Catherine’s Qur’ans: A Turning Point in the History of the Qur’anic Text

This article is focused on an extremely important but yet understudied page of the history of the Qur’anic text on the Catherine’s Qur’ans. It refers to the St. Petersburg editions of the Qur’an of 1787–1796, published in the “Asiatic Printing House” of I. K. Shnorr. Catherine’s Qur’ans are the fi rst printed editions of the Qur’an in history, created by Muslims in accordance with Islamic standards and traditions. The famous Kazan Qur’ans issued in the 19th century, which spread all over the world and played a signifi cant role in the dissemination of the text of the Qur’an, originated from the Catherine’s Qur’ans. The study is based on a comprehensive analysis of a wide range of sources. The article is accompanied by data on modern projects in the fi eld of popularization of St Petersburg editions of the Qur’an in Russia and the world, as well as an appendix reporting on the results of an international study of a copy of the Qur’an from 1787 commissioned by the Medina Publishing House, which opens a new milestone in the study of the Catherine’s Qur’ans.