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Kazan’, city in central European Russia, capital of the republic of Tatarstan, and a port at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka rivers. Kazan’ is a major industrial, commercial, and cultural center. Manufactured products include machinery, refined petroleum, chemicals, building materials, processed food, footwear, soap, and textiles. Once a prominent Muslim city, Kazan’ remains a center of Tatar culture (see Tatars). It is the site of Kazan’ State University (founded in 1804), where Leo Tolstoy and Vladimir Ilich Lenin studied, and several technical schools. Notable structures include the kremlin (citadel), the oldest part of which dates from the 15th century; a 16th-century church; and two 18th-century mosques.
Kazan’ was founded in the late 14th century and soon became the capital of a powerful Tatar khanate. In 1552 the city was annexed by Russia under Ivan IV Vasilyevich. It was largely destroyed in 1774 during a revolt by troops under the leadership of the Cossack soldier Yemelyan Pugachev, but was rebuilt soon thereafter, during the reign of Catherine the Great. Population (2002) 1,105,300.
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