Veué de la ville d' Astracan, 1799. © Copyright: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Collection d'Anville; 07422
The Commission’s focus lies on three distinct research tracks, which will be pursued in the period 2021-2026. However diverse and wide-ranging in chronological scope and source base, such research tracks are equally informed by a shared methodological conviction: namely, the understanding that to pursue the study of Islam in Central Eurasia under Russian and Soviet rule requires a sustained reflection on the taxonomies of knowledge about Islam and the categories deployed to represent Muslimness. This understanding can usefully inform our reading of all types of historical documentation regardless of the language and the socio-cultural environment of their crafting.