History of Tatarstan
Encyclopedia
Pre-history
Human habitation in TatarstanTatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
dates back to the Palaeolithic period. Remains of several cultures of the Stone
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
s have been discovered within Tatarstan.
During the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
(8th c. BCE–3d c. CE), the Ananino culture, probably a Finno-Ugrian people, dominated the area of the upper Volga and Kama river valleys. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC western Tatarstan was occupied by the Gorodets
Gorodets
Gorodets is a town and the administrative center of Gorodetsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Volga River, northwest of Nizhny Novgorod...
culture.
From the 4th century BCE much of the Volga–Kama basin was occupied by tribes of the İmänkiskä culture, who are thought to have been related to the Scythians, speakers of one of the Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
. Around the beginning of the 1st century CE a new group, the so-called Pyanobor culture (probably of Finnic origin) appeared at the lower Kama.
During the great migrations of late antiquity Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
and Ugric tribes settled the region east of the middle Volga and forced out the Pyanobor culture from the Kama basin. The Pyanobor tribes lingered on in what are now the north and north-western parts of Tatarstan.
Turkic peoples
The period from roughly 500 to 700 CE saw an influx of Turkic-speakingTurkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
nomads. These immigrants' culture was related to those of the Göktürks
Göktürks
The Göktürks or Kök Türks, were a nomadic confederation of peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 , the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan The Göktürks or Kök Türks, (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük or Türük; Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of...
, Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
and the tribes of Great Bulgaria.
Volga Bulgaria
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
. The population of Volga Bulgaria was largely agricultural. The cities of Bolghar
Bolghar
Bolghar was intermittently capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 8th to the 15th centuries, along with Bilyar and Nur-Suvar. It was situated on the bank of the Volga River, about 30 km downstream from its confluence with the Kama River and some 130 km from modern Kazan...
, Bilär
Bilär
Bilär was a medieval city in Volga Bulgaria and its second capital before the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria. It was located on the left bank of the Small Cheremshan River in modern-day Alexeyevsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan.The city was founded by the indigenous Bilyar tribe of the...
, and Suar
Suar
Suar was a medieval Volga Bulgarian city, the capital of Suar Duchy in 948-975.It was situated at Volga's left tributary Ütäk river's upper stream. In the 10th century it coined its own money. Suar was a political, economical and trade center of Volga Bulgaria...
, among others, appeared with the growth of industry (casting, forging) and trade. Crop-growing and a cattle-breeding played a major role in the economy. The farmers were predominantly free landowners.
In the early 10th century the Volga Bulgars converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, causing their culture to be greatly influenced by that of the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Mongol invasion
After the conquest of Volga Bulgaria by Mongol troops under Batu KhanBatu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...
the country was under the control of the khans of the Golden Horde. As a result of the admixing of different Turkic peoples and languages to the Volga Bolgars during this period, the modern Volga Tatar
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars are the largest subgroup of the Tatars, native to the Volga region.They account for roughly six out of seven million Tatars worldwide....
ethnos emerged.
Khanate of Kazan
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and at other times by factions advocating alliance with other Tatar polities such as the Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
. Finally, the khanate was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552.
After the Russian invasion
After 1552 the khanate was governed by Kazan Palace's Office formed in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In 1555 a bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
was appointed in Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
with a mandate to baptize the Idel-Ural
Idel-Ural
Idel-Ural is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means Volga-Urals in the Tatar language. The frequently used Russian variant is Volgo-Uralye...
peoples. Many churches and monasteries were built, and Russian peasants and craftsmen were resettled within Tatarstan. At the same time ethnic Tatars were removed from Kazan proper as well as regions close to rivers and roads. Under pressure from the Russians many Tatars emigrated to the Upper Kama, Trans-Kama area, Bashkortostan
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
, the Urals and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
during the 16th and 17th centuries. The result was a decline in agriculture, industry and commerce throughout the region. The local population was forced to pay the yasaq tax. Some part of the Tatar nobility were included in the nobility of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
; many underwent baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
to keep their privileges.
In 1708, the Khanate of Kazan was abolished and the province was placed under the control of a new Kazan Governorate
Kazan Governorate
The Kazan Governorate or Government of Kazan was a governorate of Imperial Russia from 1708–1920, with the city of Kazan as its capital.-History:...
. It included Middle Volga and Western Urals. Kazan, with 20,000 citizens, was one of major trade and handicraft centers of Russia. Manufacturing developed and in the beginning of 19th century major hide, soap and candle factories appeared. A class of Tatar merchants arose, who carried on brisk trade with Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
Restrictions in occupation, heavy taxation, and discrimination against non-Christians blocked the cultural and economic development of the Tatars. Several rebellions and peasants' wars broke out as a result. During the Time of Troubles
Time of Troubles
The Time of Troubles was a period of Russian history comprising the years of interregnum between the death of the last Russian Tsar of the Rurik Dynasty, Feodor Ivanovich, in 1598, and the establishment of the Romanov Dynasty in 1613. In 1601-1603, Russia suffered a famine that killed one-third...
, the Kazan khanate regained its independence with the aid of factions within the Russian army. Cangali bek
Cangali bek
Canğäli , a nobleman, the leader of Canğäli movement in 1615-16 against Russia. In 1616 was caught and killed by Russian troops in Kazan....
, a Tatar nobleman, led another revolution in 1616. Other insurrections among the Volga Tatars included the Bolotnikov movement (1670–1671), Batırşa movement (1755–1756), and Pugachev's war (1773–1775). Other peoples of the Idel-Ural
Idel-Ural
Idel-Ural is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means Volga-Urals in the Tatar language. The frequently used Russian variant is Volgo-Uralye...
region took part in these conflicts.
In 1773, Muslims in Russia were granted greatly expanded rights. In 1784 Tatar noblemen (morza
Morza
Morza is a Princely title in Tatar states, such as Khanate of Kazan, Khanate of Astrakhan and others, and in Russia....
lar) had equal rights with Russian noblemen (dvoryane).
Tatar soldiers took part in all Russian wars, sometimes in national units (as was the case during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
After the reforms of 1860s in Imperial Russia economic conditions in Tatarstan improved markedly. Stolypin's reforms led to accelerated economic development of the rural areas. In the 19th century a large middle class developed among the Tatars. The Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
awakened Tatar national consciousness and led to calls for equal rights, development of a distinct national culture and national self-consciousness as well as other freedoms. The pan-Islamic Russian party Ittifaq al-Muslimin
Ittifaq al-Muslimin
Ittifaq al-Muslimin was a liberal-democratic party of Muslims in Russian Empire. The party was formed after The First Congress of Muslims of Russia and the party line was similar to Kadets...
represented the growing nationalist camp within the State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
. The first Tatar mass-media appeared during this period with the publication of Tatar language
Tatar language
The Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...
newspapers such as "Yoldız", "Waqıt", "Azat", "Azat xalıq", "İrek", "Tañ yoldızı", "Nur", "Fiker", "Ural", "Qazan möxbire", "Älğäsrelcädid", "Şura", "Añ", and "Mäktäp". The first Tatar professional theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, the Säyyär also emerged at this time.
- Biznä Unrest
Revolution and Civil War
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
s of 1917, Tatarstan became functionally independent with a national parliament (Millät Mäclese), national government (Milli İdarä), national council (Milli Şura), and a national military council (Xärbi Şura). Some Tatar military units took part in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
against the communists. Anti-communist Tatar revolutionaries declared the Idel-Ural State
Idel-Ural State
The Idel-Ural State was a short-lived Tatar republic with its centre in Kazan that united Tatars, Bashkirs and the Chuvash in the turmoil of the Russian Civil War. Often viewed as an attempt to recreate the Khanate of Kazan, the republic was proclaimed on December 12, 1917, by a Congress of Muslims...
, but the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
Bolshevist government moved to prevent an independent Tatarstan on its flank. The "Muslim Council" was overthrown by a "Workers' Bolshevik Council" in a mostly Tatar-populated part of Kazan province called Bolaq artı or Zabulachye (In English, the "Transbolaqia Republic"). The Muslim Council was arrested.
In August 1918, the White Czechs and KomUch forces reached Kazan, but retreated under the Red pressure
Kazan Operation
Kazan Operation was the Red Army's offensive against the Czechoslovak Legion and the People Army of Komuch during the Russian Civil War.- Background :...
.
In 1919 the Bolsheviks declared an autonomous Tatar-Bashkir Soviet Socialistic Republic, but the region was at the time largely occupied by the White Army, the leader of whom, General Kolchak, did not support an independent Muslim republic. The declaration, coupled with Kolchak's hostility, caused many Tatar and Bashkir troops to switch sides and fight for the Bolsheviks. Ultimately, the victorious Communists subsumed Tatarstan within the Russian Soviet Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR), leading to large-scale emigration from the country, particularly among the upper class.
The Russian Civil War ended in Tatarstan with the suppression of the anti-communist peasant Pitchfork Uprising
Pitchfork Uprising
The Pitchfork Uprising of 1920, also known as Black Eagle uprising, was a peasant uprising against the Soviet policy of the war communism in what is today Eastern Tatarstan and Western Bashkortostan....
in March 1920. As a result of war communism
War communism
War communism or military communism was the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War, from 1918 to 1921...
policy the 1921-1922 Famine in Tatarstan
1921-1922 Famine in Tatarstan
The 1921–1922 famine in Tatarstan was a result of war communism policy, realized in Tatar ASSR as well as elsewhere in the USSR. It started in autumn 1921. More than 2,000,000 peasants starved, particularly in Arsk, Sviyazhsk, Mamadysh, Menzelinsk, Spassk, Tetyushi and Chelny kantons.At the end of...
had begun and annihilated nearly half a million people.
Soviet rule
On 27 May 1920 the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (TASSR) of the RSFSR was declared. However, in the late 1920s the Soviet government under Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
began to place restrictions on the use of the Tatar language
Tatar language
The Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...
(among many other minority languages in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
). The development of national culture declined significantly. The Tatar alphabet
Tatar alphabet
Two scripts are currently used for the Tatar language: Cyrillic and Latin.-Introduction:While a Tatar version of the Latin alphabet called Jaŋalif had been in use during the 1930s, there is controversy in the matter of Latin-based Tatar alphabet for İdel-Ural Tatar. One dimension of the...
was switched twice (to the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
and then to Cyrillic). From the 1930s through the 1950s, Tatar-language press, cultural institutions, theatres, national schools and institutes gradually disappeared, as education was required to be conducted in the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Industrialization, the rise of the collective farms kolektivizatsiya and persecutions such as the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
contributed to this decline.
Religion was also repressed. At first, Soviet rule favored mostly the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some Islamic religious streams were preserved (see Jadidism, Wäisi movement
Wäisi movement
The Wäisi movement was a religious, social and political movement in Tatarstan and other Tatar-populated parts of Russia which took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also incorporated elements of class struggle and nationalism...
), but later they also wwere repressed. Some theologians of Jadidism (which was liberal to Soviet rule at first) escaped to Turkey or Egypt.
More than 560,000 Tatarstan soldiers took part in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and more than 300,000 of them were killed. Many Soviet plants and their workers, as well as the Soviet Academy of Sciences, were evacuated to Tatarstan. During the war large petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
deposits were discovered. During their exploration, Tatarstan became one of the most industrially developed regions of the Soviet Union.
In 1960s-1970s Tatar ASSR's industry was developed not only in the petrol sector; a major car plant, KamAZ
Kamaz
KAMAZ is a Russian truck manufacturer located in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russian Federation. KAMAZ opened their doors in 1976...
was built in Naberezhnye Chelny
Naberezhnye Chelny
Naberezhnye Chelny is the second largest city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.A major industrial center, Naberezhnye Chelny stands on the Kama River some 225 km east of Kazan near Nizhnekamsk Reservoir. It serves as the administrative center of Tukayevsky District, although it is not...
, making this city become the second largest in the republic. Other major cities, built and developed in those years are Nizhnekamsk
Nizhnekamsk
Nizhnekamsk is a city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located to the south of the Kama River between the cities of Naberezhnye Chelny and Chistopol.Population: -History:...
and Almetyevsk
Almetyevsk
Almetyevsk , also spelled Almat and Elmet, is a city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Zay River southeast of Kazan. Population: 77,000 ; 49,000 ....
.
Post-Soviet history
- 12 June 1991: The first elections for President of Tatarstan. Mintimer Shaymiev was elected.
- 21 March 1992: Referendum held regarding Tatarstan's status. The majority of the population support Tatarstan's independence.
- November 1992: The Constitution of Tatarstan accepted by parliament.
- 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 was signed. Tatarstan becomes a de facto constituent republic of the Russian Federation.
- 1995 and 1999 elections held for the Governmental Council of Tatarstan.
- March 2002: Numerous amendments to Tatarstan's Constitution. Tatarstan officials officially declared Tatarstan to be a part of RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.