This anthropologically informed paper is focused on the transformation of meanings and practices related to traditional Shia sacred places - ziayarat gah, pirs - in Azerbaijan. The central issue is the one of power and authority, the interaction of a saint with pilgrims in the context of a modern secular city, in this case Baku. In doing so, the author discusses how a residential house in central Baku has been turned into a popular pilgrimage place since the 1940s and until today. The analysis of popular narratives, ethnographies and hagiographies clearly shows that the practice of pilgrimage can be seen, among other things, as part of political interests. Keywords: pilgrimage, cult of the saints, popular Islam, Stalinism, Azerbaijan. VENERATION of saints and pilgrimage to holy places are a widespread tradition in Azerbaijan, which has been preserved despite the powerful anti-religious campaigns of the 20s and 30s of the XX century. Like the cult of wandering preachers and messengers of Sufi orders in the North Caucasus and Iran, the veneration of Shiite saints in Azerbaijan is part of the popular faith. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the transformation of typical Shiite forms of the sacred in the context of a secular post - socialist city. We will look at the semantic changes in practices associated with traditional holy sites-ziayarat gah and pirs. Darieva TS Baku "boneless" Saint: Muslim pilgrimages in the secular city / State, religion and Church in Russia and abroad. 2016. N2. pp. 203-225. Darieva, Tsypylma (2016) "The 'Boneless' Saint from Baku: Muslim Pilgrimage in a Secular City", Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkov' v Rossii i za rubezhom 34(2): 203-225. page 203Despite the fact that the holy tombs and sacred sites of popular Islam are mostly associated with rural areas, the belief and practice of local pilgrimage are equally widespread among urban residents. To date, the religious practices of the secular urban environment have barely been addressed in ... Читать далее