Filming in Russia: Tatarstan

Tatarstan is a Russian republic home to the country’s second-biggest ethnicity, the Tatars. The Tatar capital of Kazan, one of Russia's oldest and most beautiful cities, will host the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup.

Geography and Climate

Tatarstan is slightly smaller than Ireland, which puts it in the middle of the list of Russian regions by size. The vast majority of Tatarstan is located on plains, less than 200 meters above the sea level.

Two of the biggest rivers in Russia’s European part, Volga and Kama, flow in Tatarstan. The climate is continental with long and moderately cold winters and hot summers. The temperature bar jumps above zero from April to October. July is the warmest month with the average of +17-18˚C (62-64˚F). The winter average is about -16˚C (-3.2˚ F), but occasionally it could get as cold as -30˚ C (-22˚ F) or even -40 ˚C (-40˚ F).

Nature

Forests and steppes occupy most of Tatarstan. There are two natural reserves and over 400 varieties of wild animals.

History

Tatarstan occupies a special place in the Russian history. In the Middle Ages and modernity, a vast part of Russia stretching from the present-day Tatarstan towards the Pacific was known as the Tartary (probably because many of the indigenous peoples of Siberia are Turkic, just as the Tatars).

In the end of the first millennium AD, a country called the Volga Bulgaria lied on the territory of modern Tatarstan. It was conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century and soon became a separate state named the Kazan Khanate. It was conquered by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century and has since been a part of Russia.

Filming in Kazan

Kazan is one of the most important cities in Russia. It is older than Moscow – in 2005, Kazan celebrated its 1,000th anniversary. Currently, over 1.2 million people live in Kazan, making it Russia’s sixth biggest city. Kazan has many sightseeings, including a UNESCO World Heritage Site – the 16th-century Kazan Kremlin.

Filming in Naberezhnye Chelny

Another big city is the 520,000-population Naberezhnye Chelny, an important industrial center that produces KAMAZ trucks.

How to Get There

The capital Kazan is located just 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow. The flight takes little over one hour.

Population

Tatarstan is one of the few regions of the Russian Federation where a local ethnicity prevails over the Russians. The 5.5-million-strong Tatar nation makes up about 53 percent of Tatarstan’s population. The Tatar language has an official status in the republic, on par with Russian.

Interesting Facts:

The iconic St. Bazil’s Cathedral on Moscow’s Red Square was built to celebrate the annexation of the Kazan Khanate (now Tatarstan) to Russia in the mid-16th century;
Tatarstan is Russia’s 8th region by population;
The Tatars have been adhering to Islam since about 10th century AD;
Tatarstan is one of the most abundant Russian regions in terms of oil. Russia’s second-biggest oil field of Romashkino is located there;
Aside from the Kazan Kremlin, Tatarstan has another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s the Bolghar hill fort, located in the former capital of the ancient Volga Bulgaria;
Soyembika Tower, one of Kazan’s main points of interest, is one of the world’s famous leaning towers. Some argue that it served as an inspiration for the Moscow Kremlin towers. Over the past century, it was topped with a Tsarist golden two-headed eagle, a Communist red star and a Muslim crescent.