Tatarstan: A unique republic, A unique investment opportunity
What investors say about investing in Tatarstan
Tatarstan: supporting innovative start-ups
Tatarstan in the capital markets
Tatar banks expand with help of western capital
Taking Tatarstan’s petrochemical resources into the future
Tatarstan’s new Special Economic Zone Alabuga
Tatarstan’s thousands of years of culture
Kazan: home to some of the best sports facilities in Russia
The Bulgars were conquered by the Mongol khans in 1236, who set up Kazan as one of the key towns of the Volga Bulgaria. Later on Kazan became the capital of the Kazan Khanate, which left the Golden Horde. It finally fell to Ivan the Terrible in 1552, who destroyed all the mosques in the city and forcefully converted the Tatars to Christianity. The Russian Empire then forbid the construction of any mosques until 1776.
The region and the Tatar people remained a proud and rich part of imperial Russia with a history of tolerance.
When the USSR collapsed, Tatarstan looked like it could become a sovereign state. Raphael Khakimov, a famous historian and adviser to the president of Tatarstan, says: “The Tatars have always had the desire to rule themselves, not as an ethnic state like Chechnya, but as an autonomous state. There was a strong movement for independence in the early 1990s.”
Young Tatar nationals set up tents in Kazan’s Freedom Square and demanded independence. Khakimov says: “We could have gone the way of Chechnya.” However, Mintimer Shaimiev, who was elected president in June 1991, managed to avoid such an outcome. Khakimov says: “We have had a lot of luck in having such a leader. He is very good at compromise, at balancing interests.” Shaimiev’s skill at balancing different interests, such as the Christian and Muslim communities of Tatarstan, can be seen in the construction of Kul Sharif mosque, which is the biggest mosque in Europe. Ramil Yunusov, the hazrat of the mosque, says: “It’s a symbol of historical justice, after the previous mosque was destroyed by Ivan the Terrible.” But, at the same time, President Shaimiev ordered the renovation of the Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral, which was finished the day after Kul Sharif was finished.
The region has long played a leading role in the history of the Russian intelligentsia. Kazan State University has attracted some of the best thinkers in Russia, including Lev Tolstoy, whose uncle was governor of Kazan, and Vladimir Lenin, who dropped out after a week to concentrate on revolutionary activities.
Two great ballet dancers – Rudolph Nuriyev and Irek Mukhamedov – are native Tatars. Kazan boasts one of the finest opera and ballet companies in Europe, which works at the city’s handsome Theatre, built in 1791. Raufal Mukhametzianov, director of the theatre, says: “Our company tours the world, and has done 130 shows in European capitals.” The company is particularly noted for its performance on Tatar-language operas and ballets, such as Zhiganov’s ‘Girl with the Golden Hair’. The libretto for the opera was written by a famous Tatar poet and Hero of the Soviet Union Musa Dzhalil.
In art, the region is famous as the home of Ivan Shishkin, the late 19th Century painter whose paintings now often sell for over $500,000 in auctions in London. You can see the house where Shishkin grew up in the city of Elabuga, which has a beautiful old district made up of the houses of 19th Century merchants, including the house of Shishkin’s parents.
And the region has been home to some of Russia’s finest writers, many of whom either fled or were exiled here by Stalin during the Terror. A short walk from Shishkin’s house, for example, is the hut where Marina Tsvetaeva, one of Russia’s greatest poets, tragically died in 1941. The hut was recently bought and opened as a museum by the local administration. Other writers such as Boris Pasternak, author of ‘Dr Zhivago’, lived nearby.
The region continues to inspire and produce artists – indeed, in a recent Russian TV production of ‘Dr Zhivago’, the part of Lara was played by Chulpan Hamatova, a native Tatar, who is considered one of Russia’s best young actresses.
