Origin of the Tatar language. History of the Tatars

Tatars - history (www.vokrugsveta.ru)

Settlement

Russia

The number of Tatars in the world is determined to be about 8 million. The number of Tatars in Russia according to the 2002 census is 5 million 554.6 thousand people (3.83% of the population of the Russian Federation). Tatars are the second largest ethnic group in the Russian Federation after the Russians. However, Tatars make up just over 1/2 of the population (52.9% according to the 2002 census) of Tatarstan. Tatars also live compactly in the following subjects of the Russian Federation: Bashkortostan - 990.7 thousand (24.14% of the total population of Bashkiria), Chelyabinsk region - 205 thousand (5.69%), Ulyanovsk region - 168.7 thousand (12. 20%), Sverdlovsk region - 168.1 thousand (3.75%), Moscow - 166 thousand (1.6%), Orenburg region - 165.9 thousand (7.61%), Perm region- 136.59 thousand (4.84%), Samara region - 127.9 thousand (3.95%), Udmurtia - 109.2 (6.96%), Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - 107.6 ( 7.51%), Tyumen region - 106.95 thousand (8.07%), Penza region - 86.8 thousand (5.97%), Astrakhan region - 70.5 thousand (7.02%) .

Abroad

Abroad, Tatars mainly live in the territory former USSR, in the “near abroad”: in Uzbekistan - 324 thousand (2002); in Kazakhstan - 203.3 thousand (2009), in Ukraine - 73.3 thousand (2001), in Kyrgyzstan - 45.5 thousand (1999), Azerbaijan - 30 thousand (2008) .), Tajikistan - 19 thousand in 2000 (instead of 79.4 thousand in 1989), in Belarus - 10.1 thousand (1999). In Lithuania in 2001, only 3,235 Tatars remained.

In 2002, 24.1 thousand Tatars lived in Romania; in Turkey they live in rural areas OK. 10 thousand Tatars. Since the end of the 19th century, Tatars settled in the territory of the modern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. In 2001, 5.1 thousand Tatars lived compactly there and continued to use their traditional Arabic alphabet for writing.

Etymology and evolution of the ethnonym

There is no generally accepted etymology of the ethnonym Tatars. Turkologist N.A. Baskakov proposed 3 possible etymologies:

1) from the word tat - “foreigner”;

2) from the stem tat -, tata - “to test” and the participle affix - ar > “testing”, “experienced advisor”

3) from the base tat - derived from the words tatuv - “union”, “peace”, tatuvly - “peaceful” > tatuvdash - “ally”.

Researcher of the Kalmyk language G.-Y. Ramshedt compared the Kalmyk word tatr and the old written Mongolian tatar - “speaking with a foreign accent”, “poor speaker, stutterer” with the Barabinsk tele tartyk - “stutterer”. Probably, initially the name “Tatars” referred to tribes speaking a language that was incomprehensible or poorly understood by their neighbors, and subsequently the exoethnonym “Tatars” could well have turned into a self-name.

In the 13th century The ethnonym “Tatar” became widespread within the Mongol Empire itself, becoming a designation for both the peoples conquered by the Mongols, in particular the Tatars themselves, and the Mongols themselves. By the beginning of the 14th century. the term "Tatars" on the territory of the Ulus of Jochi ( western regions divided Mongol Empire) takes on a social meaning - the designation of a nomadic military-service nobility, predominantly of Mongolian origin. Gradually, the settled population of the Tatar khanates began to call all nomads “Tatars.” In Chinese literature, the double ethnonym Meng-da (Mongol-Tatars) arose, adopted by modern historical science- "Mongol-Tatars".

During the period of the existence of the Golden Horde, in the 13th-15th centuries, in the Middle Volga region, a significant part of the population probably retained the Bulgar identity. Since in the medieval mentality the confessional religious identity prevailed over the ethnic one, already in the 15th-16th centuries, judging by Russian sources, the population called themselves “Muslims”, in the Russian version - “Besermyans”. Only in the XVIII-XIX centuries. The name “Tatars” began to spread among the Tatars of the Volga and Urals regions. The name became widespread in connection with the development of Tatar nationalism at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. and finally consolidated with the formation of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. This process was an additional incentive for the spread of the ethnonym “Tatars” to the Turkic-speaking population of Siberia and the Lower Volga region.

In Russia until the beginning of the 20th century. The ethnonym "Tatars" was used broadly and applied to many, mainly Turkic-speaking, usually nomadic or semi-nomadic, peoples of Eurasia: Altai Tatars (Altaians), fraternal Tatars (Buryats), Transcaucasian Tatars (Azerbaijanis), Mountain Tatars (Karachais and Balkars), Dagestan Tatars (Kumyks), Nogai Tatars (Nogais), Abakan/Yenisei/Minusinsk Tatars (Khakas), Kazan Tatars, Crimean Tatars (self-names: qirimtatarlar - Crimean Tatars or qirimlar - Crimeans). For example, one of the regiments of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division ("Wild Division"), formed in 1914, was called the "Tatar Cavalry Regiment", although the regiment was recruited from Azerbaijanis. In everyday speech in the 19th century. "Tatars" were the name given to the Muslim mountaineers of the North Caucasus.

IN Western Europe, starting from the 13th century, the Tatars began to be called according to the consonance of Tartari lat., Tartares French, Tartaren German, Tartars English, which is associated with the ancient Tartar (Tartarus lat.), which in the Middle Ages was associated with hell, and the Tatars themselves , respectively, - with people from the underworld. Already the first European who visited the headquarters of the Mongol khans in 1246-1247 and left a description of his journey - the Franciscan Plano Carpini (c. 1180-1252) called his work “Historia Mongalorum quos nos Tartaros appellamus” lat. - "The history of the Mongals, whom we call Tartars." Until the 19th century. in Western European literature, Asian nomadic and semi-nomadic Turkic and Mongolian peoples were collectively called Tatars-Tartares.

Ethnic history

732-1202: The first mention of the Tatars - 732 - the tribes "Otuz-Tatar" and "Tokuz-Tatar" appear in the text of a Turkic runic inscription dedicated to the military leader of the Second Turkic Khaganate Kul-Tegin (Kul Tigin Turk., 685-731). Through the Uighurs, the name "Tatars" came into Chinese sources, in which it regularly appears with 842 - in Chinese: dada, datan. According to Chinese sources, the Tatar tribes lived in the 10th-11th centuries. along the upper and middle reaches of the Amur. The Turkic scholar Mahmud of Kashgar (1029-1101) called the vast region between Northern China and Eastern Turkestan the “Tatar Steppe.” Mahmud of Kashgar in his immortal linguistic work “Divan lugat at-Turk” (Kitabu divan-i lugat it-Turk - “Collection of Turkic dialects”) noted that the peoples of Chumul, Kay, Yabaku, Tatars and Basmyl have their own language, but they They also speak Turkic well, which apparently confirms the Mongol-speaking nature of the ancient Tatars. In the “Secret Legend” (c. 1240), outlining the history of Genghis Khan (1155/ 1162-1227), various Tatar tribes are mentioned: Ayriud-buyruud, both Tatars and Dorben-Tatars (“four Tatars”), divided into 4 clans : chaan-Tatar, alchi-Tatar, dudaut-Tatar and aluhai-Tatar (Secret Legend, § 16, 53, 58, 141, 153). By the middle of the 12th century. the Tatars became one of the most powerful tribal associations in Mongolia. They defeated the Mongols at the turn of the 60-70s. XII century Chinese sources began to call all nomads of the eastern part of the Great Steppe “Tatars” (yes-dan), regardless of their ethnicity. In 1196, Genghis Khan defeated the Tatars, and in 1202 he destroyed all the Tatars who were taller than the axle of the cart, as punishment for their rebellion. The remnants of the Tatars were incorporated into the Mongol horde.

1204-1241: era of the greats Mongol conquests, formation of the Mongol Empire (Yeke Mongyol ulus old Mongolian - “Great Mongol State” from 1211) from Korea to Romania with an area of ​​2 million 741 thousand square kilometers (22% of the land) and with a population of approx. 100 million people

1224-1391: the time of existence of the Golden Horde (Ulus of Jochi), which was ruled by the descendants of the eldest son of Genghis Khan Jochi (c. 1184-c. 1227). The ulus included the territory of Southern Ukraine, the Northern Caucasus, the Volga region, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and the northern part of Central Asia. In 1269 the ulus became completely independent of the Great Khan in Khanbalyk. The bulk of the nomadic population of the Horde were nomadic Kipchaks (Polovtsians). The share of the Mongols themselves among the nomads was small, and they soon disappeared into the Turkic mass that surrounded them. The settled population consisted of the Bulgars, the peoples of the Volga region and Khorezm. In the 13th century The official language of the Golden Horde was Mongolian, the diplomatic language was Uighur, and the spoken language was Kipchak, which became commonly used by the middle of the 14th century. turned into official.

1312: Khan of the Golden Horde Uzbek (1312-1342), having converted to Islam, made it the official religion of the state and began to persecute shamanists and Buddhists.

1391-1502: Decline of the Golden Horde and its fall in 1502, when the troops of the Crimean Khanate took Sarai, the capital of the Great Horde - the remnant of the Golden Horde, forcing the last khan Sheikh Ahmed (1495-1502) to flee to Lithuania.

XIV-early XVIII centuries: during the instability in the Golden Horde and the Tatar khanates, a lot of Tatar princes and their accompanying people went to serve in the Muscovite kingdom. The bulk of the Tatar nobility joined the dominant stratum of Russian society and became service people.

1799-1920: serving Tatar-Cossacks of the Muslim faith as part of the Don, Orenburg, Ural and Siberian Cossack troops. On October 12, 1799, by personal decree of Paul I (1796-1801), yasak peasants and Tatars of the Orenburg district were excluded from the per capita salary and included in the Orenburg Cossack army, but in 1819 a significant part of the Orenburg Tatars were transferred to the tax-paying class. In the Siberian Cossack Army in 1914, there were only 0.81% Tatar Cossacks, i.e. about 1.3 thousand people. The history of the Tatar-Cossacks ends with the liquidation of the Cossacks as a class in Soviet Russia by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in 1920.

1918-1922: During the Russian Civil War, some Tatars emigrated to Turkey and Harbin in China, from where they later moved to various countries in Europe and America.

Kazan Tatars

There are 3 main scientific hypotheses about the ethnogenesis of the Kazan Tatars:

1) Bulgaro-Tatar - the main one in Soviet time. The Tatars were considered an autochthonous population - direct descendants of the Turkic Volga Bulgars, on whom the dominance of the Mongol khans had little influence;

2) the Mongol-Tatar hypothesis, according to which the basis of the Tatar ethnic group was the Mongol-Tatar tribes mixed with the Cumans;

3) the Turkic-Tatar hypothesis, highlighting the multi-stage ethnogenesis of the Tatars: Bulgar with a predominance of the Turkic element, the Golden Horde, the time of the existence of the Kazan Khanate, the consolidation of the nation within the Russian state in the 16th-18th centuries. and the formation of the nation in the XVIII-XX centuries. Today, this complex construction is accepted by most researchers.

670s - end of the 9th century: one of the ancient Turkic-speaking Bulgarian tribes, consisting mainly of Kutrigurs, under the leadership of Kotrag, son of Kubrat (c. 605-c. 665), Khan of the Great of Bulgaria, moved from the Azov steppes to the north, to the forest-steppe regions of the Middle Volga and Kama, where they began to mix with the local Finno-Ugric population.

Beginning of the 10th century - 1240: the existence of the Volga Bulgaria state. In 922 the Bulgars adopted Islam, which became the main religion of the population. The runic writing system was replaced by Arabic. During this period, the Bulgarian sedentary people were formed - the ancestors of the Tatars and Chuvash. In 1236-1240 Bulgaria was conquered by the Mongols.

1241-1391: “stage of the medieval Tatar ethnopolitical community” as part of the ulus of the Golden Horde. The ethnocultural consolidation of the Golden Horde aristocracy, military service classes, and Muslim clergy leads to the formation of the 14th century. Tatar ethnopolitical community. On the basis of the Oguz-Kypchak language, the formation of a literary ancient language takes place. Tatar language, the earliest monument of which is the poem by Kul Gali (1183-1236) “Kyisa-i Yosyf” (“The Legend of Joseph”), written back in 1233. The Mongolian language fell out of use even in the office by the end of the 14th century.

1438-1552: the era of the Kazan Khanate - the formation of an ethnic community that had local self-determination. The bulk of the Tatars, according to ethnic class stratification, occupied a privileged position in the state; in particular, the Tatars were “Cossacks” who were obliged to serve for owning land.

1552-1556: conquest of the Kazan Khanate by the troops of Ivan the Terrible - Kazan War. On October 15, 1552, after a 41-day siege by a 150,000-strong Russian army, Kazan fell, which was defended by approx. 30 thousand warriors. The men were mostly killed, the women and children were taken prisoner. Soon, in 1552-1553, the uprising of the Mari centurion Mamich-Berdey (Mamysh-Berdy Tatars) began. The restoration of the Kazan Khanate was announced, headed by the Nogai Murza Ali-Akram. The Khanate declared war on Russia, which forced Ivan the Terrible to begin his 5th Kazan campaign in the summer of 1553. The territories of the Khanate began to be combed in search of rebels who took the fight. In April 1556, the capital of the rebels, Chalym, was taken by storm, and Ali-Akram was killed, and Mamich-Berdey was captured and executed in Moscow. To guarantee future security in the future, 7,000 Russian colonists were resettled in Kazan, and its entire former population was evicted to Kuransheva Sloboda. The lands that were desolate during the suppression of the uprising were given to his associates by Ivan the Terrible, and they were settled by Russians from central Russia.

XVI-XVIII centuries: the stage of consolidation of local groups of Tatars within the Russian state. After the annexation of the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia to Russia, the processes of migration of the Tatars intensified (in particular, from the Oka to the Zakamskaya and Samara-Orenburg lines, from the Kuban to the Astrakhan and Orenburg provinces) and interaction between its various ethnic groups, which contributed to their linguistic and cultural rapprochement . To a certain extent, the unifying factor was the attitude of the Russian state and the Russian population, which did not distinguish between different groups of the Tatar people.

XVI-XVIII centuries: due to religious oppression and forced Christianization, seizure of land, and assignment to factories, uprisings of the Muslim population of the Volga region occur. 1572-1574, 1582-1584 - spontaneous popular uprisings at the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. In 1615-1616, due to the introduction of new taxes and conscription, an uprising of the Tatars, Chuvash and Bashkirs took place under the leadership of the Tatar Dzhangali Shagurov (ZhemAli Shoger Tatar). In 1662, the Tatars and Bashkirs attacked Russian fortresses. In 1669, a 6,000-strong detachment of Tatars led by Khasan Karachurin joined the uprising of Stepan Razin (c. 1630-1671). 1682-1684 - up to 30 thousand representatives of the Volga peoples, led by Mullah Sagit Yagafarov, rose up to fight against forced Christianization.

The detachment from the Tamyansk volost of the Trans-Urals was led by the Bashkir Tyulekey-batyr (Tulekey-batyr Tatar.), later taken prisoner and imprisoned. In 1705, due to the introduction of numerous new taxes, the Tatars led by Dumai Ishkaev took action. 1707-1708 - the uprising of Aldar-Tarkhan and Kusum-batyr, the son of the executed Tyulekey, who led the rebels with a total number of up to 30-40 thousand people operating throughout the Volga-Ural region. During the suppression of the uprising, approx. 11 thousand, over 300 villages were robbed and burned. In 1709-1711, Aldar's detachment continued to fight in the Trans-Ural region. In 1717-1718, the Tatar yasak Sait-batyr and his nephew Gabdrakhman Tuikin, leaving the Kazakh steppes with a 5,000-strong detachment, began again fighting against the Russian authorities. In 1735-1740, a new uprising of 10 thousand Tatars and Bashkirs broke out against the construction of fortresses, led by the teacher Kilmyak Nurushev and the foreman of the Tamyansk volost of the Kazan road Akai Kusyumov. According to historian P. Rychkov, during the period 1735-1737, during the suppression of the uprising in the Kazan province, 696 villages were burned, 16,893 people were killed during battles or executed, 3,406 people were exiled, 9,194 women and children were distributed to the Russians.

The uprising of 1755-1756 under the leadership of Imam Batyrshi - the “Brave Shah” (Gabdulla Galiev, 1715-1762) covered vast territories of the Volga-Ural region. The Tatars also actively participated in the Pugachev Peasant War in 1773-1775: the number of Tatar rebels is estimated at 84 thousand people.

1570s-1917: participation of the Tatars in the military campaigns of the Russian state. In the 70s of the 16th century. Arzamas service Tatars took part in protecting the borders of the Russian state against nomadic raids on the territory of the Arzamas district, and in the 1580s. - Alatyr servicemen. In the 16th century the Tatar nobility, who were in the service of the Moscow sovereign, were part of the local cavalry of 10 thousand - out of 70 thousand. During Livonian War(1558-1583) the number of serving Tatars in the army of 33.4 thousand people was 5854 soldiers. Detachments of Tatar muzras also took part in the 2nd militia, which set off to liberate Moscow in 1612. In 1613, a royal decree was issued on recruiting Tatars for military service, and in 1615 the number of Tatar horsemen sent to the war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was 6019. Tatars participated in wars with the Poles in 1617, 1632-1634, 1647-1667 and 1673, against the Turks and Crimeans - in 1677-1679, 1689, against the Swedes - in Northern War(1700-1721). At the beginning of the 18th century. service Tatars were transferred to the class of single-dvortsev - mainly small landowners serving for the possession of land in the border territory. In 1722, Peter I (1682-1725) extended conscription to the Tatars. At the same time, it was decided to call up 10-12 year old boys to serve as officers' orderlies. Tatars (horsemen, foot and oarsmen) took part in the Persian campaign of Peter I in 1722-1723. Tatar soldiers also took part in the Patriotic War of 1812 (2 out of 4 cavalry regiments took part in the fighting), in the Caucasian War, which lasted from 1817 to 1864, in the Crimean War (1853-1856). During the First World War, about 1.5 million Tatars and Bashkirs were drafted into the Russian army.

XVIII-early XX century: the formation of the Tatar nation. From the 18th to the middle of the 19th century. - the stage of the “Muslim” nation, at which religion was the unifying factor. From the middle of the 19th century. before 1905 - the stage of an “ethnocultural” nation. Since the 1860s The educational system, book publishing and periodicals in the Tatar language completed the establishment in the self-consciousness of all the main ethnic groups of the Tatars of the idea of ​​belonging to a single nation. In the 2nd half of the 19th century. modern Tatar begins to form literary language, by the 1910s. it completely replaces Old Tatar.

1905-1990: the stage of a “political” nation with its own public education. The first manifestation was the demands for cultural-national autonomy expressed by the intelligentsia during the revolution of 1905-1907. On March 22, 1918, a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR proclaimed the autonomous Tatar-Bashkir Soviet Republic, which, however, was not organized due to the outbreak of the Civil War and in connection with the creation of a separate Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on March 23, 1919. On May 27, 1920, a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR was signed on the formation of the Tatar Soviet Republic as part of the RSFSR, renamed on December 30, 1922, upon the formation of the USSR, into the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. After the mid-1920s. In the republic, the remnants of ethnic class identity are disappearing. A “Soviet socialist” Tatar nation is being formed. Since August 30, 1990, the republic has been officially called the Republic of Tatarstan.

1942-1945: formation of the Volga-Tatar legion "Idel-Ural" numbering 12.5 thousand, the combat group "Idel-Ural" of the Eastern Turkic SS unit, 15 economic, sapper, railway and road units from the Tatars and other peoples of the Volga region captured by the Germans -construction company Total - ok. 40 thousand people. Organizationally, the unit was subordinate to the command of the eastern legions (Kommando der Ostlegionen in German).

Astrakhan Tatars

Astrakhan Tatars (Asterkhan Tatarlary Tatars.) - an ethno-territorial group of Tatars - descendants of the Turkic-speaking population of the Golden Horde, speaking their own dialect of the Tatar language.

1456-1556: the period of formation of the people during the existence of the Astrakhan Khanate with its capital in Khadzhi-Tarkhan, 12 km from Astrakhan, which became completely independent in 1502, when the Great Horde ceased to exist. In 1554, the Khan had 500 Murzas and 10 thousand “black people” who led a semi-nomadic lifestyle. On June 2, 1556, a Russian detachment entered the capital, which it had left most of population together with the last khan Dervish-Ali (1554-1556), having fled to Azov under the protection of the Turks.

XVIII-XX centuries: formation of a mixed population in the Astrakhan province (existed from 1717). The northern regions were developed by the Russian and Ukrainian population. The first groups of representatives of the peoples of the Middle Volga region began to arrive in the Lower Volga: Chuvash, Mordovians, Kazan Tatars. The semi-nomadic suburban Yurt Nogais settled, and the Yedisan (Kilinchin) Nogais settled down. The languages ​​of the Yurt Tatars and Karagash were strongly influenced by the Nogai language. Kalmyks and Kazakhs roamed the region. In the 18th century ethnic interaction and mixing of Astrakhan and Volga-Ural Tatars intensified. At the end of the 18th century. the share of the latter in the Astrakhan province was 13.2%, and at the beginning of the 20th century. exceeded 1/3 of the total Tatar population.

According to the Russian census in 2002, there were only 2,003 Astrakhan Tatars (Alabugat and Yurt Tatars).

Kasimov Tatars

1452-1681: existence of the appanage Kasimov Khanate. In 1452, Grand Duke Vasily II the Dark (1425-1462) granted Nizova Gorodets for his service to the Tatar prince Kasim (1562-1569), who fled to Russia from Kazan. Thus, a buffer state with the Kazan Khanate was formed on Ryazan land. In 1471, in honor of Kasim, the city received its modern name. In 1575, for an unclear reason, the Kasimov Khan Sain-Bulat (1567-1573), who was baptized in 1573 under the name of Simeon, was made by Tsar Ivan the Terrible for 11 months in his stead as “Tsar and Grand Duke of All Rus'”, crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin . He is known in documents as Tsar Simeon Bekbulatovich (1575-1576). Then the former tsar took possession of the Tver principality. In 1681 the Kasimov Khanate was abolished.

Now the Kasimov Tatars (self-name: kechim tatarlars, kechim halky) number only approx. 1.1 thousand people.

Polish-Lithuanian Tatars

Polish-Lithuanian Tatars (Polish Tatars, Belarusian Tatars, Lipkowie Polish, Lipcani or Muslimi Lat.) - descendants of the Crimean and Nogai Tatars living in the territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: in North-Eastern Poland (447 people in 2002), Belarus (10.1 thousand according to the 1999 census), Lithuania (3.2 thousand, 2001), South-Eastern Latvia (3 thousand Tatars). In total, there are 10-15 thousand Polish-Lithuanian Tatars in the world. Tatars are usually bilingual, also speaking the language of the state in which they live. They use the Latin or Cyrillic alphabet depending on the country of residence. By religion - Sunni Muslims. This Tatar subethnic group has its own ethnonym - “lipki” (singular Lipka in Polish), formed from the Crimean Tatar name of Lithuania Libka / Lipka, from which the Polish derivative Lipka was formed. The Lithuanian Tatars, thus, began to call themselves “lipki”, using the term of the Crimeans (lupkalar, lupka tatarlar Turkish).

1397-1775: in 1397, a mass of captive Crimean Tatars was settled by the Lithuanian prince Vytautas (1492-1430) in the vicinity of Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas, Minsk (in the future Tatar settlement) and Grodno. Even deprived of power in the Golden Horde, Tokhtamysh (1381-1395) with numerous accompanying people found shelter in Lithuania with Vytautas in 1398-1399. The Lithuanian prince Svidrigailo (1430-1432) collected 3,000 Tatars and Nogais to serve in his army. In particular, the Tatars fought in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, and in the campaign against Vienna in 1683. The number of Tatars in Lithuania increased due to prisoners and fugitives from the Golden Horde and the Crimean Khanate, which lasted until the beginning of the 16th century. Tatars married local women. In the 16th century Some of the Tatars, especially the nobility, had already switched to the Polish language, then the middle and lower strata began to speak Belarusian, using, however, the Arabic alphabet for writing (until the 1930s). Islam remained an ethno-determining factor. According to the anonymous work "Risale-yi Tatar-i Leh", written in 1557-1558 for Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566), there were 100 Tatar settlements with mosques. Until the middle of the 16th century. the Tatar nobility had equal rights with the Lithuanian gentry, and the Tatars became a service class with land exempt from taxes and freedom of religion. In 1775 the Sejm confirmed the privilege of the Tatars. The Tatars served in the light cavalry, which later, in mid-18th century century, received the Polish name ulans: ulan from the Tatar “oglan” - “well done” - a term that originally denoted young representatives of the Tatar nobility. To be more precise, the name “ulans” comes from the name of Colonel Alexander Ulan (Aleksander Ulan), a representative of the Tatar nobility, whose light cavalry detachment served the Saxon kufiurstras and the Polish kings Augustus II the Strong (1697-1704, 1709-1733) and Augustus III (1734-1764). The regiment especially distinguished itself in the Polish civil war of 1715-1716, for which it was transferred to serve in the Saxon army in 1717. After the death of Alexander (previously 1740), his regiment received the nickname "Ulan's Children" (Ulanowe dzieci Polish) or "Ulan's Army" ( Ulanowe wojsko Polish), hence the name “ulans”. Already during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), all Tatar regiments of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to be called “Ulans”. In the 18th century in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth there were 5 regular regiments of Tatar lancers, who, however, had a Polish military organization.

1438-1494: existence in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the vassal possession (tumen) of Jaholdajewszczyzna (Jaholdajewszczyzna, Ksiestwo Jaholdajowe, Jaholdajowa tjma Polish). The inheritance was founded by Vytautas between 1428 and 1438 for Tsarevich Yagoldai Saraevich (Cagalday Tatar), who left Ulu Muhammad, Khan of the Golden Horde in 1424-1428, on the territory of the modern Kursk region of Russia - then bordering Lithuania with the Tatars. Then this territory again became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was divided between the Kyiv boyars, and in 1500 it was already within the borders of the Muscovite kingdom. In addition to the Yagoldaev inheritance, there were 2 more Tatar fiefs in Left Bank Ukraine, called Kursk and Chernigov darkness in Russian sources.

1672: uprising of Tatar squadrons (choragwie Polish) in Podolia, which then belonged to Poland, with a total number of 2-3 thousand soldiers. In 1667, the Sejm adopted laws limiting religious freedom and military privileges of the Tatars. During the invasion of Turkish troops into Podolia, the Tatars joined the Turks. In 1679, the Sejm restored the privileges of the Tatars, which served as a reason for them to return to the service of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. King Jan III Sobieski (1674-1696) distributed estates with an area of ​​0.5-7.5 sq. km in the crown lands near Brest, Kobrin and Grodno to the Tatars in accordance with their military rank. The last Tatar troops returned to Poland in 1691

XVIII-XIX centuries: after the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between Prussia, Austria and Russia in 1772-1795, the Tatars found themselves on the territory of different states. The Tatar nobility here continued to perform military service. In 1797, the Lithuanian-Tatar Cavalry Regiment was created in the Russian Empire (1,168 combatants and non-combatants in the state), which in 1803 was divided into 2 regiments: Lithuanians and Poles began to serve in the Lithuanian Cavalry Regiment, and Tatars - in the Tatar Cavalry Regiment. In 1812 in Vilna, Napoleon I (1804-1814/1815) recruited a squadron of Lithuanian Tatar volunteers from a squadron led by Mustafa Murza Akhmatovich, appointed major of the 1st squadron of the Tatar cavalry of the French Guard. At the beginning of 1813, the surviving cavalrymen were assigned to the light cavalry of the guard. In this era, Polonization of the upper and middle layer of Tatars took place, who adopted the Polish language and customs, while the lower layer of Tatar society adopted the Belarusian or Ukrainian languages, but the Muslim religion remained, being an ethnic-determining factor.

1919-1939: after the restoration of Polish statehood in 1918, the Tatars again began to serve in the Polish army. In 1919, the Tatar Cavalry Regiment named after (Colonel) Mutsafa Akhmatovich was created from the Tatars (Pulk Jazdy Tatarskiej im. Mustafy Achmatowicza in Polish), renamed on February 3, 1920 into the Tatar Ulan Regiment (Tatarski Pulk Ulanow imienia Mustafy Achmatowicza in Polish). , which had a bunchuk instead of a regimental banner. The regiment was disbanded on September 10, 1920, and a significant number of cavalrymen transferred to the 13th Regiment of Vilna Uhlans (13 Pulk Ulanow Wilenskich in Polish), the 1st company of which was called “Tatar” until 1936.

1944-1951: “Population exchange” between the USSR and Poland, during which approx. 3 thousand Tatars moved from the territories ceded to the USSR in 1939 back to Poland, on whose territory only 2 Tatar villages remained: Bohoniki and Kruszyniany.

Siberian Tatars

Siberian Tatars (Seber Tatarlary Tatars, self-name - Sybyrtar), live west of the Ob in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, mainly in rural areas of the Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Tomsk regions. Siberian Tatars consist of 3 ethnographic groups: Tobol-Irtysh, Baraba and Tomsk Tatars, differing in dialect and cultural characteristics. The main occupations are cattle breeding and arable farming for the Tobolsk and Tyumen Tatars, known even before the arrival of the Russians in the region; among the Barabans - fishing. According to the 2002 population census, there were 9.6 thousand Siberian Tatars.

XIII-XVI centuries: ethnogenesis of the Turkic-Tatar population Western Siberia- the era of “pre-national development” of the Siberian Tatars (according to Tatar scholar D.M. Iskhakov). The main core of the Siberian Tatars came from among the Kipchak nomads, who in the process of ethnogenesis interacted with the Ugric and Samoyed peoples. Despite the division of society into a mass of ethno-geographical groups-tribes, already in the 2nd half of the 16th century. Siberian Muslims are already referred to in Russian sources by a single name (“Tatar”, “Busorman”, “Siberian people”), which indicates the formation of an ethnic community.

1468-1582: the existence of the Tyumen Khanate, independent from the Golden Horde, and from 1495 - the Siberian Khanate. There was an ethno-social stratification of society: the service Tatars, representing the Golden Horde nobility, were the highest stratum of society who lived in towns (the latter numbering about 70), while the rest of the Tatars were simple “black people” paying tribute and supplying soldiers. In 1582-1598, the Khanate was conquered by the Cossacks, who were led by Ermak (between 1532 and 1542-1585) until his death on August 6, 1585.

XV-XX centuries: resettlement of Uzbeks and Tajiks to Siberia, who settled in cities under the general name of Bukharians (Sarts). Also, Kazan Tatars settled in Siberia, in particular, refugees due to the unrest in Kazan and after the capture of Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible. The Nogais constantly clashed with the Siberians, supplying the last Khan Kuchum (1563-1598) with guards. All of them were basically assimilated by the Siberian Tatars by the middle of the 19th century, influencing the culture of the Siberians. At the end of the period, the Siberian Tatars were already fully aware of themselves as a separate ethnic group, which was consolidated already in the Soviet period with the introduction of the “nationality” clause in the general civil passport.

Kryashens

Kryashens (from Russian “baptized Tatars”, ker?shen Tatarlar Tatars) are an ethno-confessional group of Tatars who profess Orthodoxy and live mainly in Tatarstan. The process of Christianization of the Volga Tatars in the 2nd half of the 16th-17th centuries had a decisive influence on the ethnogenesis of the Kryashens. (“old-baptized Tatars”) and in the 1st half of the 18th century. ("newly baptized Tatars"). Five ethnographic groups of Kryashens were formed: Kazan-Tatar, Elabuga, Molkeev, Chistopol, Nagaybak (the latter was identified as a separate nationality in 2000). According to the 1926 USSR census, the Kryashen numbered 101.4 thousand people, and in 2002 - only 24.6 thousand.

Nagaibaki

Since the 18th century The Orenburg Cossack army consisted of Nagaibaks (Nagaib?kl?r Tatars) - a class of baptized Tatars who lived in individual settlements and in Cossack villages. At the end of the 18th century. Nagaibaks lived in the Verkhneuralsky district - in the Nagaibak fortress (near the modern village of Nagaibaksky in the Chelyabinsk region) and in 13 other settlements. Now Nagaibaks live in the Chelyabinsk region. According to the 2002 population census, there were 9.6 thousand Nagaybaks, most of whom lived in the Chelyabinsk region (9.1 thousand). Back in 1926, they considered themselves a separate people and retained national identity (11.2 thousand); In Soviet times, Nagaibaks were considered part of the Tatar people, however, by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 255 of March 24, 2000 “On a unified list of indigenous small peoples RF" Nagaibaks are again registered as a separate ethnic group.

Mishari

Mishari (Misher Tat.) - an ethnographic group of Tatars, speaking the Western dialect of the Tatar language, living in the territory of Bashkiria. The name probably goes back to the Finno-Ugric tribe Meshchera, part of which became Russified, and the other became Tatar. After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the land of the Mishars did not become part of the Kazan Khanate, but from 1493 became part of the Russian state. Back in 1784, the Murza Mishars were equal in their rights to the Russian nobility. In general, the name “Mishari”-Meshchera denoted the service class of the Bashkir-Meshcheryak army, created in 1798 on the basis of Tatar servicemen resettled to Bashkiria from the Penza and Simbirsk provinces. The Bashkir-Meshcheryak army is an irregular military formation, settled like Cossack troops on the territory of the Orenburg, Samara and Vyatka provinces. Geographically, the army was divided into 16 cantons, 5 of which were Mishar. Those liable for military service were men aged 20-50 years, serving from 4-5 households in turn. Mishari took part in campaigns and carried out border service along the Ural River. In the Patriotic War of 1812, 2 cavalry regiments were formed from Mishars, the 1st regiment carried out garrison service in Moscow in 1812-1814, and the 2nd regiment reached Paris. In 1847, a 30-year service life was established. According to the “Regulations on the Bashkirs” of May 14, 1863, the Bashkirs, Mishars, Teptyars and Bobyls received the rights of free rural residents, and on July 2, 1865, the canton system was abolished. During the 1926 census, 242 thousand people classified themselves as Mishars. Now the ethnonym Mishar is preserved only as a self-name of the 2nd level after the general ethnonym “Tatars”.

Teptyari

1631-1926: Teptyars (tipter tat.) - an ethnic class group in Bashkiria that paid yasak, mentioned in Russian sources since 1631. In 1734, a census of Tepyars and bobyls was carried out, they were divided into teams controlled by elders, centurions, foremen, and submitted to the Ufa and the Menzelinsky voivode and the Orenburg Commission. By the nature of their duties, the Teptyars occupied a transitional place between the military service classes (Bashkirs, Mishars, Cossacks) and state peasants. In 1790, the Teptyars were transferred to the category of military service class, and the Teptyar Regiment was formed from them, later the 2nd. During the Patriotic War of 1812, the 1st Teptyar Regiment was part of the separate Cossack corps of Ataman M.I. Platov (1853-1818). Since 1855, the Teptyars were annexed to the Bashkir army and included in the canton system of the Bashkir-Meshcheryak army. With the abolition of the Bashkir army in 1865, the Teptya class also disappeared. In 1926, during the USSR census, 27.3 thousand Teptyars were registered, who later became part of the Tatar and, to a lesser extent, the Bashkir people.

People in the Russian Federation. The number in the Russian Federation is 5,522,096 people. The colloquial Tatar language of the Kipchak group of the Turkic language is divided into three dialects.

The Tatars are the most numerous Turkic people in Russia. They live in the Republic of Tatarstan, as well as in Bashkortostan, the Udmurt Republic and the adjacent regions of the Urals and Volga region. There are large Tatar communities in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other large cities. And in general, in all regions of Russia you can meet Tatars who have been living outside their homeland, the Volga region, for decades. They have settled down in a new place, fit into their new environment, feel great there and don’t want to leave.

There are several peoples in Russia who call themselves Tatars. Astrakhan Tatars live near Astrakhan, Siberian Tatars live in Western Siberia, Kasimov Tatars live near the city of Kasimov on the Oka River (in the territory where serving Tatar princes lived several centuries ago). And finally, the Kazan Tatars are named after the capital of Tatarstan - the city of Kazan. These are all different, although close to each other, peoples. However, only those from Kazan should simply be called Tatars.

Among the Tatars there are two ethnographic groups- Mishar Tatars and Kryashen Tatars. The former are known for the fact that, being Muslims, they do not celebrate the national holiday Sabantuy, but they celebrate Red Egg Day - something similar to Orthodox Easter. On this day, children collect colored eggs from home and play with them. The Kryashens (“baptized”) are so called because they were baptized, that is, they accepted Christianity, and they celebrate Christian, rather than Muslim, holidays.

The Tatars themselves began to call themselves that quite late - only in the middle of the 19th century. For a very long time they did not like this name and considered it humiliating. Until the 19th century they were called differently: “Bulgarly” (Bulgars), “Kazanli” (Kazan), “Meselman” (Muslims). And now many are demanding the return of the name “Bulgar”.

The Turks came to the regions of the Middle Volga and Kama region from the steppes of Central Asia and the North Caucasus, pressed by tribes that were moving from Asia to Europe. The resettlement continued for several centuries. At the end of the 9th-10th centuries. A prosperous state, Volga Bulgaria, arose in the Middle Volga. The people who lived in this state were called Bulgars. Volga Bulgaria existed for two and a half centuries. Agriculture and cattle breeding, crafts developed here, and trade took place with Russia and with the countries of Europe and Asia.

The high level of Bulgar culture in that period is evidenced by the existence of two types of writing - the ancient Turkic runic and the later Arabic, which came along with Islam in the 10th century. The Arabic language and writing gradually replaced the signs of the ancient Turkic script from the sphere of state circulation. And this is natural: Arabic was used by the entire Muslim East, with which Bulgaria had close political and economic contacts.

The names of remarkable poets, philosophers, and scientists of Bulgaria, whose works are included in the treasury of the peoples of the East, have survived to our time. This is Khoja Ahmed Bulgari (11th century) - scientist and theologian, expert on the moral precepts of Islam; Suleiman ibn Daoud al-Saksini-Suvari (XII century) - author of philosophical treatises with very poetic names: “The light of rays is the truth of secrets”, “A flower of the garden that brings joy to sick souls.” And the poet Kul Gali (XII-XIII centuries) wrote “The Poem about Yusuf,” which is considered a classic Turkic-language work of art of the pre-Mongol period.

In the middle of the 13th century. Volga Bulgaria was conquered by the Tatar-Mongols and became part of the Golden Horde. After the fall of the Horde in the 15th century. A new state emerges in the Middle Volga region - the Kazan Khanate. The main backbone of its population is formed by the same Bulgars, who by that time had already experienced the strong influence of their neighbors - the Finno-Ugric peoples (Mordovians, Mari, Udmurts) who lived next to them in the Volga basin, as well as the Mongols, who made up the majority of the ruling class Golden Horde.

Where did the name “Tatars” come from? There are several versions on this matter. According to the most common one, one of the Central Asian tribes conquered by the Mongols was called “Tatan”, “Tatabi”. In Rus', this word turned into “Tatars”, and everyone began to be called by it: both the Mongols and the Turkic population of the Golden Horde, subject to the Mongols, which was far from being monoethnic in composition. With the collapse of the Horde, the word “Tatars” did not disappear; they continued to collectively refer to the Turkic-speaking peoples on the southern and eastern borders of Rus'. Over time, its meaning narrowed to the name of one people living on the territory of the Kazan Khanate.

The Khanate was conquered by Russian troops in 1552. Since then, the Tatar lands have been part of Russia, and the history of the Tatars has developed in close cooperation with the peoples inhabiting the Russian state.

Tatars succeeded in different types economic activity. They were excellent farmers (they grew rye, barley, millet, peas, and lentils) and excellent cattle breeders. Of all types of livestock, special preference was given to sheep and horses.

The Tatars were famous as excellent artisans. Coopers made barrels for fish, caviar, pickles, pickles, and beer. Tanners made leather. Particularly prized at the fairs were Kazan morocco and Bulgarian yuft (original locally produced leather), shoes and boots, very soft to the touch, decorated with appliquéd pieces of multi-colored leather. Among the Kazan Tatars there were many enterprising and successful merchants who traded throughout Russia.

In Tatar cuisine, one can distinguish “agricultural” dishes and “cattle breeding” dishes. The first include soups with pieces of dough, porridge, pancakes, flatbreads, i.e., what can be prepared from grain and flour. The second includes dried horse meat sausage, sour cream, different types of cheese, a special type sour milk- katyk. And if katyk is diluted with water and cooled, you will get a wonderful thirst-quenching drink - ayran. Well, belyashi - round pies fried in oil with meat or vegetable filling, which can be seen through a hole in the dough - are known to everyone. Smoked goose was considered a festive dish among the Tatars.

Already at the beginning of the 10th century. the ancestors of the Tatars converted to Islam, and since then their culture has developed within the framework of the Islamic world. This was facilitated by the spread of writing based on Arabic script and the construction large quantity mosques. Schools were created at the mosques - mektebs and madrassas, where children (and not only from noble families) learned to read the Koran in Arabic.

Ten centuries of written tradition were not in vain. Among the Kazan Tatars, compared to other Turkic peoples of Russia, there are many writers, poets, composers, and artists. Often it was the Tatars who were mullahs and teachers of other Turkic peoples. The Tatars have a highly developed sense of national identity, pride in their history and culture.

Each nation has its own distinctive features, which make it possible to determine a person’s nationality almost without error. It is worth noting that Asian peoples are very similar to each other, since they are all descendants of the Mongoloid race. How can you identify a Tatar? How do Tatars look different?

Uniqueness

Without a doubt, every person is unique, regardless of nationality. And yet there are certain common features that unite representatives of a race or nationality. Tatars are usually classified as members of the so-called Altai family. This is a Turkic group. The ancestors of the Tatars were known as farmers. Unlike other representatives of the Mongoloid race, Tatars do not have pronounced appearance features.

The appearance of the Tatars and the changes that are now manifested in them are largely caused by assimilation with the Slavic peoples. Indeed, among the Tatars they sometimes find fair-haired, sometimes even red-haired representatives. This, for example, cannot be said about the Uzbeks, Mongols or Tajiks. Do Tatar eyes have any special characteristics? They do not necessarily have narrow eyes and dark skin. Are there any common features of the appearance of Tatars?

Description of the Tatars: a little history

The Tatars are among the most ancient and populous ethnic groups. In the Middle Ages, mentions of them excited everyone around: in the east from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic coast. A variety of scientists included references to this people in their works. The mood of these notes was clearly polar: some wrote with rapture and admiration, while other scientists showed fear. But one thing united everyone - no one remained indifferent. It is quite obvious that it was the Tatars who had a huge influence on the course of development of Eurasia. They managed to create a distinctive civilization that influenced a variety of cultures.

The history of the Tatar people has had both ups and downs. Periods of peace alternated with brutal times of bloodshed. The ancestors of modern Tatars took part in the creation of several strong states. Despite all the vicissitudes of fate, they managed to preserve both their people and their identity.

Ethnic groups

Thanks to the works of anthropologists, it became known that the ancestors of the Tatars were not only representatives of the Mongoloid race, but also Europeans. It was this factor that determined the diversity in appearance. Moreover, the Tatars themselves are usually divided into groups: Crimean, Ural, Volga-Siberian, South Kama. The Volga-Siberian Tatars, whose facial features have the greatest characteristics of the Mongoloid race, are distinguished by the following characteristics: dark hair, pronounced cheekbones, brown eyes, wide nose, fold above the upper eyelid. Representatives of this type are few in number.

The face of the Volga Tatars is oblong, the cheekbones are not too pronounced. The eyes are large and gray (or brown). Nose with a hump, oriental type. The physique is correct. In general, the men of this group are quite tall and hardy. Their skin is not dark. This is the appearance of the Tatars from the Volga region.

Kazan Tatars: appearance and customs

The appearance of the Kazan Tatars is described as follows: a strongly built, strong man. The Mongols have a wide oval face and a slightly narrowed eye shape. The neck is short and strong. Men rarely wear a thick beard. Such features are explained by the fusion of Tatar blood with various Finnish nationalities.

The marriage ceremony is not like a religious event. From religiosity - only reading the first chapter of the Koran and a special prayer. After marriage, a young girl does not immediately move into her husband’s house: she will live with her family for another year. It is curious that her newly-made husband comes to her as a guest. Tatar girls are ready to wait for their lover.

Only a few have two wives. And in cases where this happens, there are reasons: for example, when the first one is already old, and the second one, younger, now runs the household.

The most common Tatars are of the European type - owners of light brown hair and light eyes. The nose is narrow, aquiline or hump-shaped. Height is short - women are about 165 cm.

Peculiarities

Some features were noticed in the character of a Tatar man: hard work, cleanliness and hospitality border on stubbornness, pride and indifference. Respect for elders is what especially distinguishes the Tatars. It was noted that representatives of this people tend to be guided by reason, adapt to the situation, and are law-abiding. In general, the synthesis of all these qualities, especially hard work and perseverance, makes a Tatar man very purposeful. Such people are able to achieve success in their careers. They finish their work and have a habit of getting their way.

A purebred Tatar strives to acquire new knowledge, showing enviable perseverance and responsibility. Crimean Tatars have a special indifference and calmness in stressful situations. Tatars are very curious and talkative, but during work they remain stubbornly silent, apparently so as not to lose concentration.

One of the characteristic features is self-esteem. It manifests itself in the fact that the Tatar considers himself special. As a result, there is a certain arrogance and even arrogance.

Cleanliness sets Tatars apart. They do not tolerate disorder and dirt in their homes. Moreover, this does not depend on financial capabilities - both rich and poor Tatars zealously monitor cleanliness.

My home is your home

Tatars are very hospitable people. We are ready to host a person, regardless of his status, faith or nationality. Even with modest incomes, they show warm hospitality, ready to share a modest dinner with a guest.

Tatar women are distinguished by their great curiosity. They are attracted by beautiful clothes, they watch with interest people of other nationalities, and follow fashion. Tatar women are very attached to their home and devote themselves to raising children.

Tatar women

What an amazing creature - a Tatar woman! In her heart lies immeasurable, deepest love for her loved ones, for her children. Its purpose is to bring peace to people, to serve as a model of peacefulness and morality. A Tatar woman is distinguished by a sense of harmony and special musicality. She radiates a certain spirituality and nobility of soul. The inner world of a Tatar woman is full of riches!

Tatar girls with youth aimed at a strong, long-lasting marriage. After all, they want to love their husband and raise future children behind solid walls of reliability and trust. No wonder the Tatar proverb says: “A woman without a husband is like a horse without a bridle!” Her husband’s word is law for her. Although witty Tatar women complement - for any law, however, there is an amendment! And yet these are devoted women who sacredly honor traditions and customs. However, don’t expect to see a Tatar woman in a black burqa - this is a stylish lady who has a sense of self-esteem.

The appearance of the Tatars is very well-groomed. Fashionistas have stylized items in their wardrobe that highlight their nationality. For example, there are shoes that imitate chitek - national leather boots worn by Tatar girls. Another example is appliques, where patterns convey the stunning beauty of the earth's flora.

What's on the table?

A Tatar woman is a wonderful hostess, loving and hospitable. By the way, a little about the kitchen. The national cuisine of the Tatars is quite predictable in that the basis of the main dishes is often dough and fat. Even a lot of dough, a lot of fat! Of course, this is far from the healthiest diet, although guests are usually offered exotic dishes: kazylyk (or dried horse meat), gubadia (a layer cake with a wide variety of fillings, from cottage cheese to meat), talkysh-kalev (an incredibly high-calorie dessert from flour, butter and honey). You can wash down all this rich treat with ayran (a mixture of katyk and water) or traditional tea.

Like Tatar men, women are distinguished by their determination and perseverance in achieving their goals. Overcoming difficulties, they show ingenuity and resourcefulness. All this is complemented by great modesty, generosity and kindness. Truly, a Tatar woman is a wonderful gift from above!

Tatars - titular people Republic of Tatarstan, which is included in the Russian Federation. This is a Turkic ethnic group with many subethnic groups. Due to the widespread settlement in the regions of Russia and neighboring countries, they influenced their ethnogenesis, assimilating with the local population. Within the ethnic group there are several anthropological types of Tatars. Tatar culture is filled with unusual things for Russians national traditions.

Where live

Approximately half (53% of the total) Tatars live in the Republic of Tatarstan. Others are settled throughout the rest of Russia. Representatives of the people live in the regions of Central Asia, the Far East, the Volga region, and Siberia. According to territorial and ethnic characteristics, the people are divided into 3 large groups:

1. Siberian
2. Astrakhan
3. Living in the Middle Volga region, the Urals.

IN last group includes: Kazan Tatars, Mishars, Teptyars, Kryashens. Other subenos include:

1. Kasimov Tatars
2. Perm Tatars
3. Polish-Lithuanian Tatars
4. Chepetsk Tatars
5. Nagaibaki

Number

There are 8,000,000 Tatars in the world. Of these, about 5.5 million live in Russia and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. This is the second largest population after citizens of Russian nationality. At the same time, there are 2,000,000 people in Tatarstan, 1,000,000 in Bashkortostan. A small number moved to regions neighboring Russia:

• Uzbekistan - 320,000;
• Kazakhstan - 200,000;
• Ukraine - 73,000;
• Kyrgyzstan - 45,000.

A small number live in Romania, Turkey, Canada, USA, Poland.

Kazan - the capital of Tatarstan

Language

The state language of Tatarstan is Tatar. It belongs to the Volga-Kypchak subgroup of the Turkic branch of the Altai languages. Representatives of subethnic groups speak their own dialects. The closest are the speech features of the peoples of the Volga region and Siberia. Currently, Tatar writing is based on the Cyrillic alphabet. Before this, the Latin alphabet was used, and in the Middle Ages the basis of writing was Arabic characters.

Religion

The vast majority of Tatars are Muslims professing Sunni Islam. There are also Orthodox Christians. A small part considers themselves atheists.

Name

The self-name of the nation is Tatarlar. There is no clear version of the origin of the term “Tatars”. There are several versions of the etymology of this word. The main ones:

1. Root tat, meaning "to experience", plus the suffix ar- “gaining experience, advisor.”
2. Derivative of tattoos- “peaceful, ally.”
3. In some dialects tat means "foreigner".
4. The Mongolian word Tatars means "poor speaker".

According to the last two versions, these words were used to call the Tatars by other tribes who did not understand their language, for whom they were foreigners.

Story

The first evidence of the existence of Tatar tribes was found in Turkic chronicles. Chinese sources also mention the Tatars as people who lived along the banks of the Amur. They date back to the 8th-10th centuries. Historians believe that the ancestors of modern Tatars were formed with the participation of Khazar and Polovian nomads and tribes that inhabited Volga Bulgaria. They united into one community with their own culture, writing, and language. In the 13th century it was created Golden Horde- a powerful state that was divided into classes, aristocracy, and clergy. By the 15th century it had broken up into separate khanates, which gave rise to the formation of sub-ethnic groups. At a later time, mass migration of Tatars began across the territory of the Russian state.
As a result of genetic studies, it turned out that different Tatar subethnic groups did not have common ancestors. There is also a large diversity of genome within subgroups, from which we can conclude that many peoples influenced their creation. Some ethnic groups have a large percentage of the genome of Caucasian nationalities, while Asian ones are almost absent.

Appearance

Tatars of different ethnic groups have different appearance. This is due to the large genetic diversity of types. In total, 4 types of representatives of the people were identified based on anthropological characteristics. This:

1. Pontic
2. Sublaponoid
3. Mongoloid
4. Light European

Depending on the anthropological type, people of Tatar nationality have light or dark skin, hair and eyes. Representatives of the Siberian ethnic group are most similar to Asians. They have a wide, flat face, a narrow eye shape, a wide nose, and an upper eyelid with a fold. The skin is dark, the hair is coarse, black, the color of the iris is dark. They are short and squat.

Volga Tatars have an oval face and fair skin. They are distinguished by the presence of a hump on the nose, apparently inherited from Caucasian peoples. The eyes are large, gray or brown. Tall men with good physique. There are blue-eyed and fair-haired representatives of this group. Kazan Tatars have medium-dark skin, brown eyes, and dark hair. They have regular facial features, a straight nose, and clearly defined cheekbones.

Life

The main occupations of the Tatar tribes were:

• arable farming;
• pasture-stall livestock farming;
• horticulture.

Hemp, barley, lentils, wheat, oats, and rye were grown in the fields. Agriculture was of a three-field type. Cattle breeding was expressed in the breeding of sheep, goats, bulls, and horses. This occupation made it possible to obtain meat, milk, wool, and skins for sewing clothes. Horses and oxen were used as draft animals and for transportation. Root crops and melons were also grown. Beekeeping was developed. Hunting was carried out by individual tribes, mainly living in the Urals. Fishing was common among the ethnic groups inhabiting the banks of the Volga and Ural. Among the crafts, the following activities have become widespread:

• jewelry production;
• furriery;
• felting craft;
• weaving;
• leather production.

National Tatar ornament characterized by the presence of floral and plant patterns. This shows the people’s closeness to nature, the ability to see beauty in the world around them. The women knew how to weave and made their own everyday and festive costumes. Details of clothing were decorated with patterns in the form of flowers and plants. In the 19th century, embroidery with gold threads became popular. Shoes and wardrobe items were made from leather. Leather products were popular different shades, sewn together.

Until the 20th century, tribes had tribal relations. There was a division between the male half of the population and the female half. The girls were isolated from young people; they did not communicate until the wedding. A man had a higher status than a woman. Remnants of such relations persist in Tatar villages to this day.

All Tatar families are deeply patriarchal. Everything the father says is fulfilled unquestioningly. Children revere their mother, but the wife has virtually no say. Boys are brought up in permissiveness, since they are the successors of the family. From childhood, girls are taught decency, modesty, and submission to men. Young girls know how to run a household and help their mother around the house.
Marriages were concluded by agreement between parents. The young people's consent was not asked. The groom's relatives were obliged to pay the bride price - ransom. Most wedding ceremonies and feasts took place without the presence of the bride and groom; numerous relatives took part in them. The girl got to her husband only after paying the dowry. If the groom arranged for the bride to be kidnapped, the family was freed from the ransom.

Housing

Tatar tribes located their settlements along the banks of rivers, near major roads. The villages were built chaotically, without an orderly layout. The villages were characterized by winding streets, sometimes leading to dead ends. A solid fence was erected on the street side, outbuildings were built in the courtyard, placing them in a group or in the shape of the letter P. The administration, mosque, and trading shops were located in the center of the settlement.

Tatar houses were log buildings. Sometimes the dwelling was made of stone, less often it was made of adobe. The roof was covered with straw, shingles, and boards. The house had two or three rooms, including a vestibule. Rich families could afford two- and three-story dwellings. Inside, the house was divided into female and male halves. They made stoves in the houses, similar to the Russian ones. They were located next to the entrance. The inside of the home was decorated with embroidered towels and tablecloths. The outside walls were painted with ornaments and trimmed with carvings.

Cloth

Tatar folk costume formed under the influence of Asian culture. Some elements were borrowed from the Caucasian peoples. The outfits of different ethnic groups vary slightly. The basis of a men's suit consists of such elements as:

1. Long shirt (kulmek).
2. Harem trousers.
3. Long sleeveless vest.
4. Wide belt.
5. Skullcap.
6. Ichigi.

The tunic was decorated at the top and bottom national ornament, it was belted with a wide, long piece of material with fringe at the ends. In addition to the shirt, loose pants were worn. Over the set they wore a sleeveless vest, the fronts of which were equipped with embroidery. Sometimes they wore a long robe (almost to the floor) made of cotton material. The head was covered with a skullcap, which was generously decorated with national ornaments. Some ethnic groups wore fezzes - Turkish headdresses. In cold weather, they wore a beshmet - a narrow-cut caftan down to the knees. In winter they wore sheepskin coats and fur hats. Ichigi served as shoes. These are light, comfortable boots made of soft leather without heels. Ichigi were decorated with colored leather inserts and ornaments.

The outfits of Tatar girls are very colorful and feminine. Initially, girls wore a costume similar to men's: a long (floor-length) tunic and wide pants. Ruffles were sewn to the bottom edge of the tunic. The upper part was embroidered with patterns. In modern outfits, the tunic has been transformed into a long dress with a narrow bodice and a flared hem. The dress emphasizes the female figure well, giving it a curvaceous shape. A vest is put on top of it middle length or waist length. It is richly decorated with embroidery. The head is covered with a cap like a fez, a turban or a kalfak.

Traditions

The Tatars are a nation with a dynamic temperament. They are very active and love dancing and music. Tatar culture has many holidays and customs. They celebrate almost all Muslim holidays, and they also have ancient rituals associated with natural phenomena. The main holidays are:

1. Sabantui.
2. Nardugan.
3. Nowruz.
4. Eid al-Fitr.
5. Eid al Adha.
6. Ramadan.

Ramadan is a holy holiday of spiritual purification. It is called by the name of the month of the Tatar calendar, the ninth in a row. There is strict fasting throughout the month; in addition, you need to pray fervently. This helps a person to cleanse himself of dirty thoughts and become closer to God. This strengthens faith in Allah. Eid al-Adha is celebrated to mark the end of fasting. On this day you can eat everything that Muslims cannot afford during fasting. The holiday is celebrated by the whole family, with the invitation of relatives. In rural areas, celebrations are held with dancing, singing, and fairs.

Kurban Bayram is a holiday of sacrifice, celebrated 70 days after Eid al-Adha. This is the main holiday among Muslims around the world and the most beloved. On this day, sacrifices are made to please Allah. Legend has it that the Almighty asked Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as a test. Ibrahim decided to fulfill the desire of Allah, showing the steadfastness of his faith. Therefore, God left his son alive, ordering him to slaughter a lamb instead. On this day, Muslims must sacrifice a sheep, ram or goat, keep some of the meat for themselves, and distribute the rest to those in need.

Sabantuy, the festival of the plow, is very significant for the Tatars. This is the day the spring field work ends. It is dedicated to work, harvest, and a healthy lifestyle. Sabantuy is celebrated cheerfully and on a grand scale. On this day, festivities, dances, and sports competitions begin. Competitions of singers and dancers are held. It is customary to invite guests and serve refreshments. Porridge, colored eggs, and buns are placed on the table.

Nardugan is an ancient pagan holiday of the winter solstice. It is celebrated at the end of December. Translated from Mongolian name holiday means "birth of the sun." There is a belief that with the beginning of the solstice, the forces of darkness lose their power. Young people dress up in costumes, masks and walk around the courtyards. On the day of the vernal equinox (March 21), Novruz is celebrated - the arrival of spring. According to the astronomical solar calendar, a new year is coming. Daylight overtakes night, the sun turns to summer.
Another interesting custom is that Tatars do not eat pork. This is explained by the laws of Islam. The point is that Allah knows what benefits his creatures, that is, people. He forbids eating pork because it is considered unclean. This lock is reflected in the Koran, the holy book for Muslims.

Names

Tatars call their children beautiful, sonorous names that have deep meaning. Popular male names are:

• Karim - generous;
• Kamil - perfect;
• Anwar - radiant;
• Arslan - lion;
• Dinar is precious.

Girls are called names that reveal natural qualities, symbolizing beauty and wisdom. Common female names:

• Venus is a star;
• Gulnara - decorated with flowers;
• Kamalia - perfect;
• Lucia - light;
• Ramilya - miraculous;
• Firyuza is radiant.

Food

The peoples of Asia, Siberia, and the Urals had a great influence on Tatar cuisine. The inclusion of their national dishes (pilaf, dumplings, baklava, chak-chak) diversified the Tatar diet and made it more diverse. The Tatar cuisine is rich in meat, vegetables, and seasonings. It contains a lot of various baked goods, confectionery, nuts, and dried fruits. In the Middle Ages, horse meat was widely consumed; later they began to add meat from chickens, turkeys, and geese. Beloved meat dish Tatars have lamb. Lots of fermented milk products: cottage cheese, ayran, sour cream. Dumplings and dumplings 1 are a fairly common food on the Tatar table. Dumplings are eaten with broth. Popular dishes of Tatar cuisine:

1. Shurpa is a fatty, thick soup based on lamb.
2. Belish is a baked pie made from unleavened dough, stuffed with meat and potatoes, rice or millet. This is the most ancient dish, it is served on the festive table.
3. Tutyrma - homemade sausage from intestine, stuffed with minced meat and rice.
4. Beshbarmak - stew with homemade noodles. It is traditionally eaten with the hands, hence the name “five fingers”.
5. Baklava is a treat that came from the East. It is a cookie made from puff pastry with nuts in syrup.
6. Chak-chak is a sweet product made from dough with honey.
7. Gubadiya is a closed pie with a sweet filling, which is distributed in layers. It includes rice, dried fruits, cottage cheese.

Potatoes are often used as a side dish. There are snacks made from beets, carrots, tomatoes, and sweet peppers. Turnips, pumpkin, and cabbage are used as food. Porridge is a common dish. For everyday food, millet, buckwheat, peas, and rice are cooked. The Tatar table always contains a variety of sweets made from unleavened and rich dough. These include: baursak, helpek, katlama, kosh-tele. Honey is often added to sweet dishes.

Popular drinks:

• ayran - a fermented milk product based on kefir;
• kvass made from rye flour;
• sherbet - a soft drink made from rose hips, licorice, roses with the addition of honey and spices;
• herbal teas.

Tatar cuisine is characterized by stewing, boiling, and baking in the oven. The food is not fried; sometimes boiled meat is fried a little in the oven.

Famous people

Among the Tatar people there are many talented people who have become famous throughout the world. These are athletes, scientists and cultural figures, writers, actors. Here are some of them:

1. Chulpan Khamatova is an actress.
2. Marat Basharov is an actor.
3. Rudolf Nureyev - ballet dancer.
4. Musa Jalil is a famous poet, Hero of the Soviet Union.
5. Zakir Rameev is a classic of Tatar literature.
6. Alsou is a singer.
7. Azat Abbasov is an opera singer.
8. Gata Kamsky is a grandmaster, US chess champion in 1991, and is one of the 20 strongest chess players in the world.
9. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov is an Olympic champion, multiple world and European champion as part of the hockey team, coach of the Russian national hockey team.
10. Albina Akhatova is a five-time world champion in biathlon.

Character

The Tatar nation is very hospitable and friendly. Guest - important person in the house, he is treated with great respect, asked to share a meal with them. Representatives of this people have a cheerful, optimistic character and do not like to lose heart. They are very sociable and talkative.

Men are characterized by perseverance and determination. They are distinguished by hard work and are accustomed to achieving success. Tatar women are very friendly and responsive. They are raised as models of morality and decency. They are attached to their children and try to give them the best.

Modern Tatar women follow fashion, look very well-groomed and attractive. They are educated, there is always something to talk about with them. Representatives of this people leave a pleasant impression of themselves.

There are many stranger nations in our country. It is not right. We should not be strangers to each other.
Let's start with the Tatars - the second largest ethnic group in Russia (there are almost 6 million of them).

1. Who are the Tatars?

The history of the ethnonym “Tatars,” as often happened in the Middle Ages, is a history of ethnographic confusion.

In the 11th-12th centuries, the steppes of Central Asia were inhabited by various Mongol-speaking tribes: Naiman, Mongols, Kereits, Merkits and Tatars. The latter wandered along the borders of the Chinese state. Therefore, in China the name Tatars was transferred to other Mongolian tribes in the meaning of “barbarians”. Actually, the Chinese called the Tatars white Tatars, the Mongols who lived to the north were called black Tatars, and the Mongolian tribes who lived even further, in the Siberian forests, were called wild Tatars.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Genghis Khan launched a punitive campaign against the real Tatars in revenge for the poisoning of his father. The order that the Mongol ruler gave to his soldiers has been preserved: to destroy everyone taller than the cart axle. As a result of this massacre, the Tatars as a military-political force were wiped off the face of the earth. But, as the Persian historian Rashid ad-din testifies, “because of their extreme greatness and honorable position, other Turkic clans, with all the differences in their ranks and names, became known by their name, and all were called Tatars.”

The Mongols themselves never called themselves Tatars. However, Khorezm and Arab merchants, who were constantly in contact with the Chinese, brought the name “Tatars” to Europe even before the appearance of Batu Khan’s troops here. Europeans compared the ethnonym “Tatars” with the Greek name for hell - Tartarus. Later, European historians and geographers used the term Tartaria as a synonym for the "barbarian East". For example, on some European maps of the 15th-16th centuries, Moscow Rus' is designated as “Moscow Tartary” or “European Tartary”.

As for modern Tatars, neither by origin nor by language they have absolutely nothing to do with the Tatars of the 12th-13th centuries. The Volga, Crimean, Astrakhan and other modern Tatars inherited only the name from the Central Asian Tatars.

The modern Tatar people do not have a single ethnic root. Among his ancestors were the Huns, Volga Bulgars, Kipchaks, Nogais, Mongols, Kimaks and other Turkic-Mongolian peoples. But the formation of modern Tatars was even more influenced by the Finno-Ugrians and Russians. According to anthropological data, more than 60% of Tatars have predominantly Caucasian features, and only 30% have Turkic-Mongolian features.

2. Tatar people in the era of Genghisids

The emergence of the Ulus Jochi on the banks of the Volga was an important milestone in the history of the Tatars.

During the era of Genghisids, Tatar history became truly global. The system has reached perfection government controlled and finance, postal (Yamskaya) service, inherited by Moscow. More than 150 cities arose where the endless Polovtsian steppes recently stretched. Their names alone sound like a fairy tale: Gulstan (land of flowers), Saray (palace), Aktobe (white vault).

Some cities were much larger than Western European ones in size and population. For example, if Rome in the 14th century had 35 thousand inhabitants, and Paris - 58 thousand, then the capital of the Horde, the city of Sarai, had more than 100 thousand. According to the testimony of Arab travelers, Sarai had palaces, mosques, temples of other religions, schools, public gardens, baths, and running water. Not only merchants and warriors lived here, but also poets.

All religions in the Golden Horde enjoyed equal freedom. According to the laws of Genghis Khan, insulting religion was punishable by death. The clergy of each religion were exempt from paying taxes.

The contribution of the Tatars to the art of war is undeniable. It was they who taught the Europeans not to neglect reconnaissance and reserves.
During the era of the Golden Horde, there was enormous potential for the reproduction of Tatar culture. But the Kazan Khanate continued this path mostly by inertia.

Among the fragments of the Golden Horde that scattered along the borders of Rus', Kazan was of greatest importance to Moscow due to its geographical proximity. Situated on the banks of the Volga, among dense forests The Muslim state was a curious phenomenon. As a state entity, the Kazan Khanate arose in the 30s of the 15th century and during the short period of its existence managed to demonstrate its cultural identity in the Islamic world.

3. Capture of Kazan

The 120-year neighborhood between Moscow and Kazan was marked by fourteen major wars, not counting almost annual border skirmishes. However, for a long time both sides did not seek to conquer each other. Everything changed when Moscow realized itself as the “third Rome,” that is, the last defender of the Orthodox faith. Already in 1523, Metropolitan Daniel outlined the future path of Moscow politics, saying: “The Grand Duke will take all the land of Kazan.” Three decades later, Ivan the Terrible fulfilled this prediction.

On August 20, 1552, a 50,000-strong Russian army camped under the walls of Kazan. The city was defended by 35 thousand selected soldiers. About ten thousand more Tatar horsemen were hiding in the surrounding forests and alarming the Russians with sudden raids from the rear.

The siege of Kazan lasted five weeks. After the sudden attacks of the Tatars from the direction of the forest, the cold autumn rains annoyed the Russian army most of all. The thoroughly wet warriors even thought that the bad weather was being sent to them by Kazan sorcerers, who, according to the testimony of Prince Kurbsky, went out onto the wall at sunrise and performed all sorts of spells.

All this time, Russian warriors, under the leadership of the Danish engineer Rasmussen, were digging a tunnel under one of the Kazan towers. On the night of October 1, the work was completed. 48 barrels of gunpowder were placed in the tunnel. At dawn there was a monstrous explosion. It was terrible to see, says the chronicler, many tortured corpses and mutilated people flying in the air at a terrible height!
The Russian army rushed to attack. The royal banners were already fluttering on the city walls when Ivan the Terrible himself rode up to the city with his guards regiments. The presence of the Tsar gave new strength to the Moscow warriors. Despite the desperate resistance of the Tatars, Kazan fell a few hours later. There were so many killed on both sides that in some places the piles of bodies lay level with the city walls.

The death of the Kazan Khanate did not mean the death of the Tatar people. On the contrary, it was within Russia that the Tatar nation actually emerged, which finally received its truly national-state formation - the Republic of Tatarstan.

4. Tatars in Russian history and culture

The Moscow state never confined itself to narrow national-religious boundaries. Historians have calculated that among the nine hundred most ancient noble families of Russia, Great Russians make up only one third, while 300 families come from Lithuania, and the other 300 come from Tatar lands.

Ivan the Terrible's Moscow seemed to Western Europeans to be an Asian city not only for its unusual architecture and buildings, but also for the number of Muslims living in it. One English traveler, who visited Moscow in 1557 and was invited to the royal feast, noted that the tsar himself sat at the first table with his sons and the Kazan kings, at the second table sat Metropolitan Macarius with the Orthodox clergy, and the third table was entirely allocated to the Circassian princes. In addition, another two thousand noble Tatars were feasting in other chambers!

They were not given the last place in the government service. And there was no case when the Tatars in Russian service betrayed the Moscow Tsar.

Subsequently, the Tatar clans gave Russia a huge number of intellectuals, prominent military and social and political figures. I will name at least some names: Alyabyev, Arakcheev, Akhmatova, Bulgakov, Derzhavin, Milyukov, Michurin, Rachmaninov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Tatishchev, Chaadaev. The Yusupov princes were direct descendants of the Kazan queen Suyunbike. The Timiryazev family descends from Ibragim Timiryazev, whose surname literally means “iron warrior.” General Ermolov had Arslan-Murza-Ermola as his ancestor. Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov wrote: “I am a purebred Tatar on both my father’s and mother’s sides.” He signed “Arslanbek”, which means “Lion”. The list can be endless.

Over the centuries, the culture of the Tatars was also absorbed by Russia, and now many native Tatar words, household items, and culinary dishes have entered the consciousness of Russian people as if they were their own. According to Valishevsky, when going out into the street, a Russian person put on shoe, armyak, zipun, caftan, bashlyk, cap. In a fight he used fist. Being a judge, he ordered to put on the convicted person shackles and give it to him whip. Setting off on a long journey, he sat in a sleigh with coachman. And, getting up from the mail sleigh, he went into tavern, which replaced the ancient Russian tavern.

5. Tatar religion

After the capture of Kazan in 1552, the culture of the Tatar people was preserved primarily thanks to Islam.

Islam (in its Sunni version) is the traditional religion of the Tatars. The exception is a small group of them, which in the 16th-18th centuries was converted to Orthodoxy. That’s what they call themselves: “Kryashen” - “baptized”.

Islam in the Volga region established itself in 922, when the ruler of Volga Bulgaria voluntarily converted to the Muslim faith. But even more important was the “Islamic revolution” of Uzbek Khan, who in early XIV century made Islam the state religion of the Golden Horde (by the way, contrary to the laws of Genghis Khan on the equality of religions). As a result, the Kazan Khanate became the northernmost stronghold of world Islam.

In Russian-Tatar history there was a sad period of acute religious confrontation. The first decades after the capture of Kazan were marked by persecution of Islam and the forced introduction of Christianity among the Tatars. Only the reforms of Catherine II fully legalized the Muslim clergy. In 1788, the Orenburg Spiritual Assembly opened - a governing body of Muslims, with its center in Ufa.

In the 19th century, forces gradually matured within the Muslim clergy and Tatar intelligentsia, feeling the need to move away from the dogmas of medieval ideology and traditions. The revival of the Tatar people began precisely with the reform of Islam. This religious-renovation movement received the name Jadidism (from the Arabic al-jadid - renewal, “new method”).

Jadidism has become a significant contribution of the Tatars to modern world culture, an impressive demonstration of Islam's ability to modernize. The main result of the activities of the Tatar religious reformers was the transition of Tatar society to Islam, cleansed of medieval fanaticism and meeting the requirements of the time. These ideas penetrated deeply into the masses of the people, primarily through Jadidist madrassas and printed materials. Thanks to the activities of the Jadids, by the beginning of the 20th century, among the Tatars, faith was largely separated from culture, and politics became an independent sphere, where religion already occupied a subordinate position. Therefore, today the Russian Tatars are in the full sense of the word a modern nation, to which religious extremism is completely alien.

6. About the Kazan orphan and the uninvited guest

Russians have long said: “ An old proverb It’s not without reason that he says it” and therefore “there is no trial or reprisal against the proverb.” Silencing inconvenient proverbs is not the best way to achieve interethnic understanding.

So, Ushakov’s “Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language” explains the origin of the expression “orphan of Kazan” as follows: initially it was said “about the Tatar mirzas (princes), who, after the conquest of the Kazan Khanate by Ivan the Terrible, tried to receive all sorts of concessions from the Russian tsars, complaining about their bitter fate.” .

Indeed, the Moscow sovereigns considered it their duty to caress and love the Tatar Murzas, especially if they decided to change their faith. According to documents, such “Kazan orphans” received about a thousand rubles in annual salaries. Whereas, for example, a Russian doctor was entitled to only 30 rubles a year. Naturally, this state of affairs gave rise to envy among Russian service people.

Later, the idiom “Kazan orphan” lost its historical and ethnic connotation - this is how they began to talk about anyone who only pretends to be unhappy, trying to evoke sympathy.

Now - about the Tatar and the guest, which of them is “worse” and which is “better”.

The Tatars of the Golden Horde, if they happened to come to a subordinate country, behaved in it like gentlemen. Our chronicles are full of stories about the oppression of the Tatar Baskaks and the greed of the Khan's courtiers. Russian people unwittingly got used to considering every Tatar who came to the house not so much as a guest, but as a rapist. It was then that they began to say: “A guest in the yard - and trouble in the yard”; “And the guests did not know how the owner was tied up”; “The edge is not big, but the devil brings a guest and takes away the last one.” Well, and - “an uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar.”

When times changed, the Tatars, in turn, learned what the Russian “uninvited guest” was like. The Tatars also have many offensive sayings about Russians. What can you do about it?

History is the irreparable past. What happened, happened. Only the truth heals morals, politics, and interethnic relations. But it should be remembered that the truth of history is not bare facts, but an understanding of the past in order to live correctly in the present and future.

7. Tatar hut

Unlike other Turkic peoples, the Kazan Tatars for centuries lived not in yurts and tents, but in huts. True, in accordance with common Turkic traditions, the Tatars have preserved the method of separating the female half and the kitchen with a special curtain - charshau. In the second half of the 19th century, instead of ancient curtains, a partition appeared in Tatar dwellings.

On the men's side of the hut there was a place of honor for guests and a place for the owner. Here, a space for relaxation was allocated, the family table was set, and many household chores were carried out: men were engaged in tailoring, saddlery, and weaving bast shoes, women worked at the loom, twisting threads, spinning, and rolling felt.

The front wall of the hut, from corner to corner, was occupied by wide bunks, on which rested soft down jackets, feather beds and pillows, which were replaced by felt among the poor. Bunks are still in fashion to this day, because they have traditionally had a place of honor. In addition, they are universal in their functions: they can serve as a place to work, eat, and relax.

Red or green chests were a mandatory attribute of the interior. According to custom, they formed an indispensable part of the bride's dowry. In addition to their main purpose - storing clothes, fabrics and other valuables - chests noticeably enlivened the interior, especially in combination with bedding picturesquely laid out on them. In the huts of the rich Tatars there were so many chests that sometimes they were stacked on top of each other.

The next attribute of the interior of Tatar rural dwellings was bright national peculiarity, and typical only for Muslims. This is a popular and universally revered shamail, i.e. a text from the Koran written on glass or paper and inserted into a frame with wishes for peace and prosperity to the family. Flowers on the windowsills were also a characteristic detail of the interior of a Tatar home.

Traditional Tatar villages (auls) are located along rivers and roads. These settlements are characterized by cramped buildings and the presence of numerous dead ends. The buildings are located inside the estate, and the street is formed by a continuous line of blind fences. Externally, a Tatar hut can hardly be distinguished from a Russian one - only the doors open not into the hallway, but into the hut.

8. Sabantui

In the past, the Tatars were mostly rural residents. Therefore they folk holidays were associated with the cycle of agricultural work. Like other agricultural peoples, spring was especially anticipated among the Tatars. This time of year was celebrated with a holiday called “Saban Tue” - “wedding of the plow”.

Sabantuy is a very ancient holiday. In the Alkeevsky district of Tatarstan, a tombstone was discovered, the inscription on which says that the deceased died in 1120 on the day of Sabantuy.

Traditionally, before the holiday, young men and old men began collecting gifts for Sabantuy. The most valuable gift was considered to be a towel, which was received from young women who got married after the previous Sabantuy.

The holiday itself was celebrated with competitions. The place where they were held was called “Maidan”. Competitions included horse racing, running, long and high jumps, and national koresh wrestling. Only men took part in all types of competitions. The women just watched from the sidelines.

The competitions were held according to a routine developed over centuries. Their races began. Participation in them was considered prestigious, so everyone who could entered horses into village races. The riders were boys 8-12 years old. The start was arranged in the distance, and the finish was on the Maidan, where the participants of the holiday were waiting for them. The winner was given one of the best towels. Owners of horses received separate prizes.

While the riders were heading to the starting point, other competitions were taking place, in particular running. Participants were divided by age: boys, adult men, old people.

After the completion of the competition, people went home to treat themselves to festive dishes. And after a few days, depending on the weather, they began sowing spring crops.

Sabantuy to this day remains the most beloved public holiday in Tatarstan. In cities this is a one-day holiday, but in rural areas it consists of two parts: collecting gifts and Maidan. But if previously Sabantuy was celebrated in honor of the beginning of spring field work (at the end of April), now it is celebrated in honor of its end, in June.