1,099 years of the adoption of Islam in Volga Bulgaria celebrated in the city of Bolgar

The Tatar title of the holiday is Izge Bolgar Jieny, which stands for the Gathering in Ancient Bolgar.

The event was visited by Vice-Premier of Russia Marat Khusnullin, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, State Counsellor of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev, Chairman of the State Council of Tatarstan Farid Mukhametshin and many other dignitaries. KFU was represented by Director of the Institute of International Relations Ramil Khayrutdinov.

Marat Khusnullin, acting as the head of the organizing committee for next year’s celebration of 1,100 years of the adoption of Islam in Volga Bulgaria, thanked everyone for holding such an event. He noted that next year’s holiday won’t be limited by the city of Bolgar.

After the celebratory part, the Vice-Premier convened a meeting about the preparations for the jubilee, including road renovations and a project of a new mosque in Kazan.

Kazan Federal University is one of the key institutions in studying Volga Bulgaria. Ramil Khayrutdinov commented, “A longtime tradition of studies of medieval Tatar states exists at Kazan University until today. When the Society of History, Archeology and Ethnography was established here in 1877, the participants discussed the Bolgar settlement, and Imperial Kazan University was then tasked with researching the settlement and preserving its monuments.”

KFU and Yanarysh Foundation of Tatarstan undertook immense efforts and managed to get Bolgar inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage List. At this moment, the two sides continue working on the museumification of this territory.

 

Source text: Office of the President of Tatarstan, Media Center

Photos: Office of the President of Tatarstan

Translation: Yury Nurmeev