Ислам, кофейни, шариат. Как сегодня живет Северный Кавказ / Ирина Стародубровская

The North Caucasus is often perceived as a single space—with shared cultural and religious characteristics, similar political practices, and a history of conflict. However, this generalization conceals significant differences between the republics, a complex social structure, and a multilayered legal reality in which state law, adat, and Sharia are intertwined. How do the republics of the North Caucasus differ from each other? How has the region transformed since the collapse of the USSR? What does polyjuridism mean—and how do different legal systems coexist in practice? How is Sharia organized in modern Caucasian communities, and which Islamic religious and legal schools are influential here? What is meant by the term "Wahhabism," and why have radical movements spread across the region in the post-Soviet period? Sociologist and field researcher Irina Starodubrovskaya explains how the North Caucasus has changed in recent decades, why Islamization has taken different forms in different republics, and how local communities live today. The examples Irina Starodubrovskaya cites demonstrate how the everyday mechanisms of the coexistence of religious and secular norms are structured—and what solutions are possible for overcoming accumulated social and political contradictions. 0:00:00 Sociologist Irina Starodubrovskaya. North Caucasus 0:00:54 What are the differences between the republics of the North Caucasus? 0:07:07 How has the North Caucasus changed? 0:14:11 Islamization of the North Caucasus 0:17:12 What does polyjuridism mean in the North Caucasus? 0:20:32 How is Sharia law structured in the North Caucasus? 0:22:58 Religious and legal schools of Islam 0:24:22 What does Wahhabism mean? 0:27:12 What was the post-Soviet period like in the republics of the North Caucasus? 0:36:31 Why has radical Islam spread in the North Caucasus? 0:45:47 What is life like in the North Caucasus today? 0:51:21 The story of two villages in Dagestan 0:56:02 How can existing problems be solved? To learn more about life in the North Caucasus, we recommend: 1. Two books by Irina Starodubrovskaya: “The Origins of Conflicts in the North Caucasus” (co-authored with Denis Sokolov) and “The North Caucasus: The Modernization Challenge” (co-authored with Natalia Zubarevich and others) 2. Irina Starodubrovskaya’s article “Intergenerational Relations and Social Transformations: The Case of the North Caucasus” (Sociology of Power, Vol. 31, No. 1) 3. The podcast “Freedom (Not) Around the Corner”:    / @svobodapodcast   4. The podcast about women in the North Caucasus, “Sela-Sata”: https://zona.media/podcast/sela-sata 5. Women’s space and media about the North Caucasus, DAPTAR: https://daptar.ru/ 6. The podcast “Chronicle of the Caucasus with Vachagaev" 7. Independent media outlet "Caucasian Knot"