Kazan is the capital and largest city of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an area of 425.3 square kilometres (164.2 square miles), with a population of over 1.3 million residents, and up to nearly 2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area. Kazan is the fifth-largest city in Russia, being the most populous city on the Volga and within the Volga Federal District.
Historically, Kazan was the capital of the Khanate of Kazan, and was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, at which point the city became a part of the Tsardom of Russia. The city was seized (and largely destroyed) during Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–'75), but was later rebuilt during the reign of Catherine the Great. In the following centuries, Kazan grew to become a major industrial, cultural and religious centre of Russia. In 1920, after the Russian SFSR became a part of the Soviet Union, Kazan became the capital of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Tatar ASSR). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazan remained the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Kazan is renowned for its vibrant mix of Tatar and Russian cultures. In 2023, 4 million tourists visited Kazan, and Kazan Kremlin, a World Heritage Site, recorded more than 4.5 million visits. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to refer to itself as the "Third Capital of Russia". In 2009, Kazan was chosen as the "sports capital of Russia". Kazan hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade, and was one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Kazan hosted the BRICS Games from 12 to 23 June 2024. Athletes competed in 27 sports.
Etymology
The term kazan (Tatar: казан) means 'boiler' or 'cauldron' in the Tatar and other Turkic languages. A number of legends and explanations exist about the origin of the city's name. The most likely version is that the name is connected with the location of the city in a depression—hence the name Kazan 'cauldron'.
The 18th-century German scientist Johann Gottlieb Georgi recorded a tradition about the origin of the city's name:
The Kazan Tatars derive their name from the principal city of Kazan—a name originating from the Tatar word kazan (meaning "cauldron"). This name arose when a servant of the city's founder, Khan Altyn Bek, accidentally dropped a cauldron into the river now known as the Kazanka while drawing water for his master's ablutions.
History
Middle Ages
According to the official version adopted today, the city was founded more than 1,000 years ago. The estimated date of the urban settlement on the site of Kazan is 1004–1005 AD. The reason for this dating was found during excavations in the Kazan Kremlin – a Czech coin, dated by the Board of St. Wenceslaus (presumably, coinage 929–930 years) and the earliest Czech coin, the remains of masonry and wooden city fence, handicrafts and utensils (Hungarian type lining, women's beads, etc.), as well as other artefacts with less obvious dating. According to official statements, experts from 20 cities of Russia and 22 countries of the world were involved in the study of findings related to the age of Kazan.
Kazan was a border post between Volga Bulgaria and two Finno-Ugric peoples—the Mari and Udmurt. Another question is where the citadel was built originally. Archaeological explorations have produced evidence of urban settlement in three parts of the modern city: in the Kremlin; in Bişbalta at the site of the modern Zilantaw monastery; and near the Kaban Lakes. The oldest of these seems to be the Kremlin.
The earliest chronicle mention of the first (old) Kazan is contained in the Rogozhsky Chronicle under 1391 in the description of the campaign of the ushkuiniks (Novgorodian pirates) who plundered and burned Žuketau and Kazan. It stood empty for 40 years. The new Kazan was founded at its mouth on the hill. This information is repeated in the Simeon Chronicle and the Moscow Code of 1479. The new Kazan was founded in 1438 as the capital of the Kazan Khanate by Ulugh Muhammad. Sources say that Kazan was founded by Perekop refugees (Tatars) from Crimea.
In 1438, the Bulgar fortress Kazan (Iske-Kazan) was captured by the ousted Golden Horde Khan Ulugh Muhammad, who killed the local Prince Swan and moved the fortress to a modern place (according to Russian Chronicles). The city became the capital of the Khanate of Kazan. The city Bazaar, Taş Ayaq (stone foot) has become the most important shopping centre in the region, especially for furniture. Handicraft production also flourished, as the city gained a reputation for its leather and gold products, as well as the wealth of its palaces and mosques.
Kazan had trade relations with Moscow, Crimea, Turkey, and other regions.
Russian Tsardom period
As a result of the siege of Kazan in 1552, Tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered the city. During the subsequent governorship of Alexander Gorbaty-Shuysky, most of the Kazan's Tatar residents were forcibly Christianised or deported, and mosques and palaces were ruined. The surviving Tatar population was moved to a place 50 km (31 mi) away from the city and this place was forcibly settled by Russian farmers and soldiers. Tatars in the Russian service were settled in the Tatar Bistäse settlement near the city's wall. Later Tatar merchants and handicraft masters also settled there. During this period, Kazan was largely destroyed as a result of several great fires. After one of them in 1579, the icon Our Lady of Kazan was discovered in the city.
In the early 17th century, at the beginning of the Time of Troubles in Russia, the Tsardom of Kazan declared independence under the leadership of voyvoda Nikanor Shulgin with the help of the Russian population, but this independence was suppressed by Kuzma Minin in 1612.
Russian Empire period
In 1708, the Tsardom of Kazan was abolished, and Kazan became the seat of Kazan Governorate. After Peter the Great's visit, the city became a centre of shipbuilding for the Caspian fleet. The major Russian poet Gavrila Derzhavin was born in Kazan in 1743, the son of a poor country squire of Tatar ancestry though himself having a thoroughly Russian identity.
Before the building of modern dams, low-lying areas were regularly flooded in April and May. Kazan suffered major fires in 1595, 1672, 1694, 1742, 1749, 1757, 1774, 1815, and 1842.
Kazan was largely destroyed in 1774 as a result of Pugachev's Rebellion, an uprising by border troops and peasants led by the Don Cossack ataman (Captain) Yemelyan Pugachev, but the city, formerly largely of timber construction, was soon afterwards rebuilt, using stone and according to a grid pattern plan, during the reign of Catherine the Great. Catherine also decreed that mosques could again be built in Kazan, the first being Marjani Mosque.
At the beginning of the 19th century Kazan State University and printing press were founded by Alexander I. It became an important centre for Oriental Studies in Russia. The Qur'an was first printed in Kazan in 1801. Kazan became an industrial centre and peasants migrated there to join its industrial workforce. In 1875, a horse tramway appeared; 1899 saw the installation of a tramway. After the Russian Revolution of 1905, Tatars were allowed to revive Kazan as a Tatar cultural centre. The first Tatar theatre and the first Tatar newspaper appeared.
Soviet period
In 1917, Kazan became one of the October Revolution centres. In 1918, Kazan was the capital of the Idel-Ural State, which was suppressed by the Bolshevik government. In the Kazan Operation of August 1918, it was briefly occupied by Czechoslovak Legions. In 1920, Kazan became the centre of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. After the Treaty of Rapallo (1922) until 1933, the German and the Russian army together operated the Kama tank school in Kazan.
Those who died in prison or were executed were buried in the Arkhangelskoe cemetery. In 1998 an elaborate memorial complex was created in their memory.
During World War II, many industrial plants and factories to the west were relocated in Kazan, making the city a centre of the military industry, producing tanks and planes. After the war Kazan consolidated as an industrial and scientific centre. In 1979, the city's population reached one million.
Modern period
In the late 1980s and in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazan again became the centre of Tatar culture and identity, and separatist tendencies intensified. With the return of capitalism, Kazan became one of the most important centres of the Russian Federation. The city went from 10th to 8th position in population ranking of Russian cities. In the early 2000s, the city earned the right to host both the 2013 Summer Universiade and 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Millennium of Kazan
Since 2000, the city has been undergoing a total renovation. The historical centre including the Kremlin was rebuilt, however a large number of the city's historical districts were completely demolished in the renovation. Kazan celebrated its millennium in 2005, after a city-organised historical commission settled on 1005 as the official year of the city's founding. During the millennium celebrations, one of the largest mosque in Russia, Kul Sharif, was dedicated in the Kazan Kremlin, the holiest copy of Our Lady of Kazan was returned to the city, the Millennium Bridge was inaugurated that year, and the Kazan Metro began operation. The government of the Russian Federation released the Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan".
In 2010, for the preparations to the 2013 Universiade, Kazan began even more renovation by modernising its airport, fixing the streets, enhancing public transport, and adopting Russian, English, and Tatar languages in all transportation, large stores, and shopping centres.
In 2021, a teenager killed nine people in a school mass shooting and bombing.
In December 2024, Russian leader Vladimir Putin threatened to bring more "destruction" to Ukraine in retaliation for a Ukrainian drone attack on Kazan during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Heraldry
The historical symbol of Kazan is the mythical dragon-like creature Zilant, often mentioned in legends. For example, when numerous snakes and reptiles severely hampered the development of the city, the hunters went in search of the King of snakes and defeated him, according to another version, the residents of the city bought off the giant snake with gold, after which all the snakes left the city. Another legend says that the giant dragon-like serpent always guarded the Khan's treasures, and that it still protects the hidden wealth before the capture of the city in the secret caves. Historically, it is true that snakes were once numerous in the Kazan region, but then their number has decreased dramatically. The first official coat of arms of Kazan was approved on 18 October 1781 and was described as "black snake under the crown of gold, Kazan, red wings, white field". In 1926, the country introduced a ban on such heraldry. In the 1980s, the coat of arms of Kazan began to reappear, and in the 1990s Kazan Zilant in various styles began to appear in print media. Modern graphics of the emblem and flag appeared in 2005—in a silver field on the green earth a black dragon with red wings and tongue, with gold paws, claws and eyes, topped with a gold crown. The shield is crowned with a Kazan cap. According to the traditions of heraldry, the dragon symbolises power, wisdom and invincibility, the earth—life and wealth, the crown-development, and the cap above the shield-the capital of the city.
Administrative and municipal status
Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the city of republic significance of Kazan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of republic significance of Kazan is incorporated as Kazan Urban Okrug.
City divisions
Kazan is divided into seven districts:
Economy
Kazan is one of the largest industrial and financial centres of Russia, and a leading city of the Volga economic region in construction and accumulated investment. The city's gross regional product was 380 billion rubles in 2011.
Total banking capital of Kazan banks is third in Russia. The main industries of the city are: mechanical engineering, chemical, petrochemical, light and food industries. An innovative economy is represented by the largest IT-park in Russia which is one of the largest of its kind among Eastern European science parks. Kazan ranked 186th in Mercer's 1999 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey.
Investments
In 2011, city organisations and businesses attracted more than 87 billion rubles for economy and social sphere development. This was 44% more than in 2010. In 2014, businesses attracted 86 billion rubles. Most of them have been implemented in the real economy sector.
Because of the unstable economic situation within the country, there was a decrease of investment rates in 2015 and—according to the statistics of the first part of the year—it composed 51.7 billion rubles.
There are head offices of six companies that are in the top 500 in terms of revenues in Russia. The total area of city business centres is 330,000 m2.