KAZAN,
a government of middle Russia, surrounded by the governments of Vyatka, Ufa, Samara, Simbirsk, Nizhniy-Novgorod
and Kostroma. Area 24,601 sq. m. It belongs to
the basins of the Volga and its tributary the Kama, and by these
streams the government is divided into three regions; the first,
to the right of the main river, is traversed by deep ravines
sloping to the north-east, towards the Volga, and by two ranges
of hills, one of which (300 to 500 ft.) skirts the river; the second
region, between the left bank of the Volga and the left bank of
the Kama, is an open steppe; and the third, between the left
bank of the Volga and the right bank of the Kama, resembles in
its eastern part the first region, and in its western part is covered
with forest. Marls, limestones and sandstones, of Permian or
Triassic age, are the principal rocks; the Jurassic formation
appears in a small part of the Tetyushi district in the south; and
Tertiary rocks stretch along the left bank of the Volga. Mineral
springs (iron, sulphur and petroleum) exist in several places.
The Volga is navigable throughout its course of 200 m. through
Kazan, as well as the Kama (120 m.); and the Vyatka, Kazanka,
Rutka, Tsivyl, Greater Kokshaga, Ilet, Vetluga and Mesha, are
not without value as waterways. About four hundred small
lakes are enumerated within the government; the upper and
lower Kaban supply the city of Kazan with water.
The climate is severe, the annual mean temperature being
37.8° F. The rainfall amounts to 16 in. Agriculture is the
chief occupation, and 82% of the population are peasants. Out
of 7,672,600 acres of arable land, 4,516,500 are under crops?chiefly
rye and oats, with some wheat, barley, buckwheat,
lentils, flax, hemp and potatoes. But there generally results
great scarcity, and even famine, in bad years. Live stock are
numerous. Forests cover 35% of the total area. Bee-keeping
is an important industry. Factories employ about 10,000
persons and include flour-mills, distilleries, factories for soap,
candles and tallow, and tanneries. A great variety of petty
trades, especially those connected with wood, are carried on in
the villages, partly for export. The fairs are well attended.
There is considerable shipping on the Volga, Kama, Vyatka and
their tributaries. Kazan is divided into twelve districts. The
chief town is
Kazan
(
q.v.
). The district capitals, with their
populations in 1897 are: Cheboksary (4568), Chistopol (20,161),
Kozmodemyansk (5212), Laishev (5439), Mamadyzh (4213),
Spask (2779), Sviyazhsk (2363), Tetyushi (4754). Tsarevokokshaisk
(1654), Tsivylsk (2337) and Yadrin (2467). Population
(1879), 1,872,437; (1897), 2,190,185, of whom 1,113,555 were
women, and 176,396 lived in towns. The estimated population
in 1906 was 2,504,400. It consists principally of Russians
and Tatars, with a variety of Finno-Turkish tribes: Chuvashes,
Cheremisses, Mordvinians, Votyaks, Mescheryaks, and some
Jews and Poles. The Russians belong to the Orthodox Greek
Church or are Nonconformists; the Tatars are Mussulmans; and
the Finno-Turkish tribes are either pagans or belong officially to
the Orthodox Greek Church, the respective proportions being
(in 1897): Orthodox Greek, 69.4% of the whole; Nonconformists,
1%; Mussulmans, 28.8%.
(
P. A. K.
;
J. T. Be.
)