Between a united Muslim nation and territorial autonomy

This chapter examines the evolving political visions of Tatar Muslim intellectuals and activists during the transformative period surrounding the collapse of the Russian Empire. It challenges linear narratives of transition from empire to nation-states by highlighting the complex interplay between religion and ethnicity, as well as between territorial and non-territorial approaches to decentralization. Initially, Russia’s Muslims, including Tatars, pursued a vision of a unified Muslim nation, shaped by debates over belonging and influenced by imperial discourse and policies. Throughout the 1910s, Tatar intellectuals engaged in debates over nationhood, language, and religion. The 1917 Revolution catalyzed these discussions, with the First All-Russian Muslim Congress endorsing federalism that incorporated both territorial and extraterritorial forms of national autonomy. Soon afterward, the Tatar Muslim movement took a regional turn, culminating in the proclamation of Cultural National Autonomy for the Turk-Tatars of Inner Russia and Siberia. The National Assembly of this non-territorial unit, in turn, advanced the Idel-Ural State project, which sought to institutionalize territorial Tatar statehood. The revolution thus triggered a rapid shift from pan-Muslim unity to an ethno-nationalist program that combined territorial and non-territorial autonomy. However, Bolshevik intervention disrupted these developments, suppressing Tatar national organizations while simultaneously co-opting elements of their political agenda.