Islam is the second most widely professed religion in Russia, encompassing somewhere between 7% and 15% of all Russians. Recognized under the law and by Russian political leaders as one of Russia's traditional religions, Islam is a part of Russian historical heritage, and is subsidized by the Russian government.[3] The position of Islam as an official Russian religion, alongside Orthodox Christianity, dates from the time of Catherine the Great, who sponsored Islamic clerics and scholarship through the Orenburg Assembly.[4]