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The Volga - Tatarstan
Tatarstan emerged from the former Kazan Khanate (1438-1552), which itself was a successor state to the Golden Horde. Tatarstan is now an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation. As with most of the entities that make up the Russian Federation, the ethnic group after which the republic was named does not form an absolute majority.
Just under half of the total population of 4 million call themselves Tatar, and ethnic Russians make up about 40%. Tatarstan is home to about one hundred different ethnic groups, in fact, hence the constitution of the republic does not speak of "Tatars" but of "the people of Tatarstan". Roughly seven million Tatars live in the former Soviet Union countries, and they are the second largest ethnic group in the Russian Federation. The Third World Tatar Congress was held in Kazan in August, 2002 under the motto "We are one individisible nation".
Ruffled feathers
The discussions about where the name Tatar came from and what it means can ruffle quite a few ethnic feathers. There's a "Turkic thesis", for example, and then there's the "Mongol theory" according to which the Tatars were a group subjugated by Genghis Khan and whose name means "conquered". There was a time when western Europeans vaguely referred to eastern Russia or the area conquered by the Genghisids as "Tartary", and the famous l7th-century Dutch scholar Nicolaas Witsen described his exploration of Siberia as a trip through North and East "Tartarye".
Unfortunately, the name ‘Tatar' has traditionally had a derogatory meaning among Russians who have tended to see themselves as the saviors of Europe and civilization from the "Tatar-Mongol yoke". The depiction of Tatars in Russian literature as servants and untrustworthy heathens does not do justice to their achievements or to history. Ivan the Terrible gave Tatar officers high positions in his government after the conquest of Kazan, and one of them, known by his Christian name Simeon Bekboelatovitch, was even appointed acting czar during the 1570's. "Scratch any Russian and you will find a Tatar" is an often-heard ambiguous phrase, said to have been coined by Napoleon.
Oil
Today, oil-rich Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed areas of Russia. Under its president, Mintimer Shaimiev, Tatarstan has made quite a name for itself and its much talked about "Tatarstan model", which basically advocates a pragmatic, gradual and peaceful transition to democracy and to a high-tech market economy based on European standards.
Unlike Chechnya, Tatarstan is not pushing for secession from the Russian Federation, but Chechnya is a sensitive issue, particularly among Muslims, and Tatarstan's autonomous status allows it to refuse to send conscripts to fight in Chechnya. Other points of contention with Moscow include oil revenue and the recent replacement of the Cyrillic alphabet used in the Russian language by the Latin alphabet. The authorities say this is in keeping with trends in other Turkic-speaking societies and is more suited for Internet. So Tatarstan continues to walk a fine line between autonomy and central rule from Moscow, between cultural independence and Russian assimilation, and between world Islam and the tolerance and secularism espoused by the Tatarstan model.
It was by presidential decree that the new Kul-Sharif mosque was built in the Kazan kremlin, not far from the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation built after Ivan the Terrible's conquest of the city in 1552. There are few places in the world where you will see a cathedral and a main mosque so close to each other.
by Marijke van der Meer, 5 March 2003
Tatarstan emerged from the former Kazan Khanate (1438-1552), which itself was a successor state to the Golden Horde. Tatarstan is now an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation. As with most of the entities that make up the Russian Federation, the ethnic group after which the republic was named does not form an absolute majority.
Just under half of the total population of 4 million call themselves Tatar, and ethnic Russians make up about 40%. Tatarstan is home to about one hundred different ethnic groups, in fact, hence the constitution of the republic does not speak of "Tatars" but of "the people of Tatarstan". Roughly seven million Tatars live in the former Soviet Union countries, and they are the second largest ethnic group in the Russian Federation. The Third World Tatar Congress was held in Kazan in August, 2002 under the motto "We are one individisible nation".
Ruffled feathers
The discussions about where the name Tatar came from and what it means can ruffle quite a few ethnic feathers. There's a "Turkic thesis", for example, and then there's the "Mongol theory" according to which the Tatars were a group subjugated by Genghis Khan and whose name means "conquered". There was a time when western Europeans vaguely referred to eastern Russia or the area conquered by the Genghisids as "Tartary", and the famous l7th-century Dutch scholar Nicolaas Witsen described his exploration of Siberia as a trip through North and East "Tartarye".
Unfortunately, the name ‘Tatar' has traditionally had a derogatory meaning among Russians who have tended to see themselves as the saviors of Europe and civilization from the "Tatar-Mongol yoke". The depiction of Tatars in Russian literature as servants and untrustworthy heathens does not do justice to their achievements or to history. Ivan the Terrible gave Tatar officers high positions in his government after the conquest of Kazan, and one of them, known by his Christian name Simeon Bekboelatovitch, was even appointed acting czar during the 1570's. "Scratch any Russian and you will find a Tatar" is an often-heard ambiguous phrase, said to have been coined by Napoleon.
Oil
Today, oil-rich Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed areas of Russia. Under its president, Mintimer Shaimiev, Tatarstan has made quite a name for itself and its much talked about "Tatarstan model", which basically advocates a pragmatic, gradual and peaceful transition to democracy and to a high-tech market economy based on European standards.
Unlike Chechnya, Tatarstan is not pushing for secession from the Russian Federation, but Chechnya is a sensitive issue, particularly among Muslims, and Tatarstan's autonomous status allows it to refuse to send conscripts to fight in Chechnya. Other points of contention with Moscow include oil revenue and the recent replacement of the Cyrillic alphabet used in the Russian language by the Latin alphabet. The authorities say this is in keeping with trends in other Turkic-speaking societies and is more suited for Internet. So Tatarstan continues to walk a fine line between autonomy and central rule from Moscow, between cultural independence and Russian assimilation, and between world Islam and the tolerance and secularism espoused by the Tatarstan model.
It was by presidential decree that the new Kul-Sharif mosque was built in the Kazan kremlin, not far from the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation built after Ivan the Terrible's conquest of the city in 1552. There are few places in the world where you will see a cathedral and a main mosque so close to each other.
by Marijke van der Meer, 5 March 2003
Radio Nehtherlands, 5 march 2003