Abstract
The article reveals the origin and development of the Marjani Institute of History within the system of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences as a basic academic institution for the study of the history and culture of the Tatar people and the peoples of the Republic of Tatarstan. The main stages of its formation and development, highlighted by the author, are intended to demonstrate the evolution of the scientific directions formed under the influence of the demands of the Tatar community and problem areas in Tatar historiography. Several key stages in the development of the institute are highlighted. The first stage is its foundation in 1996 and up to 2005 (the celebration of the millennium of Kazan, development of a methodology for dating cities, establishment of relations with the Russian and international scientific community). The second stage, until 2015, was marked by active research work on the seven-volume “The History of the Tatars since Ancient Times,” published in 2002–2014. The third stage, from 2015 to the present day, is associated with in-depth study of a number of areas important for the history of the Tatar people. Among them, the author points out the following: issues related to the medieval history of the Golden Horde; the history of the Tatars and the peoples of the Volga-Ural region; the historical and ethnological study of the Tatar community in the Russian Federation and beyond; and national education in the context of preserving and developing the Tatar language in Tatarstan and in regions densely populated by Tatars. The article reveals how, under the leadership of the Institute’s first director, R.S. Khakimov, the team overcame the ideological dogmas of the Soviet era, reconsidered the role of Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde, and the ethnogenesis of the Tatars, and developed an original concept of the Turkic-Tatar community without the dominance of a single cultural component. The author highlights the emergence of new fields relevant to modern historical scholarship, such as historical anthropology, the history of everyday life, the history of the Great Patriotic War, and the contribution of the peoples of the republic to the victory over fascism. Having outlined the key achievements of the Institute team, the author draws attention to the current challenges that face historical scholarship. The need to continue research into the contribution of the Tatar people and the Slavic-Turkic symbiosis to the formation and development of Russian statehood, as well as the development of Russia as a “country-civilization” is emphasized.