5 things you probably didn’t know about Kazan, Russia

The ancient city’s hosting WorldSkills 2019, but this isn’t the first time it’s been on the international map.

1) Kazan hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

About 2.572 billion people — half the world’s population — watched the games unfold in this Russian city.

2) The city became part of Russia when it was taken by Ivan the Terrible in 1552.

Russian forces laid siege to Kazan at least 10 times in the 15th and 16th centuries, before it was finally captured.

3) Before falling under Russian rule, the city was the capital of the Kazan Khanate.

Now the capital of the Tatarstan — a republic of the Russian Federation — Kazan embraces a mixture of Tatar and Slavic culture.

4) Famous writer Leo Tolstoy, who wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, was a student at the Kazan State University in the mid-19th century.

He barely passed his entrance exams.

5) SAIT student Taylor Desjardins will be in Kazan this week to compete in World Skills 2019!

(Okay, maybe you already knew that one ☺)

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