The main topic of this issue is Islamic heritage and modernity in the culture of the peoples of Russia, primarily in the Caucasus and Volga regions, in the context of Soviet and pre-revolutionary reforms. The authors of зфзукы take part in the project entitled “Islam in the culture of the peoples of Russia”. The purpose of the project is to study specific features of the local Russian form of Islam, its role and place in the culture of the peoples of our country who confess this world religion. Project participants conduct complex ethnological and sociological field studies and archival textual analysis of contemporary forms of Islam, including its specific traditions and rituals. One of the main tasks to be solved in the course of the present research is an ethnographic study of specific forms of Islam, its role in the culture of the peoples of Russia, and vectors of its development. Research group consisting of sociologists, orientalists and experts in oriental manuscripts ensures a comprehensive study of the problem, as evidenced by the articles published herein. Their articles are the result of the two-year work under this project.