Stories of dynasties from our region, who for many years, across generations, worked for the development and prosperity of Tatarstan. The exhibition covers a broad chronology—from the 18th century to the present day. The materials of the exhibition talk about the dynasties of merchants and industrialists, world-renowned scientists, cultural figures, and statesmen, as well as labour and scientific families in the industry, medicine, and agriculture of Tatarstan.
A family of Kazan entrepreneurs.
The founder of the Alafuzov dynasty, Ivan Ivanovich Alafuzov (1837–1891), came from a family of Greek settlers from the island of Santorini. In 1856, he settled in Kazan, recognising the city’s trade and industrial potential due to its location at the crossroads of trade routes. First of all, he focused on the traditional local leather processing industry, but his business expanded to include linen-spinning, weaving, and cloth factories. The products of Ivan Alafuzov’s enterprises were supplied to the Russian army, exported to European countries and the USA, and distributed across the Volga region, the Urals, and Siberia.
Alafuzov’s factories were located in the Admiralteyskaya Sloboda district of Kazan. His name is still preserved in the toponymy of the modern Kirovsky district, where the public and cultural space “Alafuzovsky Theatre” operates, and the buildings of the Linen Mill, which operated during the Soviet era, are located. The Alafuzov factories breathed new life into the city district, which had fallen into decline after the closure of the Kazan Admiralty. Throughout the second half of the 19th century, they provided jobs for the residents of the sloboda (settlement), constantly expanding production. Ivan Ivanovich Alafuzov, a hereditary honorary citizen, laid the foundation for the industrial reconstruction of the entire Kazan Zarechye.
The Alafuzov enterprises were notable for their care for workers. They had a hospital, a sanatorium, a nursery—kindergarten—and provided pensions for old age and disability.
Entrepreneurship in Kazan became a family affair for Ivan Ivanovich Alafuzov and his brothers Nikolai, Grigory, Leonid, and Anton. Later, the family business was continued by his adopted daughter, Lyudmila. She managed the sewing production.
In addition to the industrial development of the Admiralteyskaya Sloboda of Kazan and providing its residents with work, the Alafuzovs were heavily involved in charity. They opened a shelter for the poor and orphans, supported impoverished students, built primary schools, donated to the Kazan Humane Society’s alms-house, funded the construction of churches, and contributed to the construction of buildings for the Mariinsky Women’s Handicraft School.
In 1900, under the heiress of I.I. Alafuzov, Lyudmila Alafuzova, the Educational House named after Alexander II was opened. This was a grand, architecturally rich building where amateur theatre groups could stage their performances. The building was equipped with necessary inventory and musical instruments. It was called the Alafuzov Palace or Alafuzov Theatre. During the Soviet era, the building continued to function as the Zarechensky Workers’ Theatre. In 1924, the Alafuzov Theatre came under the control of trade unions as the Workers’ Palace, and later as the Linen Mill Club. Today, this unique building is experiencing a new chapter in its history, associated with creativity and youth.
Representatives of the Tatar noble family, prominent social, political, and state figures from the first half of the 20th century.
The Alkin family traces its roots back to the Golden Horde period. The dynasty has been well-known since the early 19th century. They are considered to have originated from the Buinsk district of the Simbirsk province. Shagiahmed Muhammedovich Alkin (1812–1878) served as a titular councillor, collegiate assessor, and even police officer. He was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class.
His son, Seid-Girey Shagiahmetovich Alkin (1867–1919), became a famous teacher and lawyer in Kazan, the first sworn attorney from the Tatars. At the turn of the century, he actively participated in Kazan’s public life as a member of the City Duma, serving on commissions dealing with legal, theatrical, and educational issues. S.Sh. Alkin initiated the publication of the Kazan Mokhbire (Kazan Herald) newspaper and was its editor from 1905 to 1911. He was also a participant in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd All-Russian Muslim Congresses and one of the founders of the first All-Russian Muslim party (Ittifak al-Muslimin).
In 1906, S.Sh. Alkin became a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Empire, representing the Kazan province. He worked to unite Muslim deputies into a separate Muslim faction, advocating for the Tatar people’s political and cultural development. On July 10, 1906, protesting the Duma crackdown, S.Sh. Alkin, along with other Muslim faction members, signed the Vyborg Appeal, for which he was arrested and sentenced to three months in prison and deprivation of electoral rights. He returned to politics in 1917, delivering a report on the foundations of cultural-national autonomy at the 1st All-Russian Congress of Russian Muslims (May 1917).
His son, Ilyas Seidgireevich Alkin (1895–1937), was a key figure during the turbulent period following the overthrow of the monarchy in the Volga region. During World War I, he served in the active army with the rank of ensign. In these years, I.S. Alkin became involved in politics, joining the Mensheviks at first and later aligning with the Socialist Revolutionaries. In 1917–1918, he was one of the initiators and chairman of the Provisional All-Russian Muslim Military Council (Harbi Shuro). He was also a deputy of the Milli Mejlis (National Assembly)—the representative body of Muslims of Inner Russia and Siberia, an unrealised project of autonomy in the Volga and Ural regions—the Idel-Ural State. He also served on the board that oversaw the implementation of the Ural-Volga State. Ilyas Alkin was elected a delegate to the All-Russian Constituent Congress as part of the Muslim socialist block. In 1918, after the Bolsheviks banned the activities of Harbi Shuro, I.S. Alkin became a member of the Komuch (Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly). However, in 1919, he switched to the side of Soviet power. In 1920, he was arrested but released after a meeting with Stalin and given a job at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East. In the 1920s–1930s, Ilyas Alkin worked in scientific and pedagogical fields in Moscow. In 1937, he was a cartography corrector for Central Asia at the Research Institute of the Great Soviet Atlas of the World. That same year, he was arrested, unjustly repressed, and executed on October 27, 1937.
Shigabuddin Mardjani (1818–1889)—a renowned theologian, educator, and the first Tatar historian. He came from a family of religious figures and teachers in the Kazan province. According to family history, his ancestors founded the village of Mardjan, 50 kilometres from Kazan—hence the tahallus “al-Mardjani.” Shihabuddin’s grandfather, Subkhan ibn Abd al-Karim, was a mullah and mudarris (teacher and head of a madrasah). His father, Bahauddin Ibn Subkhan, received his education in the madrasah of Bukhara and also taught.
After receiving his primary education at his father’s madrasah, Shihabuddin devoted much time to self-education. He studied Arabic and Persian and tried his hand at copying and creating scientific works. He also researched antiquities, deciphering inscriptions on ancient graves near his native village.
Seeking a more comprehensive education, Shihabuddin Mardjani began studying at the famous madrasah of Bukhara in 1839. A decade later, he returned to his homeland and sought a position in Kazan where he could fully apply his knowledge. In 1850, he became the imam of the First (Yunusov) Kazan Mosque. Simultaneously, Shihabuddin Mardjani taught at the madrasah of his parish. Tatar youths from various parts of Russia came here for knowledge. His desire to reform the educational system provoked conflicts with the secular and religious elite of Kazan, leading to temporary resignations.
Nevertheless, his authority and extensive knowledge prevented Mardjani from being excluded from the ranks of the most prominent Tatar public figures and theologians. He was considered the only expert on the Quran in Kazan and verified the texts of all Kazan publications. In 1867, the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of the Volga and Ural regions appointed Mardjani as the ahund and muhtasib of Kazan.
Shihabuddin Mardjani can be called the founder of Tatar historical science. It is no coincidence that the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan is now named after him. Among his historical works, Mustafad Al-Akhbar Fi Ahwali Kazan Wa Bulgar (Useful Information About Kazan and Bulgar) stands out. He described the history of the Tatar people from ancient times, using epigraphic and numismatic data, Arabic, Persian, and Turkic sources, and folk legends. He also justified the use of the ethnonym “Tatars,” linking it to the history of the people through the periods of the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate.
As an educator, Shihabuddin Mardjani advocated for the expansion of secular sciences in the Tatar education system, the cultivation of national consciousness among the Tatar people, and the assimilation of the achievements of modern civilisation. Mardjani taught his children, including girls. His eldest daughter, Galiya, was one of his favourite students and knew the Quran by heart. He was one of the first to agree to have his photograph taken, paving the way for contemporary Tatars to be photographed.
The educator died on April 18, 1889, and is buried at the Tatar cemetery in the Novo-Tatar Sloboda. Descendants of Shihabuddin Mardjani still live in Tatarstan.
A family of Kazan merchants and entrepreneurs, public and religious figures, and major philanthropists.
The Apanayev family formed the elite of Kazan’s Tatar society for two centuries. The long history of this famous family began in the 17th century with a successful merchant named Apanay Khafiz. His son, Ismagil Apanayev, traded in leather, wool, and furs. Gradually, his trading capital grew, and soon he was selling Chinese and Persian fabrics in his own shop in Kazan Gostiny Dvor. Not limiting himself to trade, Ismagil Apanayev participated in the work of the Tatar Ratusha established in 1782.
Ismagil Apanayev’s sons became the founders of various branches of the dynasty. Musa Ismagilovich Apanayev (1766–1827) was a merchant of the first guild, traded with China, owned two tanneries, and was a landlord. He also served as a judge in the Conscience Court, worked in the criminal chamber, and was a member of the Kazan City Magistracy. Musa Apanayev was famous for his extensive charitable activities. In particular, he maintained the Second Parish Mosque, known as the Apanayev Mosque, at his own expense.
From Musa Apanayev, the line of his heirs continued, actively engaged in trade, particularly in Central Asia. Among them were Abdulkarim Apanayev and his children Muhametvali, Muhametzakir, Abdrakhman, and daughter Bibizukhra. All of them were also known for their charitable activities.
Abdulla Muhammуdyusupovich Apanayev (1873–1937) was a merchant of the first guild, owner of a stud farm and estate, and one of the wealthiest people in Kazan. He was one of the founders of the Trade and Industrial Partnership of Apanayev and Kazakov and an honorary member of the Kazan Provincial Trusteeship of Children’s Shelters. His daughter, Gaysha Apanayeva, was one of the first Muslim women to receive a higher medical education. Gaysha was considered the most beautiful Tatar woman in Kazan and was married twice. The revolution and events of the 1930s led to tragic outcomes—Abdulla Apanayev was sentenced to imprisonment in labour camps and later executed.
From Yusuf Apanayev (1770–after 1825), another branch of industrialists emerged. He owned a soap-making factory and tanneries, maintained a printing house, and was involved in public activities: he was a member of the Kazan City Duma and served in civil and criminal courts. His son, Iskhak Apanayev, was a merchant of the first guild. Yusuf’s great-grandchildren continued the family business and actively participated in public life.
Among the most famous representatives of this line were two brothers: Gabdulla (1862–1919) and Muhammadbadretdin Apanayev (1867–1937).
Gabdulla Abdulkarimovich Apanayev received his education at the Mardjaniya Madrasah and then studied in Turkey and Egypt. Upon returning to his homeland, he became the imam-khatib of the Sennaya Mosque and actively contributed to the development of the community around it. Gabdulla Apanayev founded a new-method madrasah, donating his own house for it. From 1906, he was the publisher and editor of the Azat newspaper. He also headed the Society for Assisting Poor Muslims of Kazan and facilitated funding for its needs. However, Gabdulla Apanayev is most widely known as a public and political figure. He participated in the creation of the Ittifak al-Muslimin Party and facilitated the organisation of Muslim congresses. During the revolutionary events of 1917–1918, Gabdulla Apanayev opposed the Bolsheviks’ dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. In 1919, he was taken hostage by the Bolsheviks and executed after the rebellion of the Tatar Reserve Battalion in Kazan.
Muhammadbadretdin Abdulkarimovich Apanayev was a hereditary honorary citizen of Kazan, a merchant of the first guild with representation in Moscow. As a philanthropist, he was a member of the boards of trustees of the Alexander Craft School and the Kazan Commercial School, as well as the chairman of the board of the Society for Assisting Poor Muslims. He also participated in the socio-political development of the Tatars and took part in organizing the work of the Ittifak al-Muslimin Party. He advocated for the establishment of a higher secular educational institution for the Tatars. He did not accept the 1917 revolution and emigrated.
The Apanayevs’ property was nationalized during the Soviet years. However, representatives of the family still live in Kazan and other cities of our country.
The theme of the exhibition is broad, and the stories of Tatarstan’s families will continue to be enriched with new pages.
