The Experience and Challenges of Islamic Insurance in the Post-Soviet Space : Case Studies of Russia and Kazakhstan

This article discusses how an Islamic insurance (takaful) model has been implemented in two CIS-countries (Russia, Kazakhstan) in recent years. The author examines legal regulation of takaful in countries where a special legislation on takaful was not adopted (Russia) or is in draft form (Kazakhstan). The author also notices inconsistent use of Islamic finance and takaful terminology by legislators in Kazakhstan. In the case of Russia the article tells about a number of attempts to set up takaful business in the absence of specific legal regulation for such type of insurance. Special attention is paid to the attempts to launch of takaful products (non-life insurance) by Evro-Polis company in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russian Federation) in 2012