Tatarstan.

History

Volga Bulgaria (c. 700–1238) was the earliest known state on the territory of today's Tatarstan; Islam arrived around 922 with missionaries from Baghdad. Kazan celebrated its millennium in 2005. The Kazan Khanate emerged in the 1430s and fell to Ivan the Terrible in 1552; his base for the siege was Sviyazhsk, a fortress assembled in four weeks in 1551 from parts floated down the Volga from Uglich. The Tatar ASSR was created in 1920 and the Republic of Tatarstan in 1992.

Culture & traditions

The official languages are Tatar and Russian. Under Islamic influence Tatar craftsmen developed geometric ornament, including their well-known leather mosaic. Sabantuy is an ancient, pre-Islamic festival marking the end of spring fieldwork. Kazan honours the poet Gabdulla Tukay and is home to the Kamal Tatar Academic Theatre. The soprano Aida Garifullina was born in Kazan.

Nature

The main rivers are the Volga and the Kama, along with the Vyatka and the Belaya. The Volga-Kama Nature Reserve, founded in 1960, has two sections: Raifa, 30 km from Kazan, with karst lakes and trees 250–300 years old, and Sarala, on a peninsula by the reservoir. It records 844 plant species and 230 bird species, and white-tailed eagles breed here at one of the highest densities in Europe.

Sport

Kazan lives and breathes big-time sport. It is home to Rubin in football, Ak Bars in ice hockey, UNICS in basketball and Zenit-Kazan in volleyball. The city hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade, the 2015 World Aquatics Championships and matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The hockey player Nail Yakupov was the first overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft.

Food & drink

Tatar food is hearty and festive. Echpochmak is a triangular pastry filled with fatty meat and onion, with potato added in later versions; belish is an old pie of meat with millet or rice, baked in a pot. Gubadia is a tall round pie layered with rice, dried fruit and qort cheese, while kystybyy is an unleavened flatbread folded over millet porridge. A meal ends with honey-soaked chak-chak and strong hot tea with milk from a samovar.

Practical information

The main gateway is Kazan International Airport; the city also has a major railway station and a metro opened in 2005. Boats ply the Volga and Kama, and Sviyazhsk can be reached from Kazan by boat or by road over a causeway. The republic is on Moscow time. The climate is temperate continental, about −15 °C in January and +18 °C in July. May to September is the best time to visit.

What to see

• Kazan Kremlin — the Kul Sharif Mosque, Söyembikä Tower and Annunciation Cathedral within one set of walls.
• Sviyazhsk — an island town whose Assumption Cathedral and Monastery are on the UNESCO list.
• Bolgar — former capital of Volga Bulgaria, with a minaret, mausoleums and the White Mosque.
• Yelabuga — a Kama town and birthplace of the painter Ivan Shishkin.
• Raifa — a section of the Volga-Kama Reserve with karst lakes and ancient trees, 30 km from Kazan.
• Bauman Street — the heart of Kazan's historic centre.

Cities on the map

• Kazan 1,329,825