General information about Tatarstan

Capital: the city of Kazan

President: Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov

Total area: 68,0 thous.sq.km

797  km far from Moscow

Population: 3,84 million people

State languages: Russian, Tatar

Administrative division: 43 municipal, 14 cities of republican subordination and 8 cities of regional subordination.

Location

Tatarstan is situated in the heart of the Russian Federation on the East European plain in the confluence of two rivers – the Volga and the Kama.  Tatarstan shares borders with Bashkortostan, Chuvash, Mari El and Udmurtia republics, as well as with the Samara, Ulyanovsk, Kirov and Orenburg regions. The territory extends for 290 km from north to south and for 460 km from west to east. Tatarstan has no borders with foreign countries.

Climate

The climate is moderately continental. The average temperature in January (the coldest month) – 14 °С, in July (the warmest month)  –  +19 °С. Average amount of precipitation is 460 to 520 mm.

Geography and natural resources

The territory of the republic is an undulating plain in the forest and forest-steppe zones with minor uplands on the right bank of the Volga River and in the south-east of the republic. 90 per cent of the whole territory lies at an elevation of less than 200 m above sea level.

The Republic of Tatarstan is rich in oil. The Republic disposes 800 million tons of recoverable oil. Associated gas is produced along with oil. The Republic is also disposes workable reserves of limestone, dolomites, building sand, clay for brick manufacturing, building stone, gypsum, sand-gravels, peat.

Flora and soil

More than 16 per cent of the republic territory is covered with forests consisting of foliage species of trees (oak, linden, birch, aspen), coniferous species is represented by pine tree and spruce. Local fauna is inhabited by 430 species of vertebrates and several hundred species of invertebrates.  The soil varies from grey forest and podsolic in the northern and western parts to various kinds of black soil in the southern part of the republic (32 per cent of the area).

Waters

The greatest rivers are the Volga and the Kama, and two confluents of the Kama River – Vyatka and Belaya, and more than 500 small rivers and a lot of brooks are flowing on the republic territory.  Large stock of water resources is concentrated in two largest water storage reservoirs – Kuibyshevskiy and Nizhnekamskiy. There are more than 8 thous. small lakes and ponds as well.

Population and religion

Tatarstan is one of the most multi-ethnic areas of Russia. Representatives of over 115 ethnic groups live in the republic, including 8 nationalities, the number of which exceeds 10 thousand people: Tatars, Russians, Chuvashes, Udmurts, Mordovians, Maris, Ukrainians and Bashkirs.

People with various historical and cultural traditions live in the republic. The combination of at least three types of cultural interaction (Turkic, Slavic-Russian and Finno-Ugric) defines the uniqueness of this area, identity of cultural and historical values.

The traditional religions of the republic are Islam and Christianity. Tatars and Bashkirs (i.e. nearly half of the population of the republic) confess Islam. The other part of population – Russians, Chuvashes, Maris, Udmurts, Mordovians are Orthodox Christians. Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism and other confessions are also presented in Tatarstan.

Transport network

The Republic of Tatarstan has a developed transport network. There are highways, railways, four navigable rivers: the Volga, the Kama, the Vyatka and the Belaya, oil and gas pipelines, airlines.