ABSTRACT
Moscow has barely registered in studies of Russian Islam, which concentrate predominantly on communities in the North Caucasus, the Volga-Urals, or on Russia’s relations with the Muslim world. Traditionally, although the presence of ethnic minorities and migrant communities has been acknowledged, Moscow has been seen largely as an ethnic Russian and Christian city. Its medieval status as the self-proclaimed ‘Third Rome’ of the Orthodox world fi nds modern echoes in prevalent images of the cathedrals of St Basil’s and Christ the Saviour, the Kremlin’s golden cupolas and even offi cial symbols – after all, Moscow’s coat of arms displays St. George slaying the dragon.
