After the October Revolution, the Tatars got the chance to have their own political entity once again. The Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established in 1920. Although officially part of the RSFSR, Tatarstan enjoyed certain freedoms, including official status for the Tatar language, and the preservation of its unique local culture. In the 1940s, several large oil wells were discovered in Tatarstan and oil production remains the major source of income for the region.
In 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region was renamed the Republic of Tatarstan and is one of the few Russian regions that elects its own president. In 2009 Kazan was allowed to officially brand itself as the “third capital” of Russia.
Thanks to its oil deposits, Tatarstan is one of the richest and most economically developed Russian regions, powering ahead of even its closest neighbors. Tatarstan has recently ventured into the realm of innovative economy by building Innopolis, dubbed “a Russian Silicon valley,” in the suburbs of Kazan. As of the end of 2016, the new “city” features a school, kindergarten, university, sports and medical center, supermarket and multi-story apartment blocks.
