This article looks into the history of Muslim community of Petrograd- Leningrad during the Soviet time. The author pays special attention to its little-known and understudied aspects by referring to a wide range of sources from oral memoirs to diary extracts. Of particular importance are photographic materials from state and private photo archives. The picture helps to provide a broader view of the history of Muslim community, both from the standpoint of a photographer and through the eyes of believers themselves. Special focus is made on the life of the two imam-khatibs of the Leningrad Cathedral Mosque: Yakub Halekov and Hafz Mahmutov. The author examines how ofcial and unofcial leaders and institutions governing Tatar- Muslim community in Leningrad and a number of towns in the Leningrad region emerged and worked. Some photographs coming from private archives often serve as a starting point for a broader study of forms of Islam in the Soviet Union. Key words: Leningrad Cathedral mosque, isem kushu, unoffcial mullahs, janazah, Tatar section of Novo-Volkovo cemetery, imam-khatib. Beckin R. Istoriya tataro-moslemskoy obshchestva sovetskogo Petrograda-Leningradskogo (1917-1991 gg.) po materialam gosudarstvennykh i chastnykh fotoarchivov [History of the Tatar-Muslim community of Soviet Petrograd-Leningrad (1917-1991) based on the materials of state and private photo archives]. 2016. N4. pp. 118-147. Bekkin, Renat (2016) "History of Tatar-Muslims Community in Soviet Petrograd-Leningrad (1917-1991) basing on the Private and State Photo Archives", Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkov' v Rossii i za rubezhom 34(4): 118-147. page 118Introduction The topic of Islam in the Soviet Union has recently been increasingly attracting the attention of researchers. At the same time, the object of study is not only the state's policy towards Islam and Muslims, 1 but also the specifics of the functioning of Islamic institutions, including unofficial ones, in certain regions of the country.2 S ... Читать далее