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Early restitution of ancient Quran by the Soviet Union to Turkestan

Article
Journal of Global History
17 Apr 2026
Turkestan
Russia
RM* 27 Oct 2026

In 1868, the reputed Quran of Uthman was removed from the Khoja Ahrar madrassa and taken to the Imperial Library in St Petersburg. Harry Shaheen and Molly Arbuthnot argue that the Quran’s return to Turkestan in 1923 was an act of decolonization, a symbolic gesture motivated both by realpolitik and ideological principles. [open access]

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