Russia’s Muslims: A Growing Challenge for Moscow

In dealing with Russia’s Muslim minority, the government in Moscow is facing a challenge that is likely to become more serious in coming years. By most estimates, self-identified Muslims make up at least 10 percent of the country’s total population of approximately 143 million. Looking at population size alone underestimates the political and demographic influence of Russia’s Muslims, however. Ethnic Muslims are growing in number even as Russia’s total population shrinks. They are geographically concentrated in large cities, the Volga region, and, most significantly, the North Caucasus, a region that in recent years has been wracked by violence. […]

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