of law, order and religiousSamanid king or a Khwarezm shah would never
tolerance, a refuge for all those who weredream of marrying the daughter of a nomad
persecuted for their belief. It was like a brilliantchieftain roaming the Mongolian outback.
meteor over the dark horizon of Europe.