Except most Muslims in Russia were converted to Islam centuries back. They are indigenous to Russia. In other words Muslims in Russia have been existence longer than when George Washington was president.
And some Muslims convert to Christianity. My point is that it shouldn’t be a surprise that Putin is committed to 1) Muslim allies like Iran and Turkey, there is much historical precedent and 2) Muslim interests due to the migrant workers his economy relies on and 3) the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation which include the Muslim republics of Chechnya, Tatarstan, Dagestan et al.