ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that not only the Soviet Muftiate but also the Institute for the Study of Oriental Manuscripts contributed to the integration of local 'religious elements', of students and scholars with a background in Islamic theology and law, into the Soviet sphere. In 1943 the Soviet government established the Spiritual Administration for the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM) in Tashkent. Based on documentation from the archives of the Institute of Oriental Studies and of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as on the memoirs of many former and present employees of the institute, the article attempts to analyze how these 'ulama'-Orientalists were integrated into the institute, under changing political circumstances, and what kind of agency they managed to keep for themselves. The Institute of Manuscripts began to function in January of 1944. The first director of the Manuscript Institute was A. A. Semenov, who served in this position from 1943 to 1947.
