The Tatars. The Origin of the Nation

Tatars are the second largest nation in Russia after the Russians. According to the 2010 census, they make up 3.72% of the population of the whole country. This people, who joined the Moscow state even in the second half of the 16th century, managed to preserve its cultural identity for centuries, taking care of historical traditions and religion.

Every nation is looking for its roots. Tatars are not an exception. The origin of this nation began to be seriously investigated in the 19th century, when the development of bourgeois relations accelerated. The national self-awareness of the people, the identification of its basic features and features, and the creation of a single ideology were subjected to a special study. The origin of the Tatars throughout this entire time remained an important topic of study for both Russian and Tatar historians. The results of this long-term work can be provisionally represented in three theories.

The first theory is related to the ancient state of Volga Bulgaria. It is believed that the history of the Tatars begins with the Turkic-Bulgarian ethnos, which emerged from the Asian steppes and settled in the Middle Volga region. In the 10-13 centuries they managed to create their own statehood. The period of the Golden Horde and the Moscow State made some adjustments to the formation of the ethnos, but did not change the essence of Islamic culture. At the same time, the speech is mainly about the Volga-Ural group, while other Tatars are considered as independent ethnic communities, united only by the name and history of entering the Golden Horde.

Other researchers believe that the Tatars originate from Central Asian ethnic groups who moved west during the Mongol-Tatar campaigns. It was the entry into the Ulus of Juchi and the adoption of Islam that played a major role in uniting the disparate tribes and forming a single nation. At the same time, the autochthonous population of the Volga Bulgaria was partially exterminated, and partially superseded. Former tribes created their own special culture, brought the Kypchak language.

The Turko-Tatar origins in the genesis of the people are emphasized by the following theory. According to it, the Tatars trace their origin from the great Türkic kaganate, the largest Asian state of the Middle Ages of the 6th century AD. The theory recognizes a certain role in the formation of the Tatar ethnos as the Volga Bulgaria and the Khazar Khaganate, as well as the Kypchak-Kimak and Tatar-Mongolian ethnic groups of the Asian steppes. The special role of the Golden Horde, which united all tribes, is underlined.
All the listed theories of the formation of the Tatar nation highlight the special role of Islam, as well as the period of the Golden Horde. Based on the data of history, researchers in different ways see the origins of the birth of the people. Nevertheless, it becomes clear that the Tatars originate from the ancient Turkic tribes, and historical ties with other tribes and peoples, of course, have had their impact on the present image of the nation. Carefully keeping the culture, language and religion, the Tatars managed not to lose their national identity in the face of world integration.