Teachers of the Tatar School in Hailar - China

back row: Fidot Evdakimoviç? Isakin?? (elbow out), Şahzam Kiruşev Tamari-san, Hadiçe Fomina (became Hadiçe Kuguşeva)
seated:  Fatima Kosova? (became Fatima Akçurin) , Zuhre Kuguşeva (became Zuhre Kiruşeva - then Zuhre Kiriş), Safiye Akçurin - (became Safiye Kudeki).

Fatima, Zuhre, Safiye

Safiye Akçurin - Zuhre Kuguşeva (1938)

Three sisters in the front  Rauza, Mahira, Hanife (Kuguş/Kuguşeva Sisters)

Behind them left to right - Safiye Akçurin, Zuhre Kuguş, Tamari-San?

Here is a pic of another group in front of the school in Hailar.

Here is another pic of the same school from 1922

The Elusive Empre - Kazan and the Creation of Russia

The Elusive Empre - Kazan and the Creation of Russia  1552-1671

Matthew P. Romaniello 

University of Wisconsin Press 2012

ISBN 978-0-299-28514-2

Tatars of the Crimea - Allworth

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Tatars of the Crimea
Their Struggle for Survival
Edward Allworth
Duke University Press 1988
ISBN 0-8223-0758-8

Kazakhstan - Born to Move

This video is excellent and without commentary - An hour and a half of Kazakhstan.

Central Asia - The Bridge Across Forever - Tajikistan

The Tajik people of Central Asia are not of the Turkic family.  Their language is more closely related to Persian.  Samarkand and Bukhara are fascinating and rich in history.
Although this film is produced as Indian diplomacy, it's still worth a view.

Bulgar notes from "The Serbs"

In this book of Serbian history we came upon this, relating to the Bulgar empire:

"...since it is impossible to follow further Serbian history without some knowledge of the Bulgars, let me now pause to consider that people.

The first point to grasp about the Bulgars is that, unlike the Serbs and Russians, they were originally not Slavs at all.  Their early history is wrapped in considerable mystery, but we may say roughly that they entered the Balkan peninsula in the seventh century, as a Mongolian central Asiatic race, akin to the Huns and Turks.  Of recent years, since Serbia and Bulgaria have become usually hostile and always suspicious towards each other, many Bulgarian writers have rejoiced to emphasize their people's Tartaric origin.  Pure Tartars, however, they certainly are not.  Once settled south of the Danube they accepted the language and customs of the Slavs amongst whom they found themselves.  The old Bulgarian language disappeared and their present speech is pure Slavonic.  They were converted to the Slav form of Christianity and they intermarried with the Slav race, so that in the West of Bulgaria, where the survival of the Slavs was most widespread, there is little difference between the Bulgar and his Serbian neighbour over the frontier."

Mexican Mennonites in Tatarstan

Ancestral Russia lures land-hungry Mexican Mennonites

Here is something different about events in Tatarstan.  We'd never heard of such a thing.

Thanks, David

Russian Imperial History - Land Of The Tsars

There's plenty mention of Tatars in this documentary. 

Some of it is quite insulting, which gets tiring...

We also were unaware that Peter the Great brought along with him on his grand tour of Europe, a troupe of dwarves.  How ridiculous is that! and why? (1:07:58)

Also mentions 1774 when Pugachev's Volga basin rebellion was crushed and he was killed. There is also discussion of the taking of the Crimea in 1784 by Gregory Potemkin under Catherine the Great, fulfilling Russian desire to have a Black Sea stronghold against the Ottoman Empire. She declared him (Potemkin) to be "Prince of Crimea".