Sights of Chistopol

Around Ulitsa Karla Marksa

Memorial Complex with Eternal Flame

  • Boulevard on Ulitsa Karla Marksa

Running along much of the boulevard in the middle of Ulitsa Karla Marksa is the city's Second World War memorial complex. The complex starts at the intersection with Ulitsa Lva Tolstogo with a statue of two soldiers which is in honour of the “fearless and true sons of the motherland”. Further on at the intersection with Ulitsa Bebelya there is an obelisk and an eternal flame. Behind this there are several plinths with images of local war heroes and then the names of people from… Read more »

Museum of a District City

  • 8 Ulitsa Karla Marksa
  • 09:00 – 17:00. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Chistopol’s Museum of a District City was founded back in 1921 by a local historian, who became its first director. For a small provincial museum, it has a rather rich collection, which is housed in a grand two-storey mansion which once belonged to a merchant. The museum comprises several halls, including a recreation of the old mansion, a nature department, a section on the history of the production of Vostok watches and a hall on the history of the city, especially its merchant… Read more »

Our Lady of Kazan Church

  • 67 Ulitsa Karla Marksa

At the end of the boulevard on Ulitsa Karla Marksa is the Our Lady of Kazan Church which next to an Orthodox cemetery. The simple blue-domed church was built between 1840 and 1848 in the classical style and was originally dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ. The church's main structure has a single dome and there is a bell tower over the main entrance. The church was closed in 1917 and used as a prison for political prisoners in the Second World War. It was however reopened as… Read more »

St Nicholas’ Cathedral

  • 2 Ulitsa Karla Marksa

Chistopol's main cathedral and the city's most visible building is St Nicholas' Cathedral which stands on the main road into the city's historical centre close to the bank of the River Kama. The cathedral was completed in 1838 in the classical style. The central cubic structure is topped with five domes and its facades are decorated with columns. A four-tier bell tower is also built onto the cathedral. In 1927 the cathedral was closed but was briefly opened once more from 1932 to… Read more »

Around Ulitsa Lenina

Boris Pasternak Memorial Museum

  • 81 Ulitsa Lenina
  • 09:00 - 17:00. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

The Boris Pasternak Memorial Museum was opened in 1990 in the house where the famous Russian writer Boris Pasternak lived from 1941 to 1941 when he, along with other writers, were evacuated to Chistopol during the Second World War. On the second floor of the small museum there are three halls: two memorial rooms and one literary room. The memorial rooms depict the rooms as they looked when Pasternak lived there, one of them is the landlord's room and the other Pasternak's own room… Read more »

Eleusa Icon Church

  • intersection of Ulitsa Lenina and Ulitsa Narimanova

In between the two Ulitsa Lenina streets at the intersection with Ulitsa Narimanova is Chistopol's newest church - the Eleusa Icon Church. The church was built between 2011 and 2013 in the Byzantine Revival style out of red and yellow bricks. Like most churches in this style, it has a large squat central dome surrounded by four smaller corner domes. All domes and other coverings are metallic blue in colour. Read more »

Vladimir Lenin Monument

  • Ploschad Lenina (intersection of Ulitsa Lenina and Ulitsa Lva Tolstogo)

Standing on a small square in between the two Ulitsa Lenina streets which run parallel with each other and where they are crossed by Ulitsa Lva Tolstogo is Chistopol's statue of Vladimir Lenin. It is a typical Lenin statue depicting the Soviet leader holding a cap in one hand and his jacket lapel in the other. Immediately behind the statue is a modern cinema complex and the city's main hotel - Hotel Chistopol - is on the other side of the square. Read more »

Around Ulitsa Vakhitova

Ikhlas Mosque

  • Ulitsa 40 Let Pobedy

Another mosque worth seeing in Chistopol is the Ikhlas Mosque which is located on Ulitsa 40 Let Pobedy which is the continuation of Ulitsa Vakhitova as it runs south out of the city. The mosque is a modern construction featuring a main sloping building with a light blue dome on top. The entrance to the mosque is located between two minarets with light blue spires. Ikhlas, or Al-Ikhlas, translates as Fidelity and is the name of the 112th chapter, or sura, of the Koran. Located… Read more »

Iman Mosque

  • 74 Ulitsa Narimanova

In total there are five mosques in Chistopol and further on down Ulitsa Vakhitova, at its intersection which Ulitsa Narimanova, is one of these. Unlike it beautiful and historical neighbour, the Iman Mosque is a more modern and simple building. It is built out of bricks and includes a pretty minaret with a green spire. The mosque is named after the Islamic concept of Iman which is the belief in the six articles of faith. Read more »

Nur Mosque

  • 39 Ulitsa Vakhitova

Chistopol's Nur Mosque, which is also known as the First Congressional Mosque, is one of the oldest surviving mosques in the whole of Tatarstan. It was built in 1857 using the funds of a local merchant. The lime green mosque comprises a main structure with a dome and a side minaret. During the Soviet years the mosque remained open. The name Nur comes from Al-Nur, the 24th sura of the Koran which means Light. Read more »