Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Kapow, Kazan! : Tatarstan 101



So it's been a week and we have safely returned from our journey to Tatarstan. By the way, I am doing a bit of restructuring with my blog, so now anyone who would like to make a comment can. You don't need to be a fellow blogger to do so. Try and and see if it works! And to Sarah and Nicole, thanks for the comments!


Before I embark on an exhausting account of our experience, let's get acquainted with the Republic of Tatarstan, shall we? As we can see, Tatarstan is the area
just north of Samara Oblast. You can also clearly see the Volga River runs through the republic and works its way into Samara too. Now you remember that the Volga River is the longest river in Europe, right? Yes, I knew you did!

Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan. And as a republic, it seems to get a different position in the country, if not politically than at least culturally. Unlike Samara there is a "President" in Tatarstan, but it's more like "you say potato" because his job may not hold more political clout than the governor of Samara, but its pseudo independence has helped it build strong relations with other countries which I will talk about it a moment.

Kazan's population is 1.1 or 1.2 depending on who you talk to and is the largest city in the republic. The city recently celebrated it 1,000th anniversary this year. Historically it was attacked three times by Ivan the Terrible who most Tatar's still hate to this day. Tatar's adopted Islam into their culture long before Peter the Great got the idea to rid his country of any religion besides his own, so he too isn't well liked. Nowadays, the ratio of Greek Orthodox believers and Muslims is about 50/50 and after perestroika there was a strong movement to tolerate both religions in the republic. In fact, at the city's Kremlin, a gorgeous Mosque and pristine cathedral are walking distance apart.

I found there were also some aesthetic differences between Samara and Kazan as well. Since there is a large Muslim population, some Middle Eastern countries have been only too glad to support the little land by donating gifts of money to the capital. I am not sure if this is the key reason for Kazan's beauty, but it sure makes sad Samara look like a dump! Okay, I am going on a little tangent, care to join? The reason I write this is because where Kazan's money has helped develop the infrastructure, it seems Samara's money has gone right into the pockets of shrewd businessmen. One can not help but compare the two when in Kazan you see light colored buildings in blue, green and pink with white ornamental decor outlining them and in Samara it's one concrete box after another. It's not that I hate Samara, it's just that they got a bum deal after communism. In fact, it was such bad luck that right before Yeltsin took office, Samara was next in line for some major reconstructing. Poor Samara!

Hopefully, I got all my facts straight. Check me out tomorrow when I explain our first few days in Kazan...

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