Kazan

According to the 2010 census, representatives of 190 nationalities live in Russia. The largest population after the Russians (81%) is the Tatars (4%). Tatars live in all regions of Russia, but their ethnic origin is Tatarstan. The Russians and the Tatars were deeply connected through history. Some Russian sayings mean that every Russian has something to do with the Tatars. There are many words of Tatar origin in Russian.

Lots of cities of Eastern and Southern Europe are considered being on the crossroad of Western and Eastern traditions, and Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, is one of the most significant examples of combining two different cultures. Here come some examples: on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), which was built by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, there are both the magnificent Kul-Sharif mosque with four mines, 58 meters high, and the majestic Orthodox Blagoveshchensky cathedral. The temples are located just opposite. What's more, there is a true eastern bazaar – and one can get there by taking a promenade on the central pedestrian Bauman street, resembling the Moscow Arbat.

One of the most significant icons of the Russian Orthodox Church is the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The Virgin Mary Monastery was built in honor of this icon, which became a symbol of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612. It was presented to the Bogoroditsky Monastery in Kazan by the Pope, and nowadays giant processions are held annually, on July 21 and November 4 with this "Vatican" icon.

Old Tatar Sloboda is another sight which is a must-see for every Kazan visitor. It's located on the bank of the lake where a unique ensemble of national Tatar architecture of XVII-XVIII centuries is preserved. There are lots of restaurants that offer traditional Tatar cuisine with its special and most famous dish called chak-chak (a dough product with honey). There is even a museum of chak-chak in one of the old merchants' houses.

Tatarstan is famous for far more than just Kazan attractions. First, the town of Sviyazhsk, which was built as a base of Russian troops during the siege of Kazan in 1552. Another unique place from UNESCO World Heritage Site is the medieval city of Bulgar, the center of the once-existing state of Volga Bulgaria. The city was abandoned by residents at the beginning of the 15th century, but it is still a symbolic reminder of the acceptance of Islam by the Volga Bulgars in 922.

In 2005, the millennium of Kazan was celebrated. By the anniversary, the city was greatly transformed, and since then it's the third most popular tourist destination in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg. Kazan is both the Islamic capital of Russia and a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox believers, an ancient capital and a modern metropolis, and it's definitely worth visiting.