Permission Denied To Mark 471st Anniversary Of Kazan's Fall, Tatar Activists Say

Activists in Russia's Tatarstan said on October 10 that authorities in the republic’s capital, Kazan, refused to allow them to commemorate Tatars fallen during the 1552 Siege of Kazan by Russian troops. The then-capital of the Kazan Khanate fell to Moscow 471 years ago on October 15 -- an event marked in the city since the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, Kazan authorities in recent years have been reluctant to allow the activists to hold such events. In October 1552, Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered the Khanate of Kazan after a two-week resistance. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, click here.