Tatarstan is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 55.2939° N, 51.2655° E.

What is the largest city in Tatarstan?

Kazan is the largest city mapped in Tatarstan, with a metropolitan population of about 1.11 million.

How many cities are in Tatarstan?

YearMaps maps 8 cities and towns in Tatarstan, with a combined metropolitan population of about 2.27 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

What is the largest lake in Tatarstan?

The largest lake mapped in or beside Tatarstan is Nizhnekamsk Reservoir, at about 939 km².

Tatarstan Map — Cities & Geography, Russia

Interactive Map of Tatarstan

6.4

About Tatarstan

Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital and largest city is Kazan, an important cultural centre in Russia. The region's main source of wealth is oil with a strong petrochemical industry.

The republic borders the oblasts of Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg, as well as the republics of Mari El, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, and Bashkortostan. Tatarstan has strong cultural, linguistic and ethnic ties with its eastern neighbour, Bashkortostan, which is also a republic of Russia. The area of Tatarstan is 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 mi2), occupying 0.4% of the total surface of the country. As of the 2021 census, the population of Tatarstan was 4,004,809.

The earliest known organised state within the boundaries of Tatarstan was Volga Bulgaria, which adopted Islam in 922. This is celebrated yearly in the city of Bolgar. Other historical predecessors of Tatarstan include the Golden Horde and the Khanate of Kazan, before ultimately being conquered by Russia. In 1920, the modern Tatar state, known as the Tatar ASSR, was founded as an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR. It was renamed the Republic of Tatarstan in 1992 and became a federal subject of Russia.

The official languages of the republic are Tatar and Russian. The head of Tatarstan is Rustam Minnihanov. Religious leaders include the mufti Kamil Samigullin and the metropolitan bishop Cyril Nakonechny.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Tatarstan (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Tatarstan in Depth

History

The earliest known organised state within the boundaries of modern Tatarstan was Volga Bulgaria (c. 700–1238). The Volga Bulgars had an advanced mercantile state with trade contacts throughout Inner Eurasia, the Middle East, and the Baltic, and maintained its independence despite pressure from such powers as the Khazars, the Kievan Rus', and the Cuman-Kipchaks. Islam was introduced by missionaries from Baghdad around the time of Ibn Fadlan's journey in 922.

Volga Bulgaria finally fell to the armies of the Mongol prince Batu Khan in the late 1230s (see Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria). The inhabitants, a large number of whom were killed and the rest mixing with the Golden Horde's Kipchaks, became known as the Volga Tatars.

Geography

The republic is located in the centre of the East European Plain, approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) east of Moscow. It lies between the Volga River and the Kama River (a tributary of the Volga), and extends east to the Ural Mountains.

Oak is the dominant tree species on 87% of the total area, followed by aspen, linden, birch, and Scots pine. The total forest cover has decreased from 51.2% to 17.1% over the last 300 years.

Neighbours: Kirov Oblast (N), Udmurt Republic (N/NE), Republic of Bashkortostan (E/SE), Orenburg Oblast (SE), Samara Oblast (S), Ulyanovsk Oblast (S/SW), Chuvash Republic (W), Mari El Republic (W/NW).

The major natural resources of Tatarstan include oil, natural gas and gypsum. It is estimated that the republic has over one billion tons of oil deposits.

Economy

Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed regions of Russia. The republic is highly industrialised and ranks second to Samara Oblast in terms of industrial production per km2.

In 2021, Tatarstan's gross regional product was €40 billion, while GRP per capita was €10,000.

The region's main source of wealth is oil. Tatarstan produces 32 million tonnes of crude oil per year and has estimated oil reserves of more than 1 billion tons. Industrial production constitutes 45% of the Republic's gross regional domestic product. The most developed manufacturing industries are petrochemical industry and machine building. The truck-maker KamAZ is the region's largest enterprise and employs about one-fifth of Tatarstan's workforce.

Demographics

Population: 4,004,809 (2021 census); 3,786,488 (2010 census); 3,779,265 (2002 census); 3,637,809 (1989 Soviet census).

There are about 2 million ethnic Tatars and 1.5 million ethnic Russians in Tatarstan, along with significant numbers of Chuvash, Mari, and Udmurts, some of whom are Tatar-speaking. The Ukrainian, Mordvin, and Bashkir minorities are also significant.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Tatarstan (CC BY-SA 4.0).

History of Tatarstan: Empires and States

The atlas records 11 polities whose mapped territory included part of Tatarstan, from Volga Bulgaria in 682 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Tatarstan, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
Volga Bulgaria	682–1235 CE
The Mongol Empire	1236–1293 CE
Golden Horde	1294–1449 CE
Blue Horde	1363–1401 CE
Khanate of Kazan	1440–1551 CE
Nogai Horde	1450–1563 CE
Tsardom of Russia	1552–1720 CE
Small Horde	1564–1587 CE
The Russian Empire	1721–1916 CE
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	1922–1991 CE
Russian Federation	1992–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Tatarstan

Tatarstan on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Tatarstan

Tatarstan (Russian: Респу́блика Татарста́н rees-POOB-lee-kuh tuh-tuhr-STAHN) is a region (republic) in the Middle Volga, bordering Ulyanovsk Oblast to the southwest, Chuvashia to the west, Mari El to the northwest, Kirov Oblast to the north, Udmurtia to the northeast, Bashkortostan to the east, Orenburg Oblast to the southeast, and Samara Oblast to the south.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Tatarstan (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Tatarstan

8 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Tatarstan
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Kazan	1.11 million	Tatarstan	Admin-1 capital
2	Naberezhnyye Chelny	461,086	Tatarstan	Populated place
3	Nizhnekamsk	234,297	Tatarstan	Populated place
4	Almetyevsk	140,437	Tatarstan	Populated place
5	Zelenodolsk	99,600	Tatarstan	Populated place
6	Bugulma	91,900	Tatarstan	Populated place
7	Leninogorsk	66,263	Tatarstan	Populated place
8	Chistopol	62,200	Tatarstan	Populated place

Largest Lakes in Tatarstan

1 lake mapped. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Largest Lakes in Tatarstan
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Nizhnekamsk Reservoir	939 km²	Reservoir

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tatarstan

4 World Heritage Sites mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tatarstan
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Qazan Kremlin	2000	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (iv)
2	Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex	2014	Cultural	(ii) (vi)
3	Sviyazhsk Assumption Monastery	2017	Cultural	(ii) (iv)
4	Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University	2023	Cultural	(ii) (iv)

Tatarstan: Quick Answers

Where is Tatarstan?: Tatarstan is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 55.2939° N, 51.2655° E.
What is the largest city in Tatarstan?: Kazan is the largest city mapped in Tatarstan, with a metropolitan population of about 1.11 million.
How many cities are in Tatarstan?: YearMaps maps 8 cities and towns in Tatarstan, with a combined metropolitan population of about 2.27 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
What is the largest lake in Tatarstan?: The largest lake mapped in or beside Tatarstan is Nizhnekamsk Reservoir, at about 939 km².