Tatarstan

Tatarstan is an autonomous republic within Russia. The republic is about 800 kilometers (497 miles) east of Moscow. It is between the Volga River and the Kama River (a tributary of the Volga), and extends east to the Ural Mountains. Most of the people are Tatars,

Republic of Tatarstan Республика Татарстан (Russian) Татарстан Республикасы (Tatar)
—  Republic  —
Flag of the Republic of Tatarstan Coat of arms of the Republic of Tatarstan
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of Tatarstan[1]
Coordinates: 55°33′N 50°56′E
Political status
Country	Russia
Federal district	Volga[2]
Economic region	Volga[3]
Capital	Kazan
Government
Statistics
Time zone(s)	MSK (UTC+04:00)
Official languages	Russian;[4] Tatar[5][6]

Its capital is Kazan.

Religion

See the main article: Islam in Tatarstan

Islam is the faith that most people in Tatarstan follow.

Geography

The republic is in the center of the East European Plain.

Rivers

Major rivers include (Tatar names are given in parentheses):

• Belaya River (Ağidel)
• Ik River (Iq)
• Kama River (Çulman)
• Volga River (İdel)
• Vyatka River (Noqrat)
• Kazanka River

Lakes

Major reservoirs of the republic include (Tatar names are given in parentheses):

• Kuybyshev Reservoir (Kuybışev)
• Lower Kama Reservoir (Tübän Kama)

The biggest lake is Qaban. The biggest swamp is Kulyagash.

Hills

• Bugulma-Belebey Upland
• Volga Upland
• Vyatskie Uvaly

Natural resources

View of the Volga River in the confluence with the Kama River

View on the Taima River from Devil's Tower in Yelabuga

Major natural resources of Tatarstan include oil, natural gas, gypsum, and more. It is estimated that the Republic has over one billion tons of oil deposits.

References

1. Law #2284, Chapter III
2. Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
3. Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
4. Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
5. Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan, Article 8.1
6. Daniel R. Kempton and Terry D. Clark. Unity or Separation: Center-Periphery Relations in the Former Soviet Union. Praeger Publishers, 2002, p. 110.

Other websites

Media related to Tatarstan at Wikimedia Commons