
Contents
Cite
Abstract
This introductory chapter focuses on the nineteenth-century apotasy movement of Tatar Christians (Kräshens) in Russia's Middle Volga region. Tens of thousands of Tatar Christians petitioned the czar to be legally recognized as Muslims, which led to a major struggle over the religious and cultural identity of entire peoples living along the Middle Volga. In their collective petitions, the “apostates” often claimed that they had never in fact been Christian at all, and that they were practicing Muslims. In other words, their “apostasy” from Eastern Orthodoxy was simply an effort to force the Russian authorities to recognize their true faith. Western and Tatar historians have long assumed that the Kräshens were not really Christians but were simply playing a role to avoid persecution or to obtain some benefit. They continue to regard Tatar identity as fixed, defined by national heritage, and not as an evolving phenomenon, and view the apostasy movement exclusively as a political, anticolonial event in Tatar national history. This approach, however, fails to explain both the process by which indigenous peoples developed or maintained an Islamic identity and the survival of a vibrant Christian community among Kräshens. It also ignores the role of religious literacy in the baptized Tatars' internalization of Islamic and later Christian values.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
November 2022 | 1 |
February 2023 | 1 |
June 2023 | 1 |
March 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 3 |
November 2024 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.