ABYZ (HAFIZ) IN MOSCOVIA IN XVI-XVII CENTURIES
Currently, we know little about day-to-day life of Muslims in Russia in XVI-XVII centuries. These were mainly so called service-class Tatars, whose communities were widely spread. Being united by Islam, each Tatar community was distinguished by their regional peculiarities. Within the given context, such group of service-class Tatars as abyz (hafiz) are of particular interest. According to the information accumulated, these were Muslim priests, teachers, also performed administrative functions.