Migration and Islam in Russia

This study is a compelling ethnographic journey into the lives of Central Asian migrants whose labour sustains Russian cities while their faith, mobility and belonging remain closely scrutinised. Drawing on long-term fieldwork, the book reveals how migrants navigate informal economies, police surveillance, racialised exclusion and everyday precarity, while Islam offers ethical orientation, community and survival strategies. It challenges simplistic views of migration, religion and integration by showing how state power, labour markets and moral worlds intersect in daily life. Essential reading for scholars, students and policy audiences interested in migration, Islam, Russia and post-Soviet societies today globally.

Rano Turaeva, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, LMU Munich, is a habilitated anthropologist specializing in Central Asia, migration, Islam and post-Soviet societies. She is the author of Migration and Identity (Routledge, 2016). She also co-edited Labour, Mobility and Informal Practices in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe (Routledge, 2021) with Rustamjon Urinboyev and Religious Economies in Secular Context: Halal Markets, Practices and Landscapes (Springer Nature, 2023) with Michael Brose.