Kazan

Russia COUNTRY

1,243,500 CITY POPULATION

City Duma GOVERNMENT TYPE

Introduction

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,243,500, it is the sixth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia, about 715 kilometres east from Moscow. In the Late Middle Ages, Kazan was an important trade and political center within the Golden Horde. In 1438, the city became the capital of the Khanate of Kazan. In the following centuries, Kazan grew to become a major industrial, cultural and religious center in Russia. Kazan is renowned for its vibrant mix of Oriental and Russian cultures. In 2015, 2.1 million tourists visited Kazan, and 1.5 million tourists visited the Kazan Kremlin, a World Heritage Site.In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the «Third Capital» of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the «sports capital of Russia»and it still is referred to as such.

After the disintegration of the Golden Horde in the 15th century, Kazan became the capital of an independent khanate. It developed as an important trading centre; annual fairs were held on an island in the Volga. In 1469 Ivan III captured Kazan, but his puppet khan organized a massacre of all Russians in the town in 1504. Finally in 1552 Ivan IV the Terrible captured Kazan after a long siege and subjugated the khanate. The old Tatar fortress was rebuilt as a Russian kremlin, the white walls and towers of which survive as a feature of the modern skyline.

Data and Facts

Kazan was one of the host cities for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2019 WorldSkills Championship
Kazan is one of 15 Russian cities with population of more than 1 million
The largest river of Eastern Europe – Volga river – flows through Tatarstan
The warmest month is July with daily mean temperature near 20.2 °C (68.4 °F), and the coldest month is January, with a daily mean of −10.4 °C (13.3 °F). The record low temperature in January has been −46.8 C (−52.2 F)
Kazan is home to one of the largest mosques in Europe, the Qolşärif Mosque
Kazan’s Kremlin is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the only remaining Tatar fortress intact in Russia

Administration

Kazan is the capital of the republic. It is divided into seven districts. 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.

Economy

As Siberia was opened up, Kazan’s trading importance greatly increased, and industry developed in the 18th century; by 1900 it was one of the chief manufacturing cities of Russia. In its wide range of industries, some long-established ones still flourish on a large scale: soapmaking, leatherworking, shoemaking, and fur preparation. New industries include oil refining, electrical and precision engineering, and chemical production. Linen and foodstuffs are also produced. In 1920 Kazan became the capital of the Tatar A.S.S.R. (now Tatarstan, Russia).

Kazan is one of the largest industrial and financial centers of Russia, and a leading city of the Volga economic region in construction and accumulated investment. City's Gross Regional Product had reached 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 Europe science parks. Kazan ranks 174th (highest in Russia) in Mercer’s Worldwide Quality of Living Survey.

A unique combination of historic city and modern megalopolis attracts tourists to Kazan. More than 1,000,000 tourists visited Kazan in 2010. Kazan Kremlin attracts more than 200,000 tourists per year.There are more than 83 hotels (5700 accommodations) in the city

Business Environment

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 51684.2 million 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 thousand square metres.

Innovative economy in Kazan is represented by the biggest IT-park in Russia and also the biggest technical park in Europe. The only online platform for governmental trade except the Moscow one is operated in Kazan. During the post-Soviet period Kazan was the leader in terms of house construction in the Volga region, and now it holds the position and implements the Republican program of liquidation of dilapidated housing which was unique for Russia.

According to Forbes, Kazan was ranked 15th among the "Best cities for business in Russia" of 2010. In 2012, Kazan ranked 6th in the quality of city environment rating, which was made by the Russian Federation Ministry of Regional Development, Russian Alliance of Engineers, Federal Construction Agency, Federal Service of Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare and Moscow Federal University.

Infrastructure

The staging of the 1,000th anniversary, followed by the preparations for the 2013 Summer Universiade, transformed Kazan into a modern city. Thirty new sports venues were built for the Universiade, including the Universiade Village, which is currently used as a campus for students and accommodation for participants in international events. Guests to Kazan benefit from the new airport terminal, the high-speed train that connects the airport and the city centre, new hotels and traffic interchanges, a renovated railway station, city road enhancements, and new metro stations.

New public open spaces such as parks, squares, and embankments are being created and regularly renovated for citizens of Kazan, and its visitors.

Kazan metro is included in the Guinness Book as the shortest metro in the world. The way from one side to another is just 10 stations and will take you only 10 minutes. Interesting fact: Kazan metro was the only one which was built after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

A long-planned construction of a new toll highway between Moscow and Kazan will start in 2020. The new project envisions the construction of the highway divided into stages and starting from two flagship sections – from Moscow to Vladimir bypassing Vladimir, the construction of which is planned to be launched in 2020, as well as the southern bypass of Kazan. Works on the first section are planned to be completed by 2024.

Technology

Kazan is a major scientific centre in Russia. Kazan formed a large number of scientific areas and schools (mathematical, chemical, medical, linguistic, geological, geobotanical, etc.). Scientific discoveries are a subject of special pride, including: the creation of non-Euclidean geometry (Nikolai Lobachevsky), the discovery of the chemical element ruthenium (Karl Ernst Claus), the theory about the structure of organic compounds (Aleksandr Butlerov), the discovery of the electron paramagnetic resonance (Yevgeny Zavoisky) and acoustic paramagnetic resonance (Altshuler) and many others.

Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan, and right now, about 18% of Tatarstan’s re-investible oil industry income goes into its tech startups and established development firms. The president of Tatarstan is fond of IT, and he’s helped to state-sponsored IT projects such as Innopolis — a university and tech center built from scratch outside of Kazan that’s completely focused on technology.

Kazan boasts the largest IT-park in Russia which is also one of the largest of its kind in Eastern Europe.

Social Wellness and Human Resources

Kazan is a major cultural and educational centre. Kazan State University was founded in 1804. The mathematician N.I. Lobachevsky was its rector in 1827–46, and among those who studied there were Leo Tolstoy, the composer M.A. Balakirev, and Vladimir I. Lenin. There is also a branch of the Academy of Sciences, a conservatory, and other institutions of higher education. Kazan has a theatre of Tatar opera and ballet, a philharmonic society, and a noted Tatar museum.

In terms of sport Kazan is one of the most developed cities in Russia. The city hosted two World Championships in Field Hockey in 2005 and 2011, World Summer Universiade in 2013, World Championship in Fencing in 2014, Aquatics Championship FINA in 2015.

The city's population consists mostly of ethnic Tatars (47.6%) and ethnic Russians (48.6%). The other ethnicities are Chuvash, Ukrainians, Azerbaijanis, Vietnamese,and Jews.Predominant faiths of Kazan city are Sunni Islam and Orthodox Christianity, with Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism and the Bahá'í Faith also represented. The Tatar language is widely spoken in the city mainly by Tatars. Russian language is also widely spoken, mainly by Russians.