History of Tatar-Muslims Community in Soviet Petrograd-Leningrad (1917–1991) Based on Private and State Photo Archives

This article looks into the history of Muslim community of Petrograd-Leningrad during the Soviet time. The author pays special attention to its little-known and understudied aspects by referring to a wide range of sources from oral memoirs to diary extracts. Of particular importance are photographic materials from state and private photo archives. The picture helps to provide a broader view of the history of Muslim community, both from the standpoint of a photographer and through the eyes of believers themselves. Special focus is made on the life of the two imam-khatibs of the Leningrad Cathedral Mosque: Yakub Halekov and Hafiz Mahmutov. The author examines how official and unofficial leaders and institutions governing Tatar-Muslim community in Leningrad and a number of towns in the Leningrad region emerged and worked. Some photographs coming from private archives often serve as a starting point for a broader study of forms of Islam in the Soviet Union.