Islam in the Russian armyIslam in the Russian army
In 1806-1807 the Russian army sent 20 Bashkir regiments to the European campaign. Eight more regiments fought in the Napoleonic war of 1812-1814. Bashkirs displayed bravery and courage in the battles of Leipzig, Weimar, Hanover, Danzig in Germany, Chateaubriand and Paris in France. Many of the Bashkir soldiers were awarded for heroism. Among them were Bashkir women. The bravery of the Bashkir soldiers is mentioned in the memoirs of the French General de Marbot. He was amazed by the courage of Bashkirs, who attacked Napoleon’s convoy and pushed back the French with nothing but cold weapons, bows and arrows.
The great German poet Goethe met Bashkir soldiers in Weimar and became interested in oriental culture. At the same time a German scientist brought him a Holy Quran from Spain. The beautiful calligraphic verses of the Quran delighted Goethe. He even tried to rewrite the ayat, although, of course, he knew no Arabic. Goethe ordered a German translation of the Muslim Holy Book. He was very much taken by the verses of the great Iranian poet Hafiz Shirazi translated into German.
The appearance of the Bashkirs in Europe meant a real coming of the East to Weimar. Bashkirs performed congregational prayers (salah al-jamaat) in the Weimar school. Goethe attended one of them. Perhaps it was a festive prayer and the poet wanted to see the Muslim ritual of worship. Among the Bashkirs there was a high ranking officer, whom they called a prince. Goethe met him. When the Bashkirs visited the Weimar Theatre, Goethe welcomed them with a speech, and they, in turn, gave him a bow and arrows.
In March 1814, the Bashkir regiments were in the forefront of the Russian army which took Paris. All Bashkir officers and soldiers were awarded with medals “For the Capture of Paris” by the CommanderIn-Chief of the Russian Army. As in Germany, the Bashkir soldiers were entrusted with the protection of the most important Parisian governmental offices and palaces due to their high military discipline, maintained by the commanders and imams.
To my deepest regret, some people with little historical knowledge are often mistakenly enthusiastic about the Bashkirs’ participation in the war against Napoleon. In fact, their transformation into the Cossack Host caused enormous suffering. By the generals’ orders Bashkirs rushed into the thick of bloody battles like the Battle of Borodino in 1812, Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and suffered heavy losses.
Yakshigul Yansurov, an army imam in a Bashkir regiment sent the following verses from Paris to Bashkir Tarhan Musa Kuchukov: “O Providence, you’ve separated us from home for us to wail. / / We suffer a hundred thousand adversities daily to get back safe and sound. / / We trust in Allah and confide our lives to Him. / / Is it surprising that the heavenly angels accompany us?”
In 1862, the Bashkir army and military canton system were abolished. Bashkirs served in Russian regular units, without their mullahs. That made their religious duties extremely difficult. Ahmatshah, the father of Zaki Validi Togan (1890-1980), the famous Turkic researcher and founder of the Bashkir republic, was a village mullah and had served in the Russian regiment in Gunib (Dagestan) in his youth. As you know, a Muslim, who has experienced wet dreams (ihtilam) must bathe completely washing his whole body (ghusl).
But when Ahmatshah was performing ablutions at night, he ran into a Russian officer on duty. The officer, unaware, heavily punished the Bashkir soldier. Ahmatshah was rescued by the commander of the Dagestan unit, who took him temporarily under his command. As he spoke no Russian, he talked to the Dagestani officer in Arabic and the latter was very pleased. While serving in Gunib, Ahmatshah met a former clerk of Imam Shamil and until the Revolution in 1905 wrote to him and his brother in Arabic.
After his service Ahmatshah stayed in Dagestan for a year and continued to study Arabic. To sum up, the position of the Muslim soldiers in the Russian army in the 17-19 centuries was an ambiguous one. Russia allowed regular Muslim soldiers to profess Islam, yet encouraged baptism to Orthodox Christianity. The legal status of the soldiers in the Muslim irregular cavalry was much better. The state supported Islam by allowing imams for the Bashkir troops. This ensured the combativeness of the Bashkir troops.
