The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a
Turkic ethnic group native to the
Volga-Ural
Idel-Ural ( tt-Cyrl, Идел-Урал, translit=Idel-Üral, russian: Идель-Урал), literally Volga-Ural, is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means ''Volga-Urals'' in the Tatar language. T ...
region of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest
ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
after the
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
. They compose 53% of the population of
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...
and 25% of the population of
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
. The Volga Tatars are by far the largest group amongst the
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different .
History
Tatars inhabiting the Republic of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia, constitute one third of all Tatars, while the other two thirds reside outside Tatarstan. Some of the communities residing outside Tatarstan developed before the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
of 1917, as Tatars were specialized in trading.
During the 14th century,
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
was adopted by many of the Tatars.
Tatars became subjects of Russia after the
Siege of Kazan
The siege of Kazan in 1552 was the final battle of the Russo-Kazan Wars and led to the fall of the Khanate of Kazan. Conflict continued after the fall of Kazan, however, as rebel governments formed in Çalım and Mişätamaq, and a new khan wa ...
in 1552.
Russians were using the Tatar ethnonym during the 18th and 19th centuries to denote all Turkic inhabitants of the Russian Empire,
but, before the emergence of the Soviet Union, the Turkic peoples of the Russian Empire did not generally identify as Tatars.
Up to the end of the 19th century, Volga Tatars mainly identified as
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, until the rehabilitation of the ethnonym Tatar occurred.
Russian officials used literary Tatar language to interact with the
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging t ...
of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
before the end of the 19th century. The Volga Tatar role in the Muslim national and cultural movements of the Russian Empire before the 1917 Revolution is significant and this continued even after 1917.
The
1921–1922 famine in Tatarstan
The 1921–1922 famine in Tatarstan was a period of mass starvation and drought that took place in the Tatar ASSR as a result of the Russian Civil War, in which 500,000 to 2,000,000 peasants died. The event was part of the greater Russian famine ...
was a period of mass starvation and drought that took place in the
Tatar ASSR
The Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Татарская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Автономияле Совет Соци ...
as a result of
war communism
War communism or military communism (russian: Военный коммунизм, ''Voyennyy kommunizm'') was the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921.
According to Soviet histo ...
policy, in which 500 thousand to 2 million peasants died. The event was part of the greater
Russian famine of 1921–22
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
that affected other parts of the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, in which up 5 million people died in total.
Tatar authorities have attempted since the 1990s, after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, to reverse the
Russification
Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...
of Tatarstan that took place during the Soviet period.
Subgroups
Kazan Tatars
![Safin_toronto_2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Safin_toronto_2008.jpg)
The majority of Volga Tatars are Kazan Tatars. They form the bulk of the Tatar population of Tatarstan. Traditionally, they inhabit the left bank of
Volga River
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
.
Khazar
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
invasions forced the
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
, Turkic people, to migrate from the
Azov
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mo ...
steppes to the Middle Volga and lower
Kama
''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...
region during the first half of the eighth century.
In the period of 10th–13th centuries, other Turkic peoples, including
Kipchaks
The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Se ...
, migrated from Southern
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
to Europe. They played a significant role in the
Mongol invasion of Rus'
The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernihiv (30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping destr ...
in the 13th century. Tatar ethnogenesis took place after migrated Turkic peoples, mixed with the local Bulgar population and other inhabitants of the Volga River area, kept Kipchak dialect and became Muslims. Several new Tatar states had emerged by the 1500s after the Golden Horde fell. These states were
Khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...
,
Astrakhan Khanate
The Khanate of Astrakhan, also referred to as the Xacitarxan Khanate, was a Tatar state that arose during the break-up of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, a ...
,
Khanate of Sibir
The Khanate of Sibir (also Khanate of Turan,
sty, Себер ханлыгы) was a Tatar Khanate located in southwestern Siberia with a Turco-Mongol ruling class. Throughout its history, members of the Shaybanid and Taibugid dynasties often con ...
, and
Crimean Khanate
The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...
.
Controversy surrounds the origin of the Tatar people, whether they are descended either from Bulgars or Golden Horde.
According to one theory,
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
Tatar heritage can be traced back to Kipchaks of the Golden Horde, yet according to another theory, the Tatars emerged from the Bulgar culture that survived the Mongol conquest of 1236–1237.
Among Volga Tatars, especially in Tatarstan, there is an ongoing debate about whether they should embrace their Turkic Bolgar history. Advocates of such idea (see: ''
Bulgarism'') feel like they are the descendants of Volga Bolgars and at the same time experience the umbrella term ''Tatar'' as a derogative given to them by the Russians. Leading figure among the Bolgarists was Rashid Kadyrov, who pointed out how recent generations of 'Tatars' have taken the term for granted and don't even know its history.
Mishars
Mishars
The Mishar Tatars (endonyms: мишәрләр, мишәр татарлары, mişärlär, mişär tatarları) form a subgroup of the Volga Tatars, indigenous to Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, and Chuvashia in the Russian Federation. They ...
(or Mişär-Tatars) are an ethnographic group of Volga Tatars speaking
Mishar dialect of the
Tatar language
Tatar ( or ) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by Volga Tatars, Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia. It should not be confused with Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tat ...
. They comprise approximately one third of the Volga Tatar population. They are descendants of Cuman-Kipchak tribes who mixed with the
Burtas
Burtas (russian: Буртасы, ''Burtasy''; cv, Пăртассем, ''Părtassem''; tt-Cyrl, Бортаслар, , ) were a tribe of uncertain ethnolinguistic affiliation inhabiting the steppe region north of the Caspian Sea in medieval times ( ...
in the Middle
Oka River
The Oka (russian: Ока́, ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its ...
area and Meschiora. Nowadays, they live in
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
,
Ulyanovsk
Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population:
The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...
,
Penza
Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...
,
Ryazan
Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...
,
Nizhegorodskaya oblasts of Russia and in Tatarstan,
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
and
Mordovia
The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...
.
Qasím Tatars
The Qasím Tatars have their capital in the town of Qasím (
Kasimov
Kasimov (russian: Каси́мов; tt-Cyrl, Касыйм;, Ханкирмән,Ханкирмән, Хан-Кермень, means " Khan's fortress" historically Gorodets Meshchyorsky, Novy Nizovoy) is a town in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, located on the ...
in Russian transcription) in
Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast ( rus, Рязанская область, r=Ryazanskaya oblast, p=rʲɪˈzanskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities ...
. See "
Qasim Khanate
Qasim Khanate or Kingdom of Qasim or Khanate of Qasım ( tt-Cyrl, Касыйм ханлыгы/Касыйм патшалыгы; russian: Касимовское ханство/Касимовское царство, ''Kasimovskoye khanstvo/Kasimo ...
" for their history. Today, there are 1,100 Qasím Tatars living in Kasimov. There is no reliable information about their number elsewhere.
Noqrat Tatars
Noqrat Tatars live in Russia's Republic of
Udmurtia
Udmurtia (russian: Удму́ртия, r=Udmúrtiya, p=ʊˈdmurtʲɪjə; udm, Удмуртия, ''Udmurtija''), or the Udmurt Republic (russian: Удмуртская Республика, udm, Удмурт Республика, Удмурт ...
and
Kirov Oblast
Kirov Oblast (russian: Ки́ровская о́бласть, ''Kirovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: 1,341,312 ( 2010 Census).
Geography
Na ...
. In 1920s their number was around 15,000 people.
Perm (Ostyak) Tatars
Ethnographic subgroup of Kazan Tatars that lives in Russia's
Perm Krai
Perm Krai (russian: Пе́рмский край, r=Permsky kray, p=ˈpʲɛrmskʲɪj ˈkraj, ''Permsky krai'', , ''Perem lador'') is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 refe ...
. Some Tatar scholars (as Zakiev) name them ''
Ostyak
Ostyak (russian: Остя́к) is a name formerly used to refer to several indigenous peoples and languages in Siberia, Russia. Both the Khanty people and the Ket people were formerly called Ostyaks, whereas the Selkup people were referred to as ...
Tatars''. Their number is (2002) c.130,000 people.
Keräşens
A policy of Christianization of the Muslim Tatars was enacted by the Russian authorities, beginning in 1552, resulting in the emergence of Keräşens (Christianized Tatars).
Many Volga Tatars were forcibly Christianized by
Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.
Ivan ...
during the 16th century, and continued to face forced baptisms and conversions under subsequent Russian rulers and Orthodox clergy up to the mid-eighteenth century.
Keräşen Tatars live in much of the Volga-Ural area. Today, they tend to be assimilated among the Russians and other Tatar groups.
Eighty years of
Atheistic
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
Soviet rule made Tatars of both faiths not as religious as they once were. Russian names are largely the only remaining difference between Tatars and Keräşen Tatars.
Traditional culture
Festivals
Historically, the traditional celebrations of Tatars depended largely on the
agricultural cycle
The agricultural cycle is the annual cycle of activities related to the growth and harvest of a crop (plant). These activities include loosening the soil, seeding, special watering, moving plants when they grow bigger, and harvesting, among others ...
.
Spring/summer period
*
Sabantuy
Sabantuy is a Tatar, Idel-Uralian, Bashkir and Kazakh ('Sabantoy') summer festival, that dates back to the Volga Bulgarian epoch. At first Sabantuy was a festival of farmers in rural areas, but it later became a national holiday and now is wide ...
*
Sowing
Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area.
Plants which are usually sown
Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...
* Dzhien
Fall/winter period
* Pomochi
*
Nardoqan
Pomegranate (in Turkish: Nar) thematic table in Nardugan
Nardoqan or Nardugan ( Kazakh: ''нардуган'', Turkish: ''Nardoğan'' or ''Nardugan'', Azerbaijani: ''Narduqan'') was a Turkic holiday concept. Nowadays, it is most commonly used to ...
Cuisine
Tatar cuisine is rich with hot soups (şulpa), dough-based dishes (
qistibi
Qistibi ( ba, ҡыҫтыбый, tt-Cyrl, кыстыбый, translit=qıstıbí, udm, кыстыбей) is a popular traditional dish in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Chuvashia. Qistibi is roasted flatbreads with various fillings inside. The dough ...
,
pilmän,
öçpoçmaq
Öçpoçmaq ( ; Tatar and ba, өчпочмак, script=Cyrl, , )Also transliterated as ''ochpochmaq'', ''ochpochmak'', ''oechpochmaq'', ''echpochmak'', ''uchpuchmak''; sometimes known as ''treugolnik'' () among the Russian population. is a Tatar ...
,
peremech
Peremech ( tt-Cyrl, пәрәмәч / ''pərəməç'' / ''pärämäç''; ba, бәрәмес, tr. ''beremes''; russian: беляш, belyash) is an individual-sized fried dough pastry common for Volga Tatar and Bashkir cuisines. It is made from ...
, etc.) and sweets (
çäkçäk, göbädiä, etc.). Traditional Tatar beverages include
ayran
Ayran, doogh, dhallë, daw, xynogala or tan is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage popular across Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeastern Europe, North Asia and Eastern Europe. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. ...
,
katyk and
kumys
''Kumis'' (also spelled ''kumiss'' or ''koumiss'' or ''kumys'', see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology – otk, airag kk, қымыз, ''qymyz'') mn, айраг, ''ääryg'') is a fermented dairy p ...
.
Population figures
In the 1910s, they numbered about half a million in the area of
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
.
[ Nearly 2 million Volga Tatars died in the ]1921–22 famine in Tatarstan
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
. Some 15,000 belonging to the same stem had either migrated to Ryazan
Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...
in the center of Russia (what is now European Russia) or had been settled as prisoners during the 16th and 17th centuries in Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
[ (]Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, Grodno
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
, and Podolia
Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
). Some 2,000 resided in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
Volga-Ural Tatars number nearly 7 million, mostly in Russia and the republics of the former Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. While the bulk of the population is found in Tatarstan (around 2 million) and neighbouring regions, significant number of Volga-Ural Tatars live in Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Outside of Tatarstan, urban Tatars usually speak Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
as their first language (in cities such as Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Nizhniy Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
, Ufa
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...
, and cities of the Ural
Ural may refer to:
*Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan
* Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India
*Ural Federal District, in Russia
*Ural econ ...
and Siberia).
Genetics
According to over 100 samples from the Tatarstan DNA project, the most common Y-DNA haplogroup
A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the el, ἁπλοῦς, ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and en, group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share ...
of the ethnic Volga Tatars is Haplogroup R1a
Haplogroup R1a, or haplogroup R-M420, is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup which is distributed in a large region in Eurasia, extending from Scandinavia and Central Europe to southern Siberia and South Asia.
While R1a originated c. 22,000 to 2 ...
(over 20%), predominantly from the R1a-Z93 subclade.
Haplogroup N is the other significant haplogroup. According to different data, J2a or J2b may be the more common subclade of Haplogroup J2
In human genetics, Haplogroup J-M172 or J2 is a Y-chromosome haplogroup which is a subclade (branch) of haplogroup J-M304. Haplogroup J-M172 is common in modern populations in Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Europe, Northwestern Iran and ...
in Volga Tatars. The haplogroups C and Q are among the more rare haplogroups.
Haplogroups in Volga Tatars (122 samples):
*C2: 2%
*E: 4% (V13: 3%)
*G2a: 2%
*I1: 6%
*I2a1: 5%
*I2a2: 2%
*J2a: 7%
*J2b: 2%
*L1: 2%
*N1c2: 9%
*N1c1: 16%
*O3: 2%
*Q1: 2%
*R1a: 33% (Z282: 19%, Z93: 14%)
According to Mylyarchuk et al.: among 197 Kazan Tatars and Mishars
The Mishar Tatars (endonyms: мишәрләр, мишәр татарлары, mişärlär, mişär tatarları) form a subgroup of the Volga Tatars, indigenous to Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, and Chuvashia in the Russian Federation. They ...
.
The study of Suslova et al. found indications of two non- Kipchak sources of admixture, Finno-Ugric and Bulgar:
Volga Tatars, along with Maris, Finns
Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland.
Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
, and Karelians
Karelians ( krl, karjalaižet, karjalazet, karjalaiset, Finnish: , sv, kareler, karelare, russian: Карелы) are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russi ...
, all cluster genetically with northern and eastern Russians, and are distinct from southern and western Russians. The scientists also found differences in relationships among some of the northern and eastern Russians.
According to a genetic study on mitochondrial haplogroups, Volga Tatars reveal roughly 90% West-Eurasian and 10% East-Eurasian maternal haplogroups.
According to a full genome study by Triska et al. 2017, the Volga Tatars "''bear very little traces of East Asian or Central Siberian ancestry. Volga Tatar are a mix between Bulgar who carried a large Finno-Ugric component, Pecheneg, Kuman, Khazar, local Finno-Ugric tribes, and even Alan. Therefore, Volga Tatars are predominantly European ethnicity with a tiny contribution of East-Asian component. As most Tatar’ IBD is shared with various Turkic and Uralic populations from Volga-Ural region, an amalgamation of various cultures is evident. When the original Finno-Ugric speaking people were conquered by Turkic tribes, both Tatar and Chuvash are likely to have experience language replacement, while retaining their genetic core''".
Notable Tatars
* Aida Garifullina
Aida Emilevna Garifullina (russian: Аида Эмилевна Гарифуллина, tt-Cyrl, Аида Эмил кызы Гарифуллина, translit=Aida Emil kyzy Garifullina; born 30 September 1987) is a Russian lyric soprano of Tatar d ...
, opera singer
* Rinat Akhmetov
Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov, ; russian: Ринат Леонидович Ахметов, ; tt-Cyrl, Ринат Леонид улы Әхмәтов, translit=Rinat Leonid uly Äkhmätov (born on 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and b ...
, businessman and billionaire
* Ilmir Hazetdinov
Ilmir Hazetdinov ( tt-Cyrl, Илмир Ришат улы Хәзетдинов, russian: Ильмир Ришатович Хазетдинов; born October 28, 1991 in Ulyanovsk) is a Russian ski jumper. He is of Tatar descent.
Hazetdinov competed ...
, ski jumper
* Marat Kabayev
Marat Vazykhovich Kabayev (russian: Марат Вазыхович Кабаев, tt-Cyrl, Марат Вазыйх улы Кабаев; born 27 May 1961) is an Uzbekistani professional football coach and former football player.
Personal life
Ka ...
, former football player and coach
* Ymär Daher
Ymär Daher ( Mishar Dialect: Үмәр Таһир, né ''Tahiroff'' - Literary Tatar: Гомәр Таһиров, ''Ğömər Tahirov''; 5 November 1910 – 10 July 1999) was a Tatar cultural worker, researcher, public servant, teacher and docent o ...
, cultural worker, researcher
* Timur Safin
Timur Marselevich Safin ( rus, Тимур Марселевич Сафин, , tʲɪˈmur ˈsafʲɪn; born 4 August 1992) is a Russian right-handed foil fencer.
He is a two-time team European champion and 2016 individual European champion. A tw ...
, foil fencer
* Artur Akhmatkhuzin
Artur Kamilevich Akhmatkhuzin (russian: Артур Камилевич Ахматхузин; born 21 May 1988) is a Russian foil fencer, silver medallist at the 2013 World Fencing Championships.
Career
Akhmatkhuzin, who is of Tatar descent, made ...
, foil fencer
* Gulnaz Gubaydullina
Gulnaz Radikovna Gubaydullina (russian: Гульназ Радиковна Губайдуллина, tt-Cyrl, Гөлназ Радик кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 14 February 1992) is a Russian modern pentathlete. She has qualified for ...
, modern pentathlete
* Yusuf Akçura
Yusuf Akçura ( tt-Cyrl, Йосыф Акчура; 2 December 1876 – 11 March 1935) was a prominent Turkish politician, writer and ideologist of ethnic Tatar origin. He developed into a prominent ideologue and advocate of Pan-Turkism during the ...
, politician, ideolog of Pan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), with its aim bei ...
* Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev
Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev ( tt-Cyrl, Мирсәет Хәйдәргали улы Солтангалиев, ''Mirsäyet Xäydärğäli ulı Soltanğäliev'', pronounced ; russian: Мирсаид Хайдаргалиевич Султан-Галиев ''M ...
, politician, Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, ideolog of Pan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), with its aim bei ...
and anti-colonialism
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
* Nail Yakupov
Nail Railovich Yakupov (russian: Наиль Раилович Якупов, tt-Cyrl, Наил Раил улы Якупов; born 6 October 1993) is a Russian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for Avangard Omsk of the Kontinent ...
, professional ice hockey player in Canada, the US and Russia
* Reşit Rahmeti Arat
Reşit Rahmeti Arat (Tatar: Рәшит Рәхмәти Арат, ''Räşit Räxmäti Arat'' - ''né ''Ğäbderräşit Räxmätullin'', Габдеррәшит Рәхмәтуллин,'' May 15, 1900 - November 29, 1964) was a Turkish philologist, pr ...
, linguist
* Sadri Maksudi Arsal
Sadri Maksudi Arsal (1878 – 20 February 1957) was one of the leading figures in the national awakening of Tatars in Russia during early 1900s. He worked as a writer, lawyer, politician, professor, lecturer, researcher of Turkic languages and a ...
, statesman, scholar
* Irina Shayk
Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova (russian: Ирина Валерьевна Шайхлисламова; born 6 January 1986), known professionally as Irina Shayk (; russian: Ирина Шейк), is a Russian model and television personality who ...
, model (Tatar father)
* Alina Zagitova
Alina Ilnazovna Zagitova ( rus, Алина Ильназовна Загитова, , ɐˈlʲinə zɐˈɡʲitəvə; born 18 May 2002) is a Russian figure skater of Volga- Tatar origin. She is the 2018 Olympic champion, the 2019 World champion, ...
, figure skater and Olympic gold medallist
* Atik Ismail
Atik Ismail (born 5 January 1957) is a Finnish former footballer. He played 26 matches in the Finland national football team scoring 7 goals. Ismail was the top scorer of Finnish premier division Mestaruussarja in 1978, 1979 and 1982. In 1978, h ...
, football player
* Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
, greatest male ballet dancer of the generation
* Aliya Mustafina
Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina (russian: Алия Фархатовна Мустафина) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 45 Olympic, World and European Championship medals, she is considered one of the most success ...
, artistic gymnast and 7-time Olympic medallist (Tatar father)
* Zemfira
Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (russian: Земфира Талгатовна Рамазанова, tt-Cyrl, Земфира Тәлгать кызы Рамазанова; born 26 August 1976) is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing si ...
, rock musician
* Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...
, professional tennis player
* Marat Safin
Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
, professional tennis player
* Kamila Valieva
Kamila Valeryevna Valieva (russian: Камила Валерьевна Валиева; born 26 April 2006) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 European champion, 2021 Rostelecom Cup champion, 2021 Skate Canada International champion, ...
, figure skater, the 2022 European champion.
See also
* Bulgarism
* Tatar nobility
*Chinese Tatars
Chinese Tatars ( zh, s=塔塔尔族, t=塔塔爾族, p=Tǎtǎ'ěrzú; tt-Cyrl, Кытай татарлары, translit=Qıtay tatarları) form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
The number of ...
*Crimean Tatars
, flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg
, flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars
, image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg
, caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace
...
*Lipka Tatars
The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...
*Finnish Tatars
The Finnish Tatars (Tatar language, Tatar: ''финляндия татарлары'', Finnish language, Finnish: ''Suomen tataarit, Swedish language, Swedish: Finländska tatarer'') are an ethnic minority in Finland whose community has approxima ...
* Tatars of Kazakhstan
*Tartary
Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounde ...
*Little Tartary
The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...
*Idel-Ural State
The Idel-Ural State ( tt-Cyrl, Идел-Урал өлкәсе, , ), also known as the Volga-Ural State or Idel-Ural Republic, was a short-lived Tatar republic located in Kazan that claimed to unite Tatars, Bashkirs, Volga Germans, and the Chuv ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* Smith, Graham, ed. ''The Nationalities Question in the Soviet Union'' (2nd ed. 1995), pp 277–89.
External links
Tatars in Congress Library (1989)
Tatar.Net
The tatars
Tatar Name
Tatar history
Tatar world-wide server
Tatar Names
Tatar Electronic Library
Tatar music & video catalog
{{authority control
Ethnic groups in Russia
Ethnic groups in Uzbekistan
Ethnic groups in Kazakhstan
Ethnic groups in Ukraine
Khanate of Kazan
Qasim Khanate
History of Ural
Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic