Which of the following nations is predominantly Islamic and was once part of the Soviet Union?

History shows that the Russians began advancing toward the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century, they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganized several times. In 1936, it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union was a state comprising fifteen communist republics which existed from 1922 until its dissolution into a series of separate nation states in 1991. With the Russian Bolsheviks, they wanted to include as much as possible of the former Russian Empire within the Soviet Union. This meant they were faced with a number of contradictions as they set out to establish the Soviet Union in regions with strong Islamic influences.

Today as in the past, Islam is the most commonly practiced religion in Kazakhstan. It was introduced to the region during the ninth century by the Arabs. Now, the country of Kazakhstan is known worldwide for its religious freedom, diversity, and tolerance.