What Egyptians need to know about Tatars as their president visits

CAIRO - 14 October 2018: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Tatari President Rustam Minnikhanov Sunday in a prelude to a meeting with his counterpart Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to discuss means to promote joint relations.

Minnikhanov and his accompanying delegation are scheduled to partake in the “Egypt-Tatarstan: Horizons of Joint Cooperation becoming regional” forum on Monday, organized by the General Federation for Chambers of Commerce. The forum will tackle ways to enhancing trade exchange and investment relations of Cairo and Kazan.


Tatar President Rustam Minnikhanov with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly Oct. 14, 2018 - Egypt Today

Below are facts Egyptians would be interested to know about Tatarstan:

1 – Tatarstan, a federation of Russia, extends over 70,000 square kilometers. It has a population of four million, mostly Muslim and Russian Orthodox.

2 – Many rivers cross Tatarstan, but the major ones include Volga, Kama, Belaya, Ik, and Vyatka.


General view shows the Kazan Kremlin in Kazan, Russia, July 11, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

3 – The main source of income is oil, which started to be excavated in the 17th century. Tatarstan produces 32 tons of crude oil a year, and its oil company Tatneft is ranked sixth in Russia in terms of oil production.

4 – Its oil reserves are estimated at more than one billion tons.

5 – Its inhabitants speak Tatar and Russian.

6 – Historically, “Tatars” were tribes that inhabited the great region of Northern and Central Asia, from which the Mongol empire emerged. However, not all Tataris were Mongol. Generally, the Tatars did not raid the Middle East with Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan. Many of the Tatars converted to Islam in the subsequent years.


Women walk along a street, with mosques and shops selling Muslim literature located in it, in Kazan July 21, 2012. REUTERS/Roman Kruchinin

7 - Ethnic Tatars also exist in the Northern and Central Asian landmass and Eastern Europe as minorities.