Established 1708 Political status Governorate Area 55,900 verst² | Abolished 1920 Region European Russia | |
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The Kazan Governorate (Russian: Каза́нская губе́рния; Tatar: Казан губернасы, Qazan ğubernası, قازان عوبئرناسئ; Chuvash: Хусан кӗперниӗ, Husan kĕperniĕ), or the Government of Kazan, was a governorate (a guberniya) of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR from 1708–1920, with its seat in the city of Kazan.
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History
Kazan Governorate, together with seven other governorates, was established on December 29 [O.S. December 18], 1708, by Tsar Peter the Great's edict on the lands of the Khanates of Kazan, Sibir, and Astrakhan, with addition of some lands from the Nogai Horde. These were the areas historically governed by the Kazan Palace's Prikaz. As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Kazan Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities.
In 1717, Astrakhan Governorate was separated from Kazan Governorate; in 1719—Nizhny Novgorod; in 1744—Orenburg; in 1781—Vyatka, Simbirsk, and Ufa Governorates were separated. Under Catherine the Great (1781–1796) Kazan was the center of a namestnichestvo (viceroyalty), with Kazan, Penza, and Saratov Governorates as its integral parts.
At first the governorate was divided into lots (доли, doli), then into provinces (провинции, provintsii) in 1719, and into uyezds (уезды) in 1775. Prior to 1796, there were Kazan, Kozmodemyansk, Laishev, Mamadysh, Sviyazhsk, Spassk, Tetyushi, Tsaryovokokshaysk, Tsivilsk, Cheboksary, Chistopol, and Yadrin uyezds.
In 1913, the area of the governorate comprised 55,900 square versts, its population was estimated at 2.85 million (38.9% Russians, 31.2% Tatars, 22.8% Chuvash, 5.1% Mari, 1.2% Mordva). There were 7,272 settlements, including 13 towns: Kazan, Arsk, Sviyazhsk, Kozmodemyansk, Laishev, Mamadysh, Spassk, Tetyushi, Tsaryovokokshaysk, Tsivilsk, Cheboksary, Chistopol, Yadrin; and two posads: Mariinsky Posad and Troitsky Posad.
The governorate was finally abolished during the Bolshevik administrative reform (see Idel-Ural State). Thereupon its Eastern part was proclaimed the Tatar ASSR, while the Western part was eventually divided between Chuvashia and Mari El.