Ravil Bukharaev is a well-known writer, poet, radio journalist and scholar of religious, cultural and political history of his native Tatarstan. He was born in Kazan in 1951. He is the author of more than thirty books, among which are The Model of Tatarstan Under President Mintimer Shaimiev (London/New York, 1999), Islam in Russia: the Four Seasons (London/New York, 2000). In 2005, he was awarded the M. Lomonosov Gold Medal for his contribution to Russian Arts, Science and Education and, in 2006, the State Prize of Tatarstan for his latest books of poetry. He has lived in London, UK, since 1992.

• Preface; List of Illustrations; Introduction: The Moment of Truth; 1 Blessed is the Motion of Life (Harakatta barakat); 2 The Word Unuttered; 3 End of Symmetry; 4 Kazan Gateway; 5 Village Culture; 6 ‘We Need Millions of Proprietors’; 7 Mother Tongue; 8 Tatarstan in the Global World; 9 The National Idea; Index

Ravil Bukharaev is a well-known writer, poet, radio journalist and scholar of religious, cultural and political history of his native Tatarstan. He was born in Kazan in 1951. He is the author of more than thirty books, among which are The Model of Tatarstan Under President Mintimer Shaimiev (London/New York, 1999), Islam in Russia: the Four Seasons (London/New York, 2000). In 2005, he was awarded the M. Lomonosov Gold Medal for his contribution to Russian Arts, Science and Education and, in 2006, the State Prize of Tatarstan for his latest books of poetry. He has lived in London, UK, since 1992.

• Preface; List of Illustrations; Introduction: The Moment of Truth; 1 Blessed is the Motion of Life (Harakatta barakat); 2 The Word Unuttered; 3 End of Symmetry; 4 Kazan Gateway; 5 Village Culture; 6 ‘We Need Millions of Proprietors’; 7 Mother Tongue; 8 Tatarstan in the Global World; 9 The National Idea; Index

Ravil Bukharaev is a well-known writer, poet, radio journalist and scholar of religious, cultural and political history of his native Tatarstan. He was born in Kazan in 1951. He is the author of more than thirty books, among which are The Model of Tatarstan Under President Mintimer Shaimiev (London/New York, 1999), Islam in Russia: the Four Seasons (London/New York, 2000). In 2005, he was awarded the M. Lomonosov Gold Medal for his contribution to Russian Arts, Science and Education and, in 2006, the State Prize of Tatarstan for his latest books of poetry. He has lived in London, UK, since 1992.

• Preface; List of Illustrations; Introduction: The Moment of Truth; 1 Blessed is the Motion of Life (Harakatta barakat); 2 The Word Unuttered; 3 End of Symmetry; 4 Kazan Gateway; 5 Village Culture; 6 ‘We Need Millions of Proprietors’; 7 Mother Tongue; 8 Tatarstan in the Global World; 9 The National Idea; Index