The view from the Kremlin Boulevard in the spring during high water is especially good. At this time, the boulevard is literally humiliated by the walking public, since true Kazan residents, due to long-established custom, consider it their duty to admire the spill of the Russian Federation from the Kremlin Boulevard.
And then there really is something to see! The Volga and Kazanka, having risen 5 fathoms, and sometimes 7 fathoms, merge their waters and give a vast picture of the water kingdom, full of expanse, among which the monument, the Admiralty Settlement, the Zelantov Monastery, and Kizitsy are, as it were, picturesque islands. In front of the viewer lies a vast harbor, belted with a narrow strip of dam. Of course, you can see this picture only in May, since the waters subside on Pont, and Kazan remains in its normal position, i.e., being not on the Volga, but 7 versts from it.
Speaking about Kazan, one cannot help but say a few words about the indigenous population of the capital of the former Kazan kingdom—the Tatars, especially since the traveler will have to encounter the Tatars not only in Kazan, but also in another significant center of the Volga region, Astrakhan.
A Russian proverb defined a Tatar as follows: “either he is good through and through, or he is thoroughly a swindler”; Thus, the trait of the Tatar’s tribal character is, presumably, clear for us Russians. But neither sayings, nor chronicles, nor any sources in general were able to determine where the word piiparine itself came from. It is only known that in essence it is not the name of a nationality, but rather denotes a nickname for it, a common nickname, just as the word nmets for a simple Russian person does not at all mean a Prussian or a Saxon, but means any Western European who, not speaking Russian, is in the minds of the Russian people nyumye. Be that as it may, when you call a Tatar, in general, it’s a shame to refer to different eastern nationalities, but nevertheless it is special to designate a well-known branch of the Mongolian tribe.
In the 13th century, many Turkic tribes, living in a vast area from Lesser Asia to China, fell under the rule of Genghis Khan and his Mongol horde; The Russians also had a chance to experience the power of the orulai of the mighty representative of Mongolia. L\phtoscribe XIII century says the same: “the unknown pagans came, they are good, no one knows who they are and the split-off went out and whose tribe they are and what their faith is; and their name is Tatars, and they say Taurmen.” These “taurmeni”, otherwise Turkmens, prove, first of all, that there were tribes in the hordes of Genghis Khan of Turkic origin; perhaps one of them was called Tatar. Among the tribes conquered by the Mongols were, among other things, the Bulgarians, who in turn were a mixture of Turkic and Slavic tribes. The victors and the vanquished were completely smitten, and this new mixture, in which in essence flows not only Mongolian, but also Slavic
Our blood is now called Tatars. The Tatar himself very often and before from now on call yourself bullarlyk. The meeting of the Bulgarian tribe with the conquering Tatars was reflected mainly in the fact that the Kazan-Syume Tatars are a beautiful breed of people, the best branch between our Tatars.
As a farmer, the Tatar is lower than the Russian and much lower than the Chuvash; It is very often said that in Tatar villages, especially to the east of Vavzan, the Tatars do not engage in farming at all and rent out their lands to the Rus and Chuvals. But trade is the true verse of the Tatar; if he had even a small capital, the Tatar would immediately start trading. In the Kazan and Simbirsk provinces, all peddling trade is in the hands of the Tatars; And are the Tatars trading in these provinces alone? A smart, efficient Tatar usually gets rich quite quickly and, having collected a fair amount of capital, immediately begins to trade conscientiously and solidly, leaving aside his former petty-trading habits.In the factory industry, the Tatars also occupy a prominent position, especially in the Kazan and Simbirsk provinces; in both There are quite a few large Tatar capitals.
ь The city Tatar is very lazy and comes home only to rest; The main part of his life is spent in the store, in the shop, on the streets, in the factory - in a word, wherever his trading passions carry him. At the same time, women spend a boring and monotonous life at home, consisting of food, tea, busy with their toilet - a life in general full of laziness; However, elderly Tatar women take care of the housework and wear embroidered shoes (morocco ladies' and men's shoes) and skull caps (Tatar skull caps).