By Ilshat Nasirov : Islam Magazine | Makhachkala | 2005
Legal status of Muslims in the Russian Imperial Army in the 17-19 centuries on the example of Bashkirs
In the 16th century Russia was turning into a multinational state. The Russian army, the most important component of the Russian statehood has been multi-ethnic and multi-confessional since then. Thus, Muslim Bashkirs constituted a big part of the Russian troops.