Entangled Late Soviet Sufism II
This next part further develops the themes addressed in my previous blog post, focusing on the reciprocal dynamics involving popular Sufism in Central Asia.
Entanglement: Western Esotericism under the Shadow of Sufi Shrines
Sufism has a long history in Central Asia and was practiced in various forms, sometimes covertly, even during the height of Soviet secularization policies there. It has been developing in the form of Sufi-informed ‘parallel Islam,’ as opposed to more formalized or institutionalized forms of the tradition controlled by the Soviet state (Bennigsen and Wimbush 1986, 21). Referring to practices, beliefs, and expressions of Sufism it was part of everyday life and culture, including popular veneration of Sufi saints, visits to their shrines (mazars), oral transmission of Sufi tales and wisdom, as well as the incorporation of Sufi ideas and practices into local customs and rituals.

However, recent studies show (Tasar 2018) that the Soviet state’s alleged hostility toward Sufism does not tell the whole story. With the cessation of mass violence as a Soviet policy measure, opportunities for revered ‘holy’ figures and sites, including those associated with the Naqshbandi and Qadiri traditions, increased. Rather than operating clandestinely, these Sufi shrines and Sufi masters were known to Communist bureaucrats, namely Uzbekistan’s party authorities, who promoted the influential Naqshbandi family of Bobokhonovs to run the Muslim Spiritual Board for Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM), the Central Asia’s only legal Muftiate (Tasar 2018).
In Central Asia, popular Sufism was the domain of unofficial religious figures known as khojas, pirs, and ishans.[1] Soviet historiography even coined a special term, ishanizm, to describe the forms of Sufism’s existence in Central Asia (Demidov 1978, 105ff), recognized as popular preachers, spiritual healers, and custodians of “holy places” (mazars), also distributed amulets and talismans. The Muslim Spiritual Board for Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM) denounced ishanism and the ‘non-Islamic’ character of the cult of “holy places” through fatwas, or Islamic legal verdicts (Subtelny 1989, 595). Tasar admits that the initial SADUM leadership aimed to institutionalize Sufism by populating its ranks with Bobokhonov family members and their disciples and by limiting regional ishans’ authority over legally sanctioned mosques. Thus, the Communist Party-state unintentionally positioned a vast Naqshbandi master-disciple network at the core of Islam’s restricted legal space within an atheist society (Tasar 2018, 264).
The Estonian group of Michael Tamm, particularly one of Tamm’s active adherents, Vladimir Videmann, were pioneers in facilitating interactions between the center and the periphery within Late-Soviet esotericism. Since the late 1970s, Videmann established connections with the esoteric underground in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. He admits that his introduction to the local creative intelligentsia and esotericists was facilitated by Estonian orientalist Haljand Udam (1936–2005), who maintained connections with these people (Videmann 2019, Chapter 6, para. 68).
Videmann, in collaboration with the Moscow intellectual Geidar Dzhemal (1947–2016), a prominent member of the Iuzhin Lane circle, initiated a business focused on self-publishing (samizdat) and distributing Muslim religious literature in Tajikistan and other Central Asian republics. Special couriers transported the printed literature from Estonia to Tajikistan, where it was further distributed. Videmann frequently traveled throughout Central Asia in the 1980s, often in the company of Dzhemal and some Dushanbe fellows, combining business with spiritual quest (Videmann 2020, Chapter 2). These journeys included visits to various mausoleums in Central Asia. During these visits, he interacted with the custodians of the mazars, who often acted as spiritual mentors and mediators for the local population and pilgrims (Videmann 2020, Chapter 3).
Despite these intense interactions between the center and periphery, no significant organized reciprocal influence existed until the Abai-Mirzabai group emerged in the early 1980s in the Karakalpakstan region of Uzbekistan, founded by Abai Borubaev (1952–1988) and Mirzabai Kymbatbaev (1935–2006). Situated south of the Aral Sea, the region has consistently been an influential center of Islamic religiosity, as evidenced by its prominent cult of holy places during Soviet and contemporary periods. Among the significant religious sites in this region is a shrine complex believed to be founded upon the alleged tomb of the Yemeni Sufi saint, Uvais al-Qarani (594–657), otherwise known as Sultan Vais Bobo. This was also a place where Mirzabai Kymbatbaev established himself as a dervish, and became a self-proclaimed spiritual mediator and healer.
These two group leaders had starkly contrasting social backgrounds: Kymbatbaev belonged to the poorly educated agricultural working class, while Borubaev descended from the Soviet bureaucracy. I would argue that entangled Sufism served as a meeting ground for both, with Mirzbai emerging as an exemplary Sufi teacher for Abai. He not only learned from Mirzabai and found spiritual inspiration in his personality, but, more importantly, Abai also instrumentalized him in supporting his own cultist claims.
Most information about this group and its gurus is based on memoirs and accounts by Soviet esotericists, outsiders such as Videmann and Rovner, and insiders like Kalinauskas. Information about the tragic event that ended the group in its original form is found in documentary essays (Gamaiunov 1986; Slovin 2002; Mishenin 2003), and the Soviet true crime documentary The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (The Sleep 1986). I would argue that while these essays portray the Abai-Mirzabai group negatively, Soviet esotericists, including outsiders, expressed a more favorable view of the group, primarily blaming Abai for the tragedy.

Mirzabai lived with his parents in the village of the 6th brigade of the “Path of Leninism” collective farm near Biruni town in the Karakalpak region. In his youth, he met Pir Yolla Nauruz, who pretended to be a wandering dervish and offered prayers and begged for alms. When Mirzabai met Yolla, he left his parents and started following Yolla everywhere for three years. Then Mirzabai returned to his parental house. He lived as a dervish, wandering, begging for alms in the Sultan-Bobo mausoleum, offering prayers and probably spiritual healing. He became known among the locals as divana, or erupted ‘holy fool’ (Kalinauskas 2004, Chapter 2.2, para. 9).
Abai was born in the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, known as the “capital of the south,” the city of Osh. He came from a family of Soviet nomenklatura, being the son of the editor of the Osh regional newspaper and a lecturer of Marxism-Leninism. He graduated from the Economics Department of the Kyrgyz State University in Bishkek. He worked at the Osh Cotton Mill as the secretary of the Komsomol organization. As a student, Abai became fascinated with Eastern philosophy and esotericism.
Arkadii Rovner tells us that Abai, in his childhood, was prone to melancholy and introspection, which caused his parents to worry. The boy was emotionally distant and unresponsive to most things, only showing interest in animals. Various attempts to change him, including doctor consultations and sanatorium stays, were unsuccessful. A significant change occurred after a visit to a Shaykh in the Suleiman Mountain (Sulaiman-Too) located in Osh, which is regarded as a sacred place. The boy spent six months with the Shaykh, studying Islamic texts. When his mother came for him, she found him changed, displaying self-confidence and strength despite still being non-communicative (Rovner 2019a).
According to Rovner, in the mid-1970s, Abai’s parents sent him to the established laboratory of the Bioinformation section in the A. S. Popov Scientific and Technical Society of Radio Electronics and Telecommunications in Moscow headed by Soviet philosopher and psychologist Aleksandr Spirkin (1918–2004) (Rovner 2019a). This institution was investigating parapsychology and bioenergetics. They had an influential patron, Nikolai Baibakov (1911–2008), the chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, who was known as the protector of Soviet non-traditional healers and para-scientists (Shevtsova 2021). Through the seminars at the laboratory, Abai got acquainted with the local esoteric circles and from other regions of the USSR. Some of them, like Vladimir Pestretsov, Igor Sedov, and Igor Kalinauskas (Nikolaev), soon became followers of Abai-Mirzabai’s group. Dmitry Mishenin claims that Abai was in good relations with Dzhuna (Evgeniia) Davitashvili (1949–2015), a famous Soviet extrasense, and had her photograph signed “To the Teacher from the Student” (Mishenin 2003).
Later, Abai organized an expedition to Central Asia, searching for people with paranormal psychic abilities. He visited many Central Asian places until he accidentally ended up at Sultan-Bobo, where he met with Mirzabai in 1980. Rovner and Videmann both mention that during the meeting, Abai allegedly had some extraordinary experiences (Rovner 2019b; Videmann 2020, Chapter 3.4, para. 57–58).
After returning to Moscow, Abai positioned himself as a representative of Mirzabai, facilitating contacts with esotericists from Moscow and Vilnius. Abai brought Mirzabai to scientific seminars at the Institute of Philosophy on the Soviet Academy of Sciences. They attended spiritualistic sessions in the salon run by the Soviet astronaut Vitalii Sevastianov’s wife, Alevtina, and spoke at seminars in Star City (Zvezdnyi gorodok) (Videmann 2020, Chapter 3.4, para. 63). Star City was and still is a center for the training of Soviet and Russian astronauts and also serves as a residential place. According to Videmann (2020, Chapter 3.4, para. 65), Abai invented a story about himself and Mirzabai, presenting themselves as prominent spiritual masters while positioning himself as the first master of the New School and sole heir to the Old School traditions. Abai presented Mirzabai as the “Elder Brother of Rajneesh” and used anecdotes about Indian New Age guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990) to attract followers from the New Age milieu.
They managed to enter the home of Anatolii Sofronov (1911–1990), the editor of the USSR’s most popular magazine, Ogonek, from 1953 to 1986, whose wife they cured of headaches (Mishenin 2003). He issued an official letter of support to Soviet authorities in the Karakalpak region’s capital, Biruni, on the Ogonek official form (Videmann 2020, Chapter 3.4, para. 66). The document stated that Mirzabai possessed unconventional abilities, such as telepathy and telekinesis – which were attracting scientific interest. Abai was researching his phenomenon and requested assistance for their travel to Moscow for research purposes. Abai was obsessed with creating a “Human Research Institute” in Moscow, which was meant to deal with non-traditional medicine. This idea attracted Nikolai Baibakov, but when the last was fired, Abai and Mirzabai were taken to the psychiatric clinic and then sent back to Central Asia (Rovner 2019b).

Later, Abai consolidated his authority over the Moscovite followers of the group named “The Fourth Way,” obviously following the Gurdjieff-Ouspensky tradition, and opened branches in Moscow, Leningrad, Tashkent, Vilnius, and some other cities. At this time, the Soviet movie star and martial arts master Talgat Nigmatulin (1949–1985) joined the group. He demonstrated absolute obedience to Abai, organized social contacts, promoted the groups’ gurus in artistic circles, and donated thousands of rubles to Abai “for education” (Slovin 2002). The group became more cultist, while Vilnius members still followed mainly Mirazbai. Videmann characterizes Abai as a “vivid example of a ‘concentrative sex-guru’… obsessed with an acute schizophrenic complex of power” (Videmann 2020, Chapter 3.4, para. 115). There are many accounts of extensive sexual practices within the Abai-Mirzabai group (Videmann 2020, Chapter 3.4, para. 59 and 60; Rovner 2019b), which was somewhat unusual for Soviet occulture that “has been much more cerebral and much less corporeal than in the West” (Menzel 2012, 184). I would argue that one reason for this is that the group was more concerned with esoteric practice than knowledge.
Igor Kalinauskas and Arkadii Rovner reported that Abai used to claim his superiority over Mirzabai (Videmann 2020, Chapter 6, para. 84; Rovner 2019a). Mirzabai accepted his superiority, calling him the “chief dervish of the Soviet Union” (Rovner 2019b). Abay, with the support of his Moscow followers, sought to revive the idea of creating a “Human Research Institute” in Moscow, which increased financial pressure on the students. At the same time, the Vilnius followers became unhappy with Abai’s harsh leadership style and constant monetary exactions (Slovin 2002).
Abai organized a punitive expedition to Vilnius in February 1985, in which his Moscow follower and karateka Vladimir Pestretsov and his cronies played a major role. At that time, Pestretsov was a research associate at the Institute of World Economy and Socialism. Abai also ordered Talgat to arrive in Vilnius and participate in the punitive action. When Talgat refused to join in punishing “betrayers” upon his arrival, Abai labeled him “betrayer” as well and ordered Pestretsov and other group members to punish him. As a result, Talgat Nigmatulin was beaten to death (Gamayunov 1986).
Some of the Soviet esotericists, in particular Videmann, believed that Nigmatulin perceived everything that was happening as another lesson that needed to be completed to the end in humble submission, and therefore, did not resist his murderers while being experienced in martial arts (Videmann 2020, Chapter 6, para. 87). Leonid Slovin (1930–2013), a former criminal police officer, later became a screen and fiction writer. In his documentary essay based on the criminal investigation materials, Slovin notes that among Talgat’s belongings was a quote from Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) suggesting that Zen tradition permits masters to use severe methods to teach students without showing any anger. These seemingly brutal acts are seen as part of their compassionate instruction, and obedient students often become the main disciples (Slovin 2002).
The Supreme Court of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic sentenced Abai to 15 years in a high-security colony, with the first 10 years to be served in prison, Mirzabai to 12, and Pestretsov to 13 years. The other perpetrators were also sentenced to various terms.


Abai (above) and Mirzabai (below right) in the court. Footages from the program “Man and Law” (1986). Source
Abai died from tuberculosis in prison in 1988, while Mirzabai, after serving his complete sentence, returned to Uzbekistan in the late 1990s and resumed his role as a spiritual teacher. His disciples bought an apartment for him in Tashkent, where he continued to welcome pilgrims. Loyal followers included figures from the ‘old guard’ such as Igor Kalinauskas and Gennadii Garifullin from Kazan, who remained active in the esoteric field. A number of new associates also emerged. Also Rovner visited Mirzabai in Tashkent together with Kalinauskas (Rovner 2019a). Mirzabai passed away in 2006. His disciples continue to maintain his website, have transformed his Tashkent apartment into a mini-khanakah (Sufi lodge), and erected a gumbaz (a small domed mausoleum) over his grave near the Sultan-bobo complex.

Little is known about the group’s teachings and practices, except for some fragmentary accounts in memoirs on Soviet esotericists, and it has not been a subject of archival or ethnographic research so far. Neither the group leaders left any writings of their own. Igor Kalinauskas, an insider in the group, interprets it through the lens of Gurdjieff-Ouspensky teachings. He claims that Mirzabai’s spiritual teaching method involves shattering a disciple’s self-perceptions through external projection. According to him, Mirzabai believes that while people might perceive themselves in a certain way, in reality, they embody multiple personas. Mirzabai’s teaching facilitates this understanding, thereby promoting personal progression. This method involves activating four psychological “buttons” or triggers – sex, pleasure, power, and money, which aid in self-realization. Once the disciple comprehends that these “buttons” are part of their identity, the “mirage” ends. In Kalinauskas’s experience, Mirzabai uniquely ceases the projections and offers real assistance when the disciple is ready, acknowledging their four triggers (Kalinauskas 2004, Chapter 2.2, para. 10 and 11).

In summary, Sufism played a more significant role in the late Soviet esoteric milieu than may initially seem apparent. This entangled Sufism emerged as a product of interactions between the center and periphery within this milieu. The addressed group was somewhat unique in that context. Still, there could be other reciprocal effects of the spiritual traditions of Soviet peripheries on the esoteric underground that require further investigation. The Gurdjieff-Ouspensky tradition was a key element, conditioning the interest and reception of Sufism by ‘center’ representatives and the representations of folk Sufism traditions and practices by those from the ‘periphery.’ In recent decades, despite the growing presence of traditional Sufism in post-Soviet states, entangled Sufism has also developed in the region, as indicated by Aigerim Temirbayeva (2023) in the case of Kazakhstan. This opens up new perspectives on studying entangled Sufism in the region.
[1] Khoja (derived from New Persian, “master” or “respected one”) usually referred to the descendants of Prophet Muhammad, of the righteous Caliphs, or of Sufi saints; pir (Persian for “elder”) denoted a Sufi leader or Shaykh; and ishan (Persian honorific third-person (grammatically plural) pronoun) was used to refer to Sufi Shaykhs.
Featured image: Girih ornament from Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
References
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Oleg Yarosh (April 5, 2025). Entangled Late Soviet Sufism II. New Age in Eurasia. Retrieved May 16, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/13ow5


