Islam and christianity in the middle Volga region in the second half of the XVI-XVIII century

© the author(s). The relevance of the problem under investigation related to the religious policy is caused by the need of studying the historical experience of relations between the Orthodox state and the other faiths, crowned with tolerance and legitimization of Islam and the need to develop both an optimal model of church-state relations and ethnic and religious policy, not only in the medieval period, but in the context of the challenges of modernity and politicization of religion. Article examines the religious policy of the Russian state in relation to the non-Orthodox religions, especially Islam, in the process of entering a multi-confessional and multi-ethnic territory of the former Kazan khanate in the orbit of the functioning of the Russian state in the second half of the XVI-XVIII centuries. Its aim is to highlight the evolution of the political line of aversion to religious tolerance caused by the resistance of the non-Russian peoples of the baptism. The paper concluded that the possibility of allocating the six milestones Christianization of the non-Russian peoples of the Middle Volga region as part of the emerging empire in the XVI-XVIII centuries. It is noted that in general, despite the limitation of the non-Russian population owners' rights, infringement of socio-economic rights of the Yasak majority and a pressure on Muslim clerics, this policy proved to be ineffective against Muslims. It is noted that the relaxation of Christianization was due to social movements, among which a rebellion. It is emphasized that awareness of the need to review the relationship of Islam and a peaceful coexistence between the two faiths, to some extent led to their subsequent convergence. The materials of the article have value for understanding the formation of cultural, historical and national identity, adding principles of interaction with other cultures, able to lead to a mutually beneficial dialogue, for research on the history of both Russia and the peoples of the Volga-Ural region. Also the materials of the article may be used in general and special courses of Russian history and the history of religion