The St. Petersburg mosque: A gift from the Emir of Bukhara

In the early 1900s, nearly 4,000 Muslims lived in St. Petersburg, including Central Asian students and merchants. However, they faced a major issue — there was no proper place for communal prayer. In response, local Muslims began efforts to construct a mosque.

Photo: KUN.UZ

Beyond securing land and funding, they also had to appease Orthodox Christian opposition to the mosque’s construction. The project required 500,000 rubles, yet the Muslim community had managed to collect only 33,000 rubles.

At this critical moment, the Emir of Bukhara, Said Abdulahad Khan (father of Said Alim Khan), traveled to St. Petersburg. During breakfast with Tsar Nicholas II, he personally requested a plot of land for worship and immediately paid 312,000 rubles for a site in the heart of the city. Additionally, he donated another half a million ruble for construction.

The mosque served the Muslim community for only 20 years before being shut down in the 1940s. One of its minarets was repurposed as a weapons storage facility. A decade later, the authorities even considered demolishing the mosque entirely. However, strong resistance from Tatar and Bukharan Muslim communities prevented its destruction. Eventually, the building was returned for religious use.

Today, the St. Petersburg Mosque has become one of the city's most significant cultural landmarks. Everyone passing by is eager to take a picture with this "Little Samarkand."

Kun.uz photojournalist Muhammadjon Ganiev, during a business trip to Russia, prepared a photo report on the mosque. Photography inside the building is not permitted, and even any belongings you carry must be left outside — entry is allowed solely for prayer.