Nation, Language, Islam: Tatarstan's Sovereignty Movement

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This is a very theoretically sophisticated, densely detailed and documented account of one of the most important and least studied places in the former Soviet Union. Virtually no other work on the market has anywhere near the amount of detailed information about what life is like on the ground in Tatarstan, what the “nation-building” project among Tatars there actually looks like and what implications that project has for future developments in Russian politics. The author’s field-work grounded observations about language communities and the way identity influences everyday life in Tatarstan are invaluable.” – Katherine Ellen Graney, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Nation, Language, Islam is an engaging and moving study of how people living in a particular post-Soviet space imagine their cultural possibilities and their connections to political and social groups. In her careful exploration of two language communities—people bilingual in Tatar and Russian and Russian-only speakers—Helen Faller uncovers distinctive ‘referential worlds.’ Based on vivid analysis of Tatar cultural practices, including song, festivals, educational policy, and revived Islam, Dr. Faller reveals the multiple roots of Tatarstan’s palpable civic peace and its multi-cultural politics. This sensitive study shows that nation-building is not necessarily state-building and offers a critical corrective to generalizations about Muslim politics. This lively book captures the ambiguities of the situation in which Tatarstan’s citizens exist—the limitations and possibilities of their Soviet and post-Soviet experience–as well as the resilience and grace of present-day Tatar culture. A scholarly, enjoyable, and fundamentally human book.” – Jane Burbank, New York University Central European University Press Budapest – New York Sales and information: ceupress@ceu.hu Website: http://www.ceupress.com ISBN 978-963-9776-84-5 ...