Findings from the Narovchat settlement are on display in the Kazan Kremlin

A new exhibition dedicated to the Narovchat settlement, the ancient Golden Horde city of Nurijan, opened on September 24, 2025. Hosted at the Museum of History of the Statehood of the Tatar People and the Republic of Tatarstan in the Kazan Kremlin, it showcases the deep historical ties between this important site and the Tatar people.

The exhibition features over 200 artifacts discovered during archaeological investigations of the Narovchat site. It also showcases the results of work by the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, conducted as a part of the state program of the Republic of Tatarstan, “Preservation of the National Identity of the Tatar People.” This program focuses on the historical and archaeological study of medieval cities and the historical and cultural Turkic-Tatar heritage located outside the republic.

The exhibition was organized by the Kazan Kremlin State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, the Institute of Archaeology TAS, the Narovchat District Museum-Reserve of the Penza Region, and the Penza Museum of Regional Studies.

The opening ceremony featured welcoming addresses by A.A. Timerkhanov, Vice-President TAS; R.R. Salikhov, Academic Secretary of the Department of Humanities TAS and Director of the Institute of History named after Sh. Mardjani TAS ; S.V. Skudin, Head of the Narovchat District; A.G. Sokhryakov, Director of the Narovchat District Museum-Reserve; K.M. Vinnicek, Deputy Director of the Penza Museum of Regional Studies; and I.M. Mirgaleev, Head of the M.A. Usmanov Center for Research on the Golden Horde and the Tatar Khanates at the Institute of History TAS.
Such initiatives are particularly valuable as they promote the popularization of scientific knowledge and foster a careful attitude towards historical memory, especially for the Tatar people, whose roots are deeply intertwined with the history of the Golden Horde and its legacy.

This exhibition continues a series of projects dedicated to the Golden Horde cities of the Volga region. Previously, the Kazan Kremlin hosted an exhibition about the city of Ukek and the exhibition project “In search of ancient kingdoms…” which were visited by over 25,000 people. Future plans include organizing exhibitions dedicated to other capital cities of the Golden Horde. Preparations are currently underway for an exhibition focusing on city of Qasim (Kasimov), the capital of the Qasim Khanate.

For many years, the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences has been conducting systematic archaeological studies at the Golden Horde period sites along the Lower Volga, including the Narovchat settlement, as part of the state program “Preservation of the National Identity of the Tatar People.” This underscores the importance of studying the Turkic-Tatar historical and cultural legacy both within and beyond the republic’s borders. The research findings have significantly expanded our understanding of the history of this city and its role in the Golden Horde. According to some sources, it was in Narovchat that Uzbek Khan decided to declare Islam the state religion of the Golden Horde, a move that profoundly influenced the subsequent history and culture of the peoples inhabiting the Golden Horde.

The exhibition will be open until February 15, 2026.