Derbent, Russia

Juma Mosque of Derbent

The oldest mosque in Russia and the CIS, completed around 734 CE and built by Iranians before Derbent separated from Iran under the Treaty of Gulistan. Shia-affiliated, with its own imam alongside the city's Sunni community. The complex measures 68m by 28m with a 17m-high dome and an adjoining madrasa (construction begun 1474–75). Closed and repurposed during the Soviet-era atheism campaigns from the 1930s until 1943, later restored, with major restoration completed in 2015. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent" (inscribed 2003). Remains an active Friday mosque and madrasa today.