Tataria (Russia)

Tatarstan

Last modified: 2000-01-14 by antonio martins
Keywords: tataria | tartary | russia | tatar | tatarstan | snow leopard | ak bars |
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• Presentation of Tataria
• Description and origin of the flag
• Coat of arms of Tataria

• Pre-Soviet Tatar flags
• Tataria in Soviet Union, 1920-1992
• Crimean Tatars
• Belarus Tatars
• Independentist pan-turkish flag (Idel Ural)
• Russia
• Russian subdivisions
• Clickable map of russian subdivisions

• Tatarstan Web Site, including a page about the State symbols, with descriptions of the arms, flag and hymn.

(Note: You need an appropriate font to correctely view the cyrillic text on this page. See here transliteration details).

Name
    (english): Tataria (or Tartary)
    (russian, short form): Татарстан | Tatarstan
    (russian, long form): Республика Татарстан | Respublika Tatarstan
Local official language: Tatar (a.k.a. Tartarian)
Capital (russian): Казань | Kazanh (english): Kazan
Area: 68 000 km² (26 248 sq.mi.)
Population: 3 696 000 inhabitants in 1992
Status: Republic (Республика | Respublika) within the Russian Federation
Economic region: Volga
License plate code: 16
Ham radio code: TA
ISO 3166-2 code: TA
Flag adopted in 1991.11.19
Coat of arms adopted in 1992.12.07

Tatarstan is peopled by both Russians and Tatar peoples. The latter trace their heritage to the powerful Kazan state which was finally conquered by the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1552. A Tatar ASSR was established early in the history of the USSR, in 1920. The Tatars were supposed to form an ideological spearhead for the Communization of other non-Slavic peoples. In 1990, this ASSR declared itself a full Union Republic (being amongst the first to do so). In 1992, the Republic passed, by referendum, a resolution of independence. Since then, however, the constitutional crisis this posed appears to have been defused, with the signing of a unique accord between Russia and Tatarstan defining mutual roles and obligations.
Stuart Notholt, 25 Nov 1995

Tatars as a nation originated as a result of mixing of Turkic tribes that came from Asia to what is now Tatarstan in the 7th century AD with local Finnish tribes that lived there. Tatars created their own state in the 9th century AD in what is now Tatarstan. It was one of the first states in Eastern Europe (it came into existence earlier than Russia).
Sabirzyan Badertinov, 01 Jul 1997

As far as I know, there's currently no especially active Tatar independentist movement, although is clear that Tatars are the most "different and proud" of all peoples in Russia — they're also the largest all-Russia minority ethnical group, after Russian and Ukranian.
António Martins, 08 Apr 1998

The flag officially adopted on 29 November 1991 holds red and green in a 7:1:7 three horizontal stripes.
Giuseppe Bottasini

The colours purportedly stand for the Muslim Tatars and the Russians.
Stuart Notholt, 25 Nov 1995

The colours of the national flag of Tatarstan, were designed from the flag of the Tatar Public Center, (which was planned to be the new national flag) later recognized by the Tatarstan Constitution as the flag of the Turkish peoples of Idel-Ural.
Jaume Ollé, 21 Oct 1997, and Ralf Stelter, 04 Mar 1999

The arms is circular, red with white winged snow leopard. The disc is bordered with white line and around it with green circle bearing yellow ornament all around except in lower part where there is inscription "TATAPCTAH" (i.e. "Tatarstan" in cyrillic letters).
Zeljko Heimer, 02 Aug 1997

The animal on the arms is called ak bars in Tatar (bely bars in Russian) which means "white snow leopard" (Panthera uncia — ed.). This is an ancient Tatar symbol and a very popular one. In Kazan I saw "Ak bars" supermarket and "Ak bars" bank, also there is an ice-hockey club "Ak bars" which was the champion of Russian ice-hockey league last year (this year on 4th place).
Anton Apostol, 18 May 1999