Ravil Bukharaev is a well-known writer, poet, radio journalist and scholar of religious, cultural and political history of his native Tatarstan. He was born in Kazan in 1951. He is the author of more than thirty books, among which are The Model of Tatarstan Under President Mintimer Shaimiev (London/New York, 1999), Islam in Russia: the Four Seasons (London/New York, 2000). In 2005, he was awarded the M. Lomonosov Gold Medal for his contribution to Russian Arts, Science and Education and, in 2006, the State Prize of Tatarstan for his latest books of poetry. He has lived in London, UK, since 1992.