Kazan

Kazan, city in central European Russia, capital of the Tatarstan autonomous republic, a port at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka rivers. It is a major industrial, commercial, and cultural centre. Manufactured goods include aircraft, machinery, refined petroleum, chemicals, processed food, footwear, soap, and textiles. The city, a centre of Tatar culture and formerly of Muslim culture, is the site of a university (1804), where Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Ilich Lenin studied, and of several technical colleges. Notable buildings here include the kremlin (citadel), since 2000 a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the oldest part of which dates from the 15th century; a 16th-century church; and two 18th-century mosques.

Kazan was founded in the late 14th century and soon became the capital of a powerful Tatar khanate. In 1552 the city was annexed by Russia under Ivan IV Vasilyevich. It was largely destroyed in 1774 during a revolt by troops of the Cossack soldier Yemelyan Pugachov, but was rebuilt soon afterwards during the reign of Catherine II. Population 1,110,022 (2004 estimate).