Kazan Kremlin and its vicinity at night, Oct. 4 - 11, 2018

(Click on each picture to open the full size photo.)
Palace of farmers Palace of farmers
Palace of farmers Palace of farmers Palace of farmers
Videos 4.7, 2.6 and 22 MB
Bauman street and Bulak canal:

The original mosque inside the Kazan Kremlin was destroyed in 1552 after Ivan the Terrible took Kazan. The current mosque (Kul-Sharif) was reconstructed in the years 1996-2005. The whole centre of Kazan was beautified for the 1000 anniversary of the city in 2005.
Altogether 418 out of original 536 mosques in Tatar Khanate were destroyed by 1747. Ekaterina II (the Great) allowed in 1767 the construction of new mosques. Currently there is a little bit more mosques than orthodox churches in Tatarstan.
As everywhere else in the medial times, the conflict of Ivan the Terrible with the Kazan Khan cannot be called an ethnic conflict of Russians with Tatars. Half of the Ivan's army were ethnic Tatars. Russian mercenaries were also fighting on the side of Kazan. And the native ugro-finnic Mari were also divided, and were fighting on both sides of the conflict.
The current Tatarstan seems to be an example of ethnic and religious tolerance and harmonious coexistence.

Tatarstan menu   Home