• [Geography]
• [History]
• [Language]
• [Population]
• [Culture]
• [Religions]
• [Education]
• [Science]
• [Constitution]
• [Economy]
• [Links]

The climate in the Tatarstan Republic is moderate-continental with warm, sometimes hot, summers and moderately cold winters. The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is -14°C (7°F), of the warmest (July) +19°C (66°F), the annual average temperature is +2.5°C (36.5°F). The annual average amount of precipitation comes to 500 mm, of which 2/3 fall in summer and autumn and 1/3 - in winter and spring. Moderate climate favours development of all kinds of agriculture.

The main wealth of Tatarstan is oil. More man 2.6 billion tons has been produced for the whole period of oil extraction in the Republic of Tatarstan (since 1946). At present, oil stocks of Tatarstan are estimated to be 0.8-1.0 billion tons. The most well-known oil fields are Romashkinskoye, Nova-Yelkhovskoye, Pervomaiskoye and Bondyuzhskoye. Along with oil, bradenhead gas is extracted in the amount of 40 cu. m per ton of oil. The Republic holds rich stocks of petroleum bitumens Besides, Tatarstan possesses the stocks of brown and black coal, goat, combustible slates, copper ores, gypsum, cement raw material, sand-gravel mixtures, mason's and glass-making sand, limestones and dolomites, clays, phosphorites, mineral waters, medical muds. The Republic has huge water resources - annual flow of rivers of the Republic exceeds 240 billion cu. m. Soils are very diverse, the best fertile soils covering 1/3 of the territory. Due to high development of agriculture in Tatarstan, forests occupy only 16% of its territory. The largest rivers of the Republic are the Volga, the Kama and its two navigable tributaries-the Belaya and the Vyatka. The total flow of the four rivers makes 234 billion cu. m per year. Certain part of the territory of the Republic is occupied by reservoirs-the Kuibyshev and the Nizhnekamskoye.

History: The first settlements on the territory of the Tatarstan Republic date back to the Paleolithic period (100,000 years ago). The first state - Volga-Kama Bulgaria - was set up at the end of the 9th - beginning of the l0th century. For a long time it was the only developed state on the eastern border of Europe. In 1236 Volga-Kama Bulgaria was invaded by Mongol-Tatars and became part of the Turkic state Zolotaya Orda (Golden Horde). The collapse of the Golden Horde resulted in formation of a number of new states including the Kazan Khanate. It inherited ethnic, language, religious, cultural, and trade-economic traditions of Volga-Kama Bulgaria and the Golden Horde. After numerous wars and the seizure of Kazan in 1552, the Kazan Khanate was annexed by the Russian state. However, Kazan remained the religious and cultural centre for Moslems of the middle-Volga region. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was founded (1920). On the 30th of August, 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic adopted the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Tatarstan, confirmed by the referendum of March, 1992. According to the Constitution adopted on the 6th of November, 1992, the Republic of Tatarstan is a sovereign state, subject to international law, associated with the Russian Federation on the basis of the Treaty on mutually delegated powers. In relationship between citizen and the State the Constitution established priority of human rights as the highest of the social values. All citizens are guaranteed equal rights in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural activities. Since the end of the 7th century the predominant nation on the territory of Tatarstan is Turkic-speaking people, and, later, their descendants - the Tatars. Multicultural contacts with the Russian state influenced both the Tatars and the Russians in cultural, language and other spheres. The Tatars assimilated from the Russians agricultural methods, specific construction methods, certain crafts and many social institutions; the Russians took from the Tatars such cultural achievements as the post service and general census of population. Some Russian noble families trace back to Tatar origins. By the present time more than 5000 specimens of history and culture have been discovered.

Population: The population of the Tatarstan Republic numbers some 3.7 million, including 2.7 million urban dwellers and 1.0 million rural dwellers. In Tatarstan there are 19 cities and towns, 22 urban settlements and 848 rural settlements. Density of population - 55 people/sq.km. The dynamics of population growth in 1995 per 1000 was as follows: Birth rate -10.4, Death-rate - 12.93, and Migration growth - 4.0 The following are the largest cities: Major cities Population

• Kazan 1,085,000
• Naberezhnye Chelny 526,000
• Nizhnekamsk 210,000
• Almetyevsk 138,000
• Zelenodolsk 101,000
• Bugulma 93,000
• Chistopol 68,000
• Leninogorsk 66,000
• Yelabuga 65,000

The average population density is 55 persons per sq. km. Tatarstan is a multi-ethnic republic made up of more than 70 ethnic groups. Two major ethnic groups are the Tatars (48.5% of the total population) and the Russians (43.3%). Due to some historical reasons only one-fourth of all the Tatars living in the ex-USSR are residents of the Republic of Tatarstan. Large groups of the Tatars are residents of the Volga-Ural Basin, West Siberia, Don bass (Ukraine), Kazakhstan, Middle Asia states, and Moscow and St.Petersburg. The Tatar communities can be found also in many countries of Europe, Asia, America and Australia.

Language: Official languages of the Republic of Tatarstan are the Tatar language (Turkic group of Altaic language family) and Russian (Slavic group of Indo-European language family). The overwhelming majority of the Tatars speaks Russian. The Constitution of Tatarstan guarantees the equality of both official languages - Tatar and Russian. Nevertheless, Russian is still predominant in commercial circles. English and other European languages are known by small part of the population.

Culture: Turkic writing has ancient traditions dated back to tile 5th-7th centuries, when the people started to use common-Turkic runic writing. Together with the Moslem religion since 10th century the Arabic script came to the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, till the year of 1928. In 1928-1938 the Roman-based alphabet was used, since 1938 the Tatar written language is based on Cyrillic script. The history of Bulgar-Tatar literature numbers ten centuries; the first printed book in the Tatar language was published in the middle of 18th century. At present, about 600 books with total edition of some 8 mln copies are published in the Republic annually with 170 issues of periodicals and 30 magazines. Several dozens of periodicals are also issued in the Tatar language. In the Republic there are 16 professional theatres, conservatory, State Symphonic Orchestra, 27 museums, 1800 libraries with 20 min books. Traditional festivals are: the International Opera Festival named after F.I.Shalyapin (who was born in Kazan), the Festival of Classic Ballet named after Rudolf Nuriev. In Tatarstan operate 7 "creative communions" - Writers Union, Journalists Union, Composers Union, Cinernatography Union, Theatre Workers Union, Architectors Union. Under the Presidential authority the Fund for Culture Development and Support is established.

Religions: The Sunnite Islam appeared in the territory of Tatarstan in the beginning of the l0th century: at present, it is confessed by half of the population of the Republic - the Tatars and the Bashkirs. The Tatars are the most Northern Moslem nation in the world. The Orthodox Christianity appeared in the middle of the 16th century after collapse of the Kazan Khanate: it is shared by the other half of the population - the Russians, the Chuvashes, the Mari, the Udmurts. the Mordvinians, and some Tatars. At present, about 700 mosques and 200 churches (some of them have not yet official registration) function in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Education: Tatarstan has 16 institutions of higher education with the total enrolment of about 125,000 students. Among these institutions Kazan University is one of the oldest Universities in Russia (established in 1804). More than 54,000 students are enrolled in 67 technical institutions of secondary education. There are 2545 secondary schools, colleges, gymnasiums and lyceums, with total enrolment of 588,000 pupils. School literature is issued by "Magarif" Publishing House.

Science: The Republic of Tatarstan has powerful scientific potential; the competence of Kazan scientists in the fields of mathematics, mechanics, chemistry, physics, linguistics, medicine, biology is recognised all over the world. In Kazan the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences and Kazan Scientific Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences are located, uniting numerous academic institutions of national significance. More than 60 branches of scientific and research institutes operate in the Republic. The large-scale scientific research works are also performed in the institutions of higher education. The following are the basic fields of fundamental and applied studies: physics and techniques of magnetic phenomena, medicine and medical techniques, optical and microelectronics, the theory of oil extraction, organic and physical chemistry, development of technology for composite materials, etc. The subjects of studies are traditionally associated with the industrial profile of the Republic. There exist many investment-promising projects.

Constitution: The Republic of Tatarstan has been proclaimed a sovereign democratic state in conformity with the will of its multi-ethnic people, expressed in a national referendum and set out in 1992 Constitution adopted on the basis of the results (61%). As regard the relationships between citizens and the state, the Constitution gives priority to the rights of man as the highest social value. All citizens have been guaranteed equal rights in all spheres of the political, economic, social and cultural life. The Constitution proclaims the rule of law and the independence of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities. Tatar and Russian are national languages. Tatarstan repudiates violence and war as the means for settling disputes between people and states. The Republic has declared its territory free from weapons of mass destruction. The Constitution reads that the land, the bowels of the earth, waters, forest and other natural resources, the assets of the State Bank, cultural and historical values and other property belong to the people of the Republic of Tatarstan. According to the Constitution, its economy rests on social market relations; the Constitution permits different forms of ownership, which are proclaimed inviolable. The Republic of Tatarstan admits and recognises the property of other states, international organisations, foreign legal persons and persons without citizenship. The land may be privately owned and used in any sphere of activity not forbidden by legislation.

Economy: Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed republics of the former USSR. It has powerful industrial potential and a stable agricultural sector. Three industrial regions are distinguished in the territory of Tatarstan. The northwest region is an old industrial region the base of which is the Kazan-Zelenodolsk agglomeration. Major industries of the region are engineering, and chemical and light industry. In the new industrial Northeast region with its core in the Naberezhnye Chelny-Nizhnekamsk agglomeration, major industries are automobile construction, chemical industry and power engineering. The Southeast region has oil production with engineering under development. The North, Central, South and Southwest parts of the Republic are rural regions.

[source: Kazan State University]