Ethnic and Religious Factors in the Russian Census as Local Muslims of the Moscow Region Understand Them

Abstract

The article presents the outcome of fieldwork and research conducted in Muslim religious organizations of the Moscow region in 2014–2021. I focus on various aspects of the ethnic and religious identities of Muslims local to the region, paying special attention to their attitudes toward the Russian Census of 2020–2021. I examine the approaches and ideas reflected in studies of population censuses in Russia, analyze the linguistic, ethnic, religious, and civic identity of the community, and discuss the problem of determining the numbers of Muslims residing in the Moscow region. Pointing to the general trend toward the declining trust in official results of the Russian Census, I argue that Muslims of the region begin expressing the idea of introducing a special section on religious identity in forthcoming census campaigns and related official documents.