Tatarstan


Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital and largest city is Kazan, an important cultural centre in Russia. The region's main source of wealth is oil with a strong petrochemical industry.
The republic borders the oblasts of Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara and Orenburg, as well as the republics of Mari El, Udmurtia, Chuvashia and Bashkortostan. Tatarstan has strong cultural, linguistic and ethnic ties with its eastern neighbour, Bashkortostan, which is also a republic of Russia. The area of Tatarstan is, occupying 0.4% of the total surface of the country. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Tatarstan was 4,004,809.
The earliest known organised state within the boundaries of Tatarstan was Volga Bulgaria, which adopted Islam in 922. This is celebrated yearly in the city of Bolgar. Successor states were the Golden Horde and the Khanate of Kazan. Only in 1920, the next Tatar state, the Tatar ASSR was formed. It became the current Republic of Tatarstan in 1992.
Tatarstan is a significant region of Russia in its connections to the global Islamic world. Its relations serve "both federal foreign policy goals and local aspirations for international recognition".
The official languages of the republic are Tatar and Russian. The head of Tatarstan is Rustam Minnihanov. Religious leaders include the mufti Kamil Samigullin and the metropolitan bishop Cyril Nakonechny.

Etymology

"Tatarstan" derives from the name of the ethnic group—the Tatars—and the Persian suffix -stan. Another version of the Russian name is "Татария", which was official along with "Tatar ASSR" during Soviet rule.
Correct spelling of the Persian -stan as a suffix would use i/e after a consonant. Turkish spells Tatarstan as "Tataristan", and occasionally in Tatar, it is "Tatarıstan".
In addition to the official "Tatarstan respublikası", the name Tatarstan Cömhüriyäte is used as well.

Geography

The republic is located in the center of the East European Plain, approximately east of Moscow. It lies between the Volga River and the Kama River, and extends east to the Ural Mountains.
Oak is the dominant tree species on 87% of the total area, followed by aspen, linden, birch, and Scots pine. The total forest cover has decreased from 51.2% to 17.1% over the last 300 years.
The Volga-Kama Nature Reserve is situated in Tatarstan.

Borders

Major rivers include:
Major reservoirs of the republic include:
The biggest lake is Kaban. The biggest swamp is Kulyagash.

Hills

The major natural resources of Tatarstan include oil, natural gas and gypsum. It is estimated that the republic has over one billion tons of oil deposits.

Climate

  • Average January temperature:
  • Average July temperature:
  • Average annual temperature: +
  • Average annual precipitation: up to

    Administrative divisions

Tatarstan's administrative and territorial divisions form 43 municipal districts and 2 urban districts, as well as 39 urban settlements and 872 rural settlements.

History

Middle Ages

The earliest known organised state within the boundaries of Tatarstan was Volga Bulgaria. The Volga Bulgars had an advanced mercantile state with trade contacts throughout Inner Eurasia, the Middle East, and the Baltic, which maintained its independence despite pressure by such nations as the Khazars, the Kievan Rus, and the Cuman-Kipchaks. Islam was introduced by missionaries from Baghdad around the time of Ibn Fadlan's journey in 922.
Volga Bulgaria finally fell to the armies of the Mongol prince Batu Khan in the late 1230s. The inhabitants, a large amount of them killed and the rest mixing with the Golden Horde's Kipchaks, became known as the Volga Tatars. In the 1430s, the region again became independent as the base of the Khanate of Kazan, a capital having been established in Kazan, up the Volga from the ruined capital of the Bulgars.
The Khanate of Kazan was conquered by the troops of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in the 1550s, with Kazan being taken in 1552. A large number of Tatars were forcibly converted to Christianity and were culturally Russified. Cathedrals were built in Kazan; by 1593 all mosques in the area were destroyed. The Russian government forbade the construction of mosques, a prohibition that was not lifted until the 18th century by Catherine the Great. The first mosque to be rebuilt under Catherine's auspices was constructed in 1766–1770.

19th century

In the 19th century, Tatarstan became a centre of Jadidism, an Islamic movement that preached tolerance of other religions. Under the influence of local Jadidist theologians, the Bulgars were renowned for their friendly relations with other peoples of the Russian Empire.

20th century

During the Civil War of 1918–1920 Tatar nationalists attempted to establish an independent republic along with the neighbouring Bashkirs. Initially supported by the Bolsheviks, the state existed up until March 1918, when high-ranking members of its parliament were arrested by the Bolsheviks before the official declaration of its constitution. The Soviets later set up the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which was established on 27 May 1920. The boundaries of the republic did not include a majority of the Volga Tatars. The Tatar Union of the Godless were persecuted in Joseph Stalin's 1928 purges.
A famine occurred in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921–1922 as a result of the policy of war communism. The famine deaths of between 500,000 and 2 million Tatars in the Tatar ASSR and in the Volga-Ural region in 1921–1922 was catastrophic as half of the Volga Tatar population in the USSR died.
Starting in the 1960s, schools opened in Tatarstan that taught Russian as an official second language, as it was necessary in order to individually advance in the broader Soviet society. By the 1980s, few schools still taught the Tatar language.

Present day

On 30 August 1990, Tatarstan declared its sovereignty with the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic and in 1992 Tatarstan held a referendum on the new constitution, promoted by Tatarstan's President Shaymiyev and supervised by Helsinki Commission staff. Parliament opposition revolved around the Russian faction Narodovlastie. Some 62% of those who took part voted in favour of the constitution, with ethnic Tatars supporting it much more than Russians. In the new constitution, Tatarstan is defined as a Sovereign State. However, the referendum and constitution were declared unconstitutional by the Russian Constitutional Court. Articles 1 and 3 of the Constitution as introduced in 2002 define Tatarstan as a part of the Russian Federation, removing the "sovereignty" term.
On 15 February 1994, the Treaty On Delimitation of Jurisdictional Subjects and Mutual Delegation of Authority between the State Bodies of the Russian Federation and the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan and Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan were signed. The power-sharing agreement was renewed on 11 July 2007, though with much of the power delegated to Tatarstan reduced.
On 20 December 2008, in response to Russia recognising Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People organisation declared Tatarstan independent and asked for United Nations recognition. However, this declaration was ignored both by the United Nations and the Russian government. On 24 July 2017, the autonomy agreement signed in 1994 between Moscow and Kazan expired, making Tatarstan the last republic of Russia to lose its special status.

Demographics

Population:

Settlements

Vital statistics

Average population Live birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Fertility rates
19703,14647,81725,62222,19515.28.17.1-
19753,31155,09529,68625,40916.69.07.7-
19803,46554,27232,75821,51415.79.56.2-
19853,53064,06734,62229,44518.19.88.3-
19903,66556,27736,21920,05815.49.95.52.05
19913,68450,16037,26612,89413.610.13.51.88
19923,70644,99039,1485,84212.110.61.61.71
19933,73041,14444,291−3,14711.011.9−0.81.57
19943,74641,81148,613−6,80211.213.0−1.81.58
19953,75639,07048,592−9,52210.412.9−2.51.47
19963,76638,08045,731−7,65110.112.1−2.01.43
19973,77537,26846,270−9,0029.912.3−2.41.38
19983,78537,18245,153−7,9719.811.9−2.11.37
19993,78935,07346,679−11,6069.312.3−3.11.29
20003,78835,44649,723−14,2779.413.1−3.81.29
20013,78435,87750,119−14,2429.513.2−3.81.30
20023,77938,17851,685−13,50710.113.7−3.61.37
20033,77538,46152,263−13,80210.213.8−3.71.36
20043,77138,66151,322−12,66110.313.6−3.41.34
20053,76736,96751,841−14,8749.813.8−3.91.26
20063,76337,30349,218−11,9159.913.1−3.21.25
20073,76340,89248,962−8,07010.913.0−2.11.36
20083,77244,29048,952−4,66211.813.0−1.21.45
20093,77946,60547,892−1,28712.412.7−0.31.55
20103,78548,96849,730−76212.913.1−0.21.60
20113,79550,82447,0723,75213.412.41.01.65
20123,81355,42146,3589,06314.512.22.31.80
20133,83056,45846,19210,26614.712.12.61.83
20143,84756,48046,9219,55914.712.22.51.84
20153,86256,89946,48310,41614.712.02.71.86
20163,87855,85344,89410,95914.411.62.81.86
20173,88948,11543,9574,15812.411.31.11.65
20183,89446,32044,7201,60011.911.50.41.62
201942,87142,69118011.011.00.01.54
202041,32054,310-12,98110.613.9-3.31.54
202140,93660,301-19,36510.515.5-5.51.57
202236,65144,784-8,1339.211.2-2.01.43
202336,49742,844-6,3479.110.7-1.61.45

Note: TFR source.