Spassky District, Republic Of Tatarstan
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Spassky District (; ) is a territorial administrative unit and
municipal district A municipal district is an administrative entity comprising a clearly-defined territory and its population. It may be a city, a town, a village, a small grouping of them, or a rural area. Brazil In Brazil, municipal districts are, in general, su ...
of the
Republic of Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...
within the
Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. The total area of the district is 2028 km². It is located in the southwestern part of Tatarstan. The administrative center is Bolgar. As of 2020, the population estimated at 18,599 residents. Traditionally the Spassky district specializes in fur farming and grain farming. Agricultural land occupies up to 117.8 thousand hectares, while pa around 16.3 thousand hectares is pastureland. The largest agricultural investors are the Avangard forage company, the Bulgar plant growing farm and the Khuzangaevskoe agricultural enterprise. The remains of previous Bulgarian settlements form a historical site
Bolghar Bolghar (; Tatar language, Tatar: Болгар, بلغار, ''Bolğar''; Chuvash language, Chuvash: Аслă Пăлхар, ''Aslă Pălhar'') was intermittently the capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 10th to the 13th centuries, along with Bilär, ...
which starting from 2014 has been a part of the
UNESCO Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
List.


Location

In the east, the Spassky District borders the Alkeevsky and Alekseevsky Districts of Tatarstan, in the south - on the
Ulyanovsk Oblast Ulyanovsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Ulyanovsk. It has a populat ...
(
Staromaynsky District Staromaynsky District () is an administrativeLaw #126-ZO and municipalLaw #043-ZO district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northeast of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative ...
and Melekessky Districts). In the watershed of the Volga (
Kuybyshev Reservoir Kuybyshev Reservoir or Kuybyshevskoye Reservoir () is a reservoir of the middle Volga and lower Kama in Chuvashia, Mari El Republic, Republic of Tatarstan, Samara Oblast and Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. It is sometimes called as Samara Reservoir an ...
) it borders on the Tetyushsky, Kamsko-Ustinsky regions, along the waters of the
Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit: काम, ) is the concept of pleasure, enjoyment and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It can also refer to "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsका ...
- with the
Laishevsky District Laishevsky District (; ) – is a Administrative divisions of the Republic of Tatarstan, territorial administrative unit and Municipal divisions of Russia, municipal district of the Tatarstan, Republic of Tatarstan within the Russia, Russian Feder ...
. In addition to the Volga and Kama, the largest rivers passing through the territory are the Abyss and Aktay. Also in the Spassky district there is lake Abkalarkul. The district is located in the forest-steppe belt with a green zone or woodland occupying around 9% of the land. Most of the Spassky District is located on a low-lying plain, the average height of which does not exceed 60–70 meters, with a slight slope in the northwest direction. The highest point of the relief is in the southeastern part of the region and is 153 meters. Permian
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58superficial deposits Superficial deposits (or surficial deposits) refer to geological deposits typically of Quaternary age (less than 2.6 million years old) for the Earth. These geologically recent unconsolidated sediments may include stream channel and floodplain dep ...
can be found in the region. Among the mineral deposits there are sands and clays, which are often used in construction.


Coat of arms

The contemporary coat of arms of the district is based on the historical coat of arms of the city of
Spassk Spassk () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities * Spassk, Penza Oblast, a town in Spassky District of Penza Oblast * Spassk, Kemerovo Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Tashtagolsky District o ...
in
Kazan Province The Kazan Province () was a province of Kazan Governorate of the Russian Empire, which existed 1719–1775. Its center was the city of Kazan. Kazan province was formed as part of the Kazan gubernya by decree of Peter the Great Peter I (, ; ...
. The flag repeats the colors and the image of the coat of arms and depicts an ancient tower standing in a golden field. The tower symbolizes reliability and a fortitude of spirit. Silver color is a symbol of purity, perfection, purity, mutual understanding. Black symbolizes eternity, wisdom, modesty.


History

People started to settle in the district around 60 000 years ago. The first settlements began to appear in the VIII-III centuries BC when the representatives of the
Ananyino culture The Ananyino culture is an archeological culture of the late 8th to 3rd centuries BCE in present-day Tatarstan, Russian Federation. The name comes from the burials first discovered near the village Ananyino (Ананьино) in the vicinity of ...
arrived. In VI-VIIth centuries the Bulgar tribes settled in the region while searching the new lands in the Volga region. Later Bulgars formed a
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
state
Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria (sometimes referred to as the Volga Bulgar Emirate) was a historical Bulgar state that existed between the 9th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now Europea ...
the population of which mostly engaged in agriculture, sowing wheat, rye, barley, millet, peas, oats, rye. In 922, on the territory of the Volga Bulgars, the ancestors of the modern Kazan Tatars officially converted to Islam. In the first half of the XIII century, the territory of the Volga Bulgars was captured by the
Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
. For a century and a half, the majority of the population abandoned the Zakamye and moved to the Predkamye. Thus, during the period of the
Khanate of Kazan The Khanate of Kazan was a Tatar state that occupied the territory of the former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El, Chuvashia, Mordovia, and parts of Udmurtia and Bashkortostan; ...
and the first century after the
siege of Kazan The siege of Kazan or Fall 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 ...
(in 1552), the territory remained uninhabited. Resettlement of the region began only in the second half of the XVII century, after the construction of the Zakamskaya zasechnaya line - a system of defense structures built in the period from the XVI to the XVII centuries on the southern borders of Russia to protect against nomads. In the second half of the 17th century, servicemen, archers, captured
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
, Chuvash and
Mordovians Mordvins (also Mordvinians, Mordovians; ; no equivalents in Moksha language, Moksha and Erzya language, Erzya) is an official term used in Russia and the Soviet Union to refer both to Erzyas and Mokshas since 1928. Names While Robert Gordon ...
began to resettle in the region. The Spassky district was formed on August 10, 1930. Until 1920, the territory of the region belonged to the Spassky district of the Kazan province, and in the period between 1920 and 1930 - to the Spassky
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...
of the
TASSR The Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as Tatar ASSR or TASSR, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR. The resolution for its creation was signed on 27 May 1920 and the republic was proclaimed on 25 June 1920. Kazan ...
. At the time of formation, the district included 1 city and 41 village councils, 95 settlements, in which 52,504 people lived (46,231 Russians, 4641 Tatars, 1632 representatives of other nationalities). In 1935, part of the land became part of the Kuznechikhinsky district. In 1935, the city of Spassk was renamed the city of Kuibyshev in honor of the revolutionary and party leader
Valerian Kuybyshev Valerian Vladimirovich Kuybyshev (; – 25 January 1935) was a Russian revolutionary, Red Army officer, and prominent Soviet politician. Biography Early years Born in Omsk in Siberia on , Kuybyshev studied at the , a Cadet Corps in O ...
. The Spassky district was also named Kuibyshevsky. In 1940, the area of the district was 1762 km², and the population was 49.4 thousand people. During the Kuybyshev reservoir construction in the 1950s, Spassk was faced the danger of flooding. For this reason, the Soviet government initiated the resettlement of the city which lasted from 1953 to 1957. A new Kuibyshev city was placed near the village of Bolgary, 120 kilometers from Kazan and 100 kilometers from Ulyanovsk. Despite the relocation of one of its major cities, the Spassky district suffered greatly from flooding associated with the construction of the reservoir. More than a hundred villages and the city of Spassk itself were submerged, more than half of the archaeological monuments belonging to the period of the Volga Bulgaria and the Kazan Khanate were destroyed by water. During the 1960s, the region was actively developing. At that time a meat processing plant, a bakery, a brewery, a grain-receiving enterprise, an oil depot, residential buildings, and administrative buildings were erected. As of 1960, the area of the district was 1700.6 km². Thanks to the reform of the administrative-territorial division of the TASSR in 1965, the territory of the district increased to 2026 km², and the population was 38.7 thousand people. In 1991 the district was again renamed to Spassky while city of Kuybyshev received a name Bolgar in honor of the historic state. From 1995 to 2019, the district was headed by Kamil Nugaev. After him, the post of head of the district was occupied by the former director of the Bulgarian State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve Fargat Mukhametov.


Population

According to the 2010 census, the region has the highest share of the Russian population in Tatarstan - 67.6%. 43.31% of the population of the region live in urban conditions (the city of Bolgar).


Municipal-territorial structure

The Spassky municipal district has 1 urban and 16 rural settlements and 46 settlements within them.


Economy

Since the 2000s, Spassky District has traditionally occupied one of the lowest rungs in the socio-economic development of municipal districts rankings. Thus, in 2015 and 2016, there were high levels of unemployment, low average wages and a drop in the population. Since 2003, the number of residents has decreased by more than 2000 people. However, by 2019, the district had climbed 16 ranks and took 29th place in the development rating of Tatarstan districts. The indicators improved thanks to a decrease in the unemployment rate from 0.76% to 0.39%, an increase in wages (up to 2.15% of the minimum consumer budget), an increase in the number of shipments of own-produced goods (3 billion compared to 2.6 billion in 2018 year), as well as the growth of the district's authority due to the opening of the Bulgarian Islamic Academy and the Kul Gali complex. As of 2016, about 500 entrepreneurs were registered in the district. Large budget-generating companies include a meat processing plant and a grain-receiving center. The meat-packing plant (the modern name is "Spassky meat-packing plant") was launched in 1966 as an enterprise with a full production cycle, starting from a cattle reception point and ending with the release of finished products. The grain infrastructure is represented by the Spassky Grain Reception Enterprise, the successor of the enterprise founded in 1918 on the basis of merchant warehouses. The modern company is a diversified farm that receives grain harvested from the fields from all over the country, and the grain is shipped by water transport. The enterprise also produces pasta and cereals. Other large regional companies are “Suvar B” (oversees the operation of highways and highways), “Bolgarnefteprodukt” (a subsidiary of
Tatneft Tatneft (; traded as: (ordinary shares), (preferred shares), (ADRs)) is a Russian vertically integrated oil and gas company with headquarters in the city of Almetyevsk, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, Russian Federation. It is the fifth larges ...
), “Spassky District Electric Networks”, “Bolgarles”, and the construction company “Spasagrostroy”. Regional agricultural lands occupy 117.8 thousand hectares, including pastures that take up to 16.3 thousand hectares. Local producers cultivate wheat, winter rye, barley, oats, millet, peas. The main investors in the development of agriculture in the region are the fodder procurement company "Avangard", the plant growing VZP "Bulgar", the agricultural "Khuzangaevskoe".


Investment potential

In 2020, the amount of investments in fixed assets per capita reached thousand rubles which become one of the lowest rates among the municipalities of Tatarstan. The district authorities aim to attract investment in tourism since one of the most important historical and cultural sites of Tatarstan
hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...
Bolghar Bolghar (; Tatar language, Tatar: Болгар, بلغار, ''Bolğar''; Chuvash language, Chuvash: Аслă Пăлхар, ''Aslă Pălhar'') was intermittently the capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 10th to the 13th centuries, along with Bilär, ...
” is located in the district. Starting from 2015, local authorities launched the project "Cultural heritage - the island-town of Sviyazhsk and the ancient Bolgar" that attracted additional investments in the region amounting to 15.4 billion rubles, and the flow of tourists increased 18 times reaching 540 thousand visitors in 2017. In 2018, a large tourist center "Kul Gari" with an area of 25 hectares was opened in Bolgar. Design of the hotel rooms was inspired by the historic 14th century White Chamber. This project was supervised by the Vozrozhdenie fund and personally by
Mintimer Shaimiev Mintimer Sharipovich Shaimiev (born 20 January 1937) is a Russian former politician who served as the president of Tatarstan from 1991 to 2010. He was re-elected as president in 1996, 2001, and 2005. Biography Shaimiev was born in the villag ...
, with the main investors being Tatneft and TAIF. Even though the total cost of the project is unknown, according to several estimations, it could have reached up to several billion rubles. In 2020, the construction of a powerful wind farm started near with the village Izmeri. Similar wind farms will be also constructed in Rybno-Slobodsky District and
Kamsko-Ustyinsky District Kamsko-Ustyinsky District (; ) is a territorial administrative unit and municipality of the Republic of Tatarstan within the Russian Federation. The district is located in the west of the republic, on the right bank of the Volga River. The territor ...
. Among other investors will be several Turkish companies, to the sum of $200 million. The wind farms are scheduled to operate starting from 2024.


Transport

The main navigation in the region proceeds through the Volga and Kama rivers. There is a large river station along with quays, the Bolgar-gorod and Bolgar. There are also several a inter-municipal highway (Bolgar - Bazarnye Mataki, the Kim - Kuznechikha - Lesnaya Khmelevka (Ulyanovsk region) and several motorways which ensure the movement of cargo and passenger flows from west to east and from north to south inside republics and to the southern regions of the
Volga Federal District The Volga Federal District ( rus, Приволжский федеральный округ, p=prʲɪˈvolʂskʲɪj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the eight federal districts of Russia, federal districts of Russia. It forms the south ...
.


Ecology

The flora of the region is represented by 448 species of
vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignin, lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified Ti ...
s. Of the fauna, 7 species of
amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
s, 5 species of reptiles, 114 nesting bird species, 39 species of mammals have been recorded. Rare and endangered species on the territory of the region include iris sibirica,
epipactis helleborine ''Epipactis helleborine'', the broad-leaved helleborine, is a terrestrial species of orchid with a broad distribution. It is a long lived herb which varies morphologically with ability to self-pollinate. Description ''Epipactis helleborine'' can ...
,
salvinia natans ''Salvinia natans'' (commonly known as floating fern, floating watermoss, floating moss, or commercially, water butterfly wings) is an annual floating aquatic fern, which can appear superficially similar to moss. It is found throughout the world ...
. The area is home to a
anguis fragilis The common slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a species of legless lizard native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple, steelworm, and hazelworm. The "blind" in blindworm refers to the lizar ...
and vipera renardi there are 21 species of birds listed in the Red Data Books of Tatarstan and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. On the left coast of the Kuibyshev reservoir, is the Spassky State Nature Reserve of a complex profile, which includes a system of 64 islands and extensive shallow water reservoirs. The total area of the reserve is 17 979 hectares.


Social sphere

There are archaeological monuments from multiple eras in the region: the "Tankeyevsky burial ground" (IX-X centuries), "Settlement Suvar" (X-XIV), cultural and natural landscape "Armenian colony" (XIII-XIV), "Greek chamber" (XIV) and "Tract Aga-Bazar" (
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
), XIV-XV century. In 2010 the former
president of the republic The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of state and/or heads of government in countries having republican form of government. Designation In most cases the president of a republic is elected, either: * by direct universal s ...
Mintimer Shaimiev launched a tourism program branded as the "Revival of Bulgaria”. Within the framework of this project the White Mosque was constructed, the world's largest printed
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
was ordered (the cover of which is decorated with emeralds), while the Museum of Bread and a monument on the tomb of the Sahab were also opened. In 2014, the Bulgarian Historical and Architectural Reserve on the site of the Bulgarian settlement was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Construction of the Bulgarian Islamic Academy began in 2014. The project was initiated as attempt to develop the Muslim clergy in Bolgar. More than 1.2 billion rubles were spent from the federal and local government budgets on the academy. One of the sponsors was the businessman
Alisher Usmanov Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (, ; born 9 September 1953) is a Russian-Uzbek oligarch. He is sanctioned by the US, EU, UK, and Ukrainian governments. By March 2025, Usmanov had an estimated net worth of $16.7 billion and was ranked number 124 a ...
, who, according to various sources, donated from 250 to 500 million rubles. The opening of the academy took place in September 2017, and two years later, construction of a Muslim children's camp for schoolchildren from all over Russia began nearby.


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links


Photos of the Spassky district

Official website

Official website of the local museum
{{Use mdy dates, date=September 2011 Districts of Tatarstan