Volga Tatars - Economy



Subsistence and Commercial Activities. Agriculture, crafts, cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, and trade represented the backbone of the economic life of the Volga Tatars for centuries. Beginning with the second half of the nineteenth century, and most dramatically after 1917, the traditional economic patterns changed: collectivized agriculture and industrialization were responsible for changes in rural areas and cities alike. As Tatars acquired industrial skills, entered the professions in larger numbers, and took white-collar jobs, the ratio of the urban population grew.

The Volga region has rich soil, suitable for agriculture, and rich oil and gas resources. Modern agricultural technology penetrated the area only in the twentieth century. Until then, the basic implements were the heavy metal plow with a single blade ( saban ), effective for the chernozem, and the light wooden plow used for podzol. For centuries, the traditional crops of the area were barley, wheat, and millet, and these continue to be the main crops today. Domestic animals include chickens, geese, sheep, and large cattle.

Industrial development accelerated in the Volga-Ural region, particularly after World War II; in addition to the oil and gas industries, and related to them, strong petrochemical and auto industries emerged. The Volga Tatars were known throughout their history for their active involvement in trade. Besides trading regionally, they acted as intermediaries between the Muslim states on the eastern and southern frontiers of the Russian state and the Russian merchants. Tatar merchants sold leatherwork, furs, fish, honey, and, until the sixteenth century, slaves. In the nineteenth century they became involved in the book trade, in addition to participating in the grain, soap, and candle trades.

Industrial Arts. The ancestors of the Volga Tatars (the Bulghars) were experts in processing the hides and pelts that were abundant in a hunting/agricultural economy. A certain type of leather even came to be known as "Bulghari." Leather craftsmen, along with potters, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, carpenters, stonemasons, jewelers, tanners, and tailors, remained a fixture of Tatar rural and urban communities into the twentieth century. Most of these crafts survive today.

Trade. All types of commercial enterprises were represented among the Volga Tatars. There were merchants of the first guild and large firms such as those of Saidashev, midsize and small enterprises, itinerant traders in rural areas, and peddlers of used clothing and food in large cities.

Division of Labor. The traditional division of labor assigned home tasks to women. They cooked and were in charge of producing the cloth to cover the personal and household needs of the entire family. They also tended vegetable gardens and were involved in preserving and preparing meats and dough products for winter consumption. Tending babies and raising the female children of the family until marriage was exclusively the domain of women. Men usually plowed, harrowed, engaged in trade and industry, and took charge of the education of male children. The division of labor is no longer rigidly observed, but most traditional approaches still endure.

Land Tenure. Land was collectively owned in the former Soviet Union. Agricultural land was either organized in kolkhozy or sovkhozy. Peasants working in these units were either members of a collective enterprise or state employees. Today, private ownership of land, industrial and commercial enterprises, and natural resources is one of the major issues in Tatarstan.

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