The article examines the problems of the relationship between Islam and Orthodox Christianity in the Russian state in the pre-Soviet period, which, according to the author, acquires special relevance in connection with unfolding polemics in the contemporary Russian society, since historical memory influences the nature of these relationships. It analyzes various worldview and socio-political approaches and assessments of the nature of these relationships in the period under study. In this connection, the author reveals the positive socio-political and geostrategic potential of Islam – the autochthonous religion of Russia. Based on the need to rely on the civilizational essence of Russia in the processes of state-building, the article identifies the negative factors that influenced the relationship between Islam and the Russian state in the past, which will now allow, without repeating mistakes, to create the necessary conditions for positive cooperation, to develop common features of the Eurasian identity, to coordinate the most important elements of both political cultures on an ongoing basis. In the final part of the article, relying on the systemic and sociological approaches, the author substantiates the conclusion that, as a historically established Russian phenomenon, the Islamic factor was taken into account as one of the socio-cultural, politically significant elements both in the domestic and foreign policy of the Moscow state.