Kazan << kuh ZAN >> (pop. 1,308,660) is the capital of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan. The city lies on the Volga River in western Russia. Kazan is a manufacturing and commercial city. It is a center of culture for the Tatars, who founded Kazan in the 1400’s. Czar Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, captured the city in 1552. See also Tatars.
