THE NATION THAT MIGHT NOT BE: THE ROLE OF ISKHAQI'S EXTINCTION AFTER TWO HUNDRED YEARS IN THE POPULARIZATION OF KAZAN TATAR NATIONAL IDENTITY AMONG THE 'ULAMA SONS AND SHAKIRDS OF THE VOLGAURAL REGION, 1904-1917

The article examines the role of early twentieth-century Tatar-language fiction in creating and popularizing national symbols and in redefining the categories into which intellectuals divided the members of their society. This article focuses, in particular, on the works of a number of post-1905 writers who have received relatively little attention in English-language scholarship. While not neglecting the imperial context, it takes an intellectual rather than social historical approach. It draws on Tatar-language poems, novels, memoirs, letters, and archival documents from the early 1900s.