RUSSIA: Tatarstan Татарстан

Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia – my introduction to Islam in the Russian Federation proper (not including the Muslim Soviet Republics of Central Asia).

“Kazan” actually means “cooking pot” in Tatar. The capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, it sits at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka rivers in European Russia and is known as the Istanbul of the Volga, a place where Slavic, Tatar, and Islamic cultures meet. Kazan is surprisingly very nice. It’s actually 150 yrs older than Moscow and is officially Russia’s “third capital” as well as the country’s Sport Capital.

Tatarstan is the land of the Volga Tatars, a Turkic people commonly identified with Ghengis Khan but are actually more related to the Volga Bulgarians.
Now in October, avg temp is 2-10C.

fullsizeoutput_5157 — Landing in Kazan over the Volga

In this view you see the city center, the massive church belfry to the left, the Kremlin at the far upper right corner, and beyond that where the Kazanka hits the Volga.

fullsizeoutput_52dd — Looking out towards the Volga River

That time I ended up on Putin’s helipad overlooking Kazan city.
The guard told me that only two people used this helipad – “Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin” and a Director of Something. Why did he need to tell me the whole name including the patronymic? Like I’d know another “Putin”.

Kul Sharif mosque Мечеть Кул Шариф, Kazan Kremlin – Tatarstan, Russia. Kazan was originally founded as an outpost of Volga Bulgaria in 1000AD. After the Tatar Mongols flattened Great Bulgar, it became the capital of the region and was incorporated into the Golden Horde. The independent Kazan khanate was created in 1438 but then fell to Ivan the Terrible in 1552 – this very distinctive mosque, located in the Kazan Kremlin, is named after the imam who died defending the city.

A man prays inside Kul Sharif mosque Мечеть Кул Шариф, Kazan Kremlin – Tatarstan, Russia. Although Tatar nationalism is strong in the republic it is not radical, and the local version of Sunni Islam is moderate here.

fullsizeoutput_6a87 — Inside Kul Sharif mosque Мечеть Кул Шариф, Kazan Kremlin

Inside the Kazan Kremlin, Annunciation cathedral with a view of Kul Sharif in the background. The Annunciation Cathedral was built on the foundations of a razed eight-minaret mosque by Postnik Yakovlev, who is also responsible for the ever-popular St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.

Кремлёвская metro station – Kazan. Russia is well known for its gorgeous subway stations, ornately decorated odes to past regimes, dictators, and ideologies, while some are also known to have been designed deep underground to double as bomb shelters during the Cold War. The most well known and touristed stations are in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but the trend lives throughout the entire FSU (Former Soviet Union), extending to other Russian cities as well as ex-Soviet states of Central Asia. This station at the Kazan Kremlin features insanely beautiful mosaic tiled dragons and mystical designs, as well as tiled Islamic decor in character with Tatarstan’s majority Muslim background.

RUSSIA 🇷🇺v. IRAN 🇮🇷 (1-1) – Kazan Arena, Tatarstan, Russia.

As host to 2018 World Cup Russia doesn’t need to play in qualifiers but is playing friendlies in the lead up. Kazan Arena finished construction in 2013 and seats 45,000 – it has the largest outdoor screen in Europe. Nearly all tickets were actually sold for this game and I was surprised how many Iran supporters there were in the crowd here.
This also marks the first time I successfully scalp tickets in Russian without getting my face ripped off!

At a gym in Russia, had to take pictures. Pretty sure using old Soviet equipment. These are 52kg dumbbells – that’s how much my whole body weighs. That’s like an Ivan Drago doing reps of me’s, one in each hand. Who uses these? “HARD MAN” indeed. Needless to say I can’t lift this dumbbell. Otherwise, better be careful bc though completely bare bones functional, it’s a legitimate playground for tetanus.

I’m scared somebody’s going to come in and eat me.