The ghosts of the past: the remains of Kazan khans turned out to be between heaven and earth
Tatarstan aqsaqals and scientists cannot achieve the burial of the remains of two high-rank citizens of Kazan of the Middle Ages, discovered 40 years ago
In the course of intense discussion on the installation in Kazan of the monument to Catherine II there has been revealed another controversial issue — the perpetuation of the memory of the ancestors of Kazan khans. Some claim that there is still no any memorial, while the others believe that the there is a monument – it is the khan mausoleum in the Kazan Kremlin. At the same time, the scientists turned to our editorial board with the other 'khan' problem: for almost 40 years the remains of two rulers of Kazan can't 'find peace' on the already prepared places for them in the Kremlin mausoleum. Realnoe Vremya found out whether there is an alternative to the Kremlin shrines and what forces are constantly putting off the time of putting the ancient remains in the ground.
Kazan khans from 'Kremlin hill'
In 1977, the group of archaeologists under the direction of Alfred Khalikov opened two tombs in the Kremlin at the foot of the Syuyumbike tower. After the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, the mausoleums on the 'Kremlin hill' were destroyed, but the burials were not disturbed. In the opened tombs the archaeologists discovered wooden coffins with a rich decoration of leather, draped in silver lining.
The extracted from tombs skeletons were initially sent to the repository of the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan, and later moved to the separated Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan named after Khalikov.
In 1997, on the basis of the comparative analysis of the information from historical sources and the data of anthropological studies, it was announced that one of the burials belongs to the deceased in 1467 son of the ruler of the Golden Horde, the Kazan khan Mahmud, and the other – to the son of Ibrahim-Khan khan Muhammad-Amin, who died in 1518.
Rafael Khakimov: 'All necessary work has been carried out by our specialists, as well Moscow specialists. There is no sense to continue to study it – there is nothing else to do, except that the DNA analysis.'
As the director of the Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences named of Mardzhani Rafael Khakimov told to Realnoe Vremya, all the remains have been described long ago, and the Moscow experts have already reconstructed the skulls according to the method of Professor M. M. Gerasimov.
'A scientific part, all necessary work has been carried out by our specialists, as well Moscow specialists – it is an analysis of the bones, restoring of their appearance, they learned even their diet. There is no sense to continue to study them – there is nothing else to do, except that the DNA analysis,' said Khakimov.
'It is unlikely that they know at what temperature to preserve. There is a possibility that they were stored in an improper condition'
The main issue, about which many of Kazan historians and archaeologists concern, it is why, despite the long-completed research, the remains of the khan Muhammad-Amin and the khan Mahmud still have not been interred. Moreover, a suitable place for this has long been prepared, but the scientists for several years regularly have been asking the MRB RT or the President of the Republic to bury the remains.
'The mausoleum is ready for them. There is only a procedure of burial needed. They have not dared to bury for a long time, apparently, for political reasons. I wrote ten years ago that they should be reburied. The only question in the procedure. Last time this question was raised last year, we were said: 'Well, elections… It is no good to do it during the elections, let's do it after.' I don't know why they retard now. Even the ritual has been invented by Zilya Valeyeva [the director of the museum-reserve Kazan Kremlin – editor's note],' said Rafael Khakimov.
Shura of aqsaqals of Kazan also haven'r remained indifferent to this issue — one of the representatives of the Council of elders Rauf Ibragimov last year turned to Rustam Minnikhanov and even reached the muftiate, however, the response has never been received.
'We appealed to the President with the letter for this reason more than six months ago, we waited for a response for a long time – we did not receive it. After that, we turned through the muftiate. It is unacceptable under the Islamic sharia, it is a sinful thing when the remains are not buried. The muftiate reacted: basing on our letter, they turned to the Institute of Archaeology to find out whether these relics really belong to the khans and to whom exactly. In March of 2016, a letter was received from the Institute of Archaeology, in which there were the names of two khans, the relics of whom are not buried,' said Ibragimov. 'After receiving this answer, the muftiate again appealed to the President with a letter which boiled down to the fact that 'it is time'. However, as far as I know, the response has not been received, so the question is still open. It is an unfounded phenomenon. Why it is being done like this — I have no answer, unfortunately.'
The mausoleum, about which we are talking about, is located on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin near the Syuyumbike tower. As Rauf Ibragimov told to Realnoe Vremya, on the same place there lie the relics of four Kazan khans, the last of which – the khan Safa Giray, buried approximately in 1550.
'Thank God, they are not dug up, otherwise, these relics would lie again somewhere in the basement of the Institute of History or Archaeology. It is unlikely that they know what procedures should be performed, at what temperature to store, most likely, I think that there is a possibility that they were stored in an improper condition,' told Ibragimov.
His doubts were dispelled by the director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences Airat Sitdikov, who reported that the remains of the khans are stored in the Museum fund in accordance with all requirements and standards until the decision will be made on the reburial.
An alternative to the Kazan mausoleum and the waiting for a state decision
An attempt to bury in the prepared mausoleum of the Kazan Kremlin was already made a few years earlier, however, again for unclear reasons, the process was stopped.
'What prevented them to finish the job, what happened – it is absolutely unclear,' said Ibragimov. 'It can be rude, perhaps, but normal people bury even their animals, a dog or a cat, but here such case… I can't find the right words, I'm even hurt by all of this. It is in unacceptable. If we were allowed, we could take a responsibility of the burial. If, for example, our state, our government is not able to bury them where they were dug out, we have the Muslim cemetery, which is under the control of MRB RT. This option does not require large funds.'
The position of Rauf Ibragimov was supported by the imam-mukhtasib of Kazan Mansur hazrat Jalaleddin.
'To bury the remains — of course, it is necessary from the point of view of religion. God says in the Quran that we were created from clay, and we have to go back there. It is wrong to stay between heaven and earth,' said Mansur hazrat. 'As for the burial in the Muslim cementry: why not, if they decide, of course, it is fine. It is quite real.'
The director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences Airat Sitdikov sees nothing wrong in the fact that the relics of the Kazan khans still have not been returned to where they were found. According to him, some remains are in the museum storage conditions over centuries. Meanwhile, all concerned should just wait for a government decision on the burial.