Religion and Identity in Modern Russia ― The Revival of Orthodoxy and Islam

Focusing on the roles of Russian Orthodoxy and Islam in constituting, challenging and changing national and ethnic identities in Russia, this study takes Tsarist and Soviet legacies into account, paying special attention to the evolution of the relationship between religious teachings and political institutions through the late 19th and 20th centuries. The volume explicitly discusses and compares the role of Russia's two major religions, Orthodoxy and Islam, in forging identity in the modern era and brings an innovative blend of sociological, historical, linguistic and geographic scholarship to the problem of post-Soviet Russian identity. This comprehensive volume is suitable for courses on post-Soviet politics, Russian studies, religion and political culture.

Juliet Johnson is Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University, Canada. She has published on topics ranging from post-communist political economy to the politics of Russian national identity formation. Marietta Stepaniants is affiliated with the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences as well as the State University of the Humanities (Moscow). Over her distinguished career, she has published numerous books and scholarly articles. Benjamin Forest is Associate Professor of Geography at Dartmouth College, USA. He has published articles on identity, race and ethnicity, and political representation.