dragons - when the Tatars arrived the site was full of dragons & snakes which they fought & banished.

The Republic of Tatarstan - 21 June 2012 - mile 6,481

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June 21st 2012
Russia really is a land of contrasts. A few weeks ago we were inside temples in the Buddhist Republic of Kalmykia, a few days ago we couldn't move for onion domed churches in Suzdal and now here we are in the Republic of Tatarstan, home to 5 million Tatars, where mosques are more common than churches and signs are in Tatar and Russian. The capital, Kazan, is a great place to wander round – ... read more

Europe » Russia » Volga » Kazan

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Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynas... ... read more