The Republic of Tatarstan , or simply Tatarstan, is a federal subject (a republic) of the Russian Federation, located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan. The republic borders Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, the Mari El, Udmurt, and Chuvash Republics, and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The area of the republic is 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi). The unofficial Tatarstan motto is Bez Bez Buldırabız! (We can!). As of the 2010 Census, the population of Tatarstan was 3,786,488. The state has strong cultural ties with its eastern neighbor, the Republic of Bashkortostan. The state languages of the Republic of Tatarstan are Tatar and Russian.
Cities
Kazan — the Tatar capital is a big and attractive city (the third most wealthy in Russia), very much worth a visit for its impressive kremlin, largest mosque in Russia, and just to soak up the Tatar culture
Almetyevsk — a mid-sized oil city
Kamaevo — a small village not too far from Yelabuga and Naberezhnye Chelny, which is next to the archaeological site and museum-reserve of Old Kazan
Naberezhnye Chelny — a major Soviet industrial city
Nizhnekamsk — a big oil city
Yelabuga — an old, small city notable for the ruins of an 11th century Volga Bulgarian castle, the birthplace of the great Russian landscape painter Ivan Shishkin, and the site of the Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva’s suicide
Zelenodolsk — a mid-sized city which has an important regional transit hub and shipbuilding yard the famous Raifa Monastery is nearby
Other destinations
Bolgar — The ruins of the historic capital of Volga Bulgaria is considered in some ways to be the spiritual center of Tatarstan. The city walls and towers remain and the site was a pilgrimage destination for Muslims of the Soviet Union, who came here on a “Little Hajj,” when barred from traveling to Mecca.
Nizhnyaya Kama National Park
Volzhsko-Kamsky Nature Reserve
Raifa section
Sviyazhsk Island
Understand : Tatarstan is a nation within a nation. Tatars are Russia’s largest minority at about five million people. Although they are named after a Mongol tribe, the Tatars trace their origins to the ancient Volga Bulgars, who inhabited the Volga Region since seventh century, and who were conquered by the Golden Horde, which set up the powerful Kazan Khanate. They are predominantly Sunni Muslim, but have significant numbers of Orthodox Christians as well.
Kazan is the undisputed capital of the region and should be the principal destination for any traveler in the region. The Russian capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible was a truly momentous event in human history, marking the beginning of the end of Turkic and the rise of Russian dominance over the northern Eurasian continent. Today, it is perhaps the most interesting and vibrant city in the entire Volga Region, as the center of Tatar culture and also just as a big city with a lot to see and do. Talk : Tatar, a Turkic language, shares official status with Russian and is widely spoken, although nearly all Tatars are fully bilingual in Russian.
Access : Coordinates:55.55, 50.933333 / Kazan’s airport services flights from international cities such as Tashkent, Kiev, Simferopol, Baku, Istanbul, Antalya, Dubai, and Frankfurt, as well as numerous Russian airports, including two daily flights to/from Moscow. The “Begishevo Airport,” which offers flights to/from Istanbul, Tashkent, Antalya, Simferopol, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and many other Russian cities. The main rail line in the region is the Moscow-Kazan-Yekaterinburg Railway, which passes through Zelenodolsk, Kazan, and Agryz. Kazan has the largest port on the Volga River and can be reached by boat from virtually any city in European Russia that has a river port.
Nature : Rivers : Major rivers include (Tatar names are given in parentheses): Azevka River (Azi) , Belaya River (Agidel) , Ik River (Iq) , Kama River (Culman) , Volga River (Idel) , Vyatka River (Noqrat) , Kazanka River (Qazansu) , Zay River (Zay) , Lakes : Major reservoirs of the republic include (Tatar names are given in parentheses): Kuybyshev Reservoir (Kuybysev) , Lower Kama Reservoir (Tuban Kama) , Zainsk Reservoir (Zäy susaqlağıçı) , The biggest lake is Qaban. The biggest swamp is Kulyagash.
Hills : Bugulma-Belebey Upland , Volga Upland , Vyatskie Uvaly
Tourism : There are 3 UNESCO world heritage sites in Tatarstan-Kazan Kremlin, Bulgarian state Museum-reserve and assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk. The annual growth rate of tourist flow to the republic is on average 13.5%, the growth rate of the volume of services in the tourism sector is 17.0%. At the end of 2016 on the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan there were 104 tour operators, of which 32 dealt in domestic tourism, 65 in domestic and inbound tourism, 1 in domestic and outbound tourism, and 6 in all three.
As of January 1, 2017, 404 collective accommodation facilities (CSR) operate in the Republic of Tatarstan, 379 CSR are subject to classification (183 in Kazan, 196 in other municipalities of the Republic of Tatarstan). 334 collective accommodation facilities received the certificate of assignment of the category, which is 88.1% of the total number of operating. In 2016, special attention was paid to the development of tourist centers of the Republic of Tatarstan – Kazan, Bolghar, the town-island of Sviyazhsk, Yelabuga, Chistopol, Tetyushi. The growth of tourist flow in the main tourist centers of the Republic compared to 2015 amounted to an average of 45.9%.
Currently, sanatorium and resort recreation is developing rapidly in Tatarstan. There are 46 sanatorium-resort institutions in the Republic of Tatarstan. The capacity of the objects of the sanatorium-resort complex of Tatarstan is 8847 beds, more than 4300 specialists are engaged in the service of residents. In 2016, more than 160 thousand people rested in the health resorts of the Republic of Tatarstan. 22 health resort institutions of the Republic of Tatarstan are members of the Association of health resort institutions “Health resorts of Tatarstan”, including 11 sanatoriums of PJSC “Tatneft”.
Since 2016, the Republic of Tatarstan has been operating the Visit Tatarstan program – the official tourism brand of the Republic, the purpose of which is to inform tourists, monitor the reputation of the Republic, develop the tourism potential of the regions of Tatarstan, conduct market research, partner projects with local companies and international expansion. Tatarstan: 1001 pleasure-the main message that tourists receive. The Visit Tatar website, where there is information about the main sights and recreation in Tatarstan, is available in 8 languages: Tatar, Russian, English, Chinese, German, Spanish, Finnish and Persian.
Tourist resources of historical and cultural significance :
Kazan Kremlin
Kazan University
Bolghar
Sviyazhsk
Temple of All Religions
Qolsarif Mosque
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
Soyembika Tower
Millennium Bridge
Old Tatar Quarter
Central Park of culture and rest named after Gorky
Kazan big dramatic theatre named after V. I. Kachalov
Galiaskar Kamal Tatar Academic Theatre
The Jalil Opera and Ballet Theatre
Tatar drama and Comedy theatre named after Karim Tinchurin
The National Museum of Tatarstan
Kazan theatre of young spectators
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