Atninsky District (; ) is a territorial administrative unit and municipal district of the Republic of Tatarstan within the Russian Federation. The district is located in the northwest of the republic. The territory of the district includes 47 settlements, which are united into 12 rural settlements. As of 2020, people reside in the district. The administrative center is the village of Bolshaya Atnya, founded during the period of the Khanate of Kazan.
Geography
The total area of the district is 681.4 km². It borders the Arsky and Vysokogorsky Districts of Tatarstan and the Republic of Mari El (Morkinsky District). The relief is a hilly plain with prevailing heights of 160–180 meters. Forests cover 3.9% of the district area. The largest river is Ashit while the largest tributaries are Urtemka (16 km), Shashi (15 km), and Ura (13 km).
Protected natural areas include the natural zakaznik "Ashit", which occupies 2.7 thousand hectares - 4% of the total area of the region. Elks, wild boars, foxes, badgers, white hares and brown hares, American minks, ferrets and muskrats, as well as more than 200 bird species can be found here.
Coat of arms and flag
The coat of arms and the flag were approved by the decision of the Atninsky District Council of March 3, 2006. The development was carried out by the Heraldic Council under the President of the Republic of Tatarstan together with the Russian Union of Heraldists. The Atninsky district is one of the centers of Tatar culture, which to a greater extent has preserved folk traditions and rituals. The tulip, as one of the main national ornaments of Tatarstan, reflects the residents' loyalty to the traditions of their people, and the desire to preserve and support the local culture. The feather is a symbol of ancient history, culture, and rich spirituality. Many outstanding poets and educators were born and raised in the Atninsky region. Among them are the scientist and a spiritual leader Şihabetdin Märcani, Tatar poet Ğabdulla Tuqay, and others. The agrarian orientation of the region is conveyed by half of a gold-colored feather, decorated in the form of an ear. Blue indicates honor, nobility and spirituality; green stands for a rich nature, health and growth in life; silver symbolizes perfection, peace and understanding, while gold is a symbol of stability, respect and intelligence. The flag of the Atninsky region was developed on the basis of the coat of arms. It is a rectangular blue canvas, in the center of which there is a green tulip and a white and gold feather.
History
Many villages in the region have been known since the times of the Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. One of the most significant archeological monuments the Aishiyaz settlement of Kala-tau (City on the Mountain) is located on the territory of the district. The fortress city existed during the times of the Bulgar state and was a large trade center. The epitaph monuments of the 14th, 16th-18th centuries in the Muslim Tatar cemeteries also evidence ancient history of the region. On some of the gravestones, the texts are made with an Arab-Tatar relief inscription from the period of the first half of the 16th century.
Until 1920, the territory of the region was part of the Kazan and Tsarevokokshaisky uezds, and from 1920 to 1930 it was a part of the Arsk Canton of the TASSR. The district was formed on August 10, 1930 as Tukaevsky. On March 25, 1938, it was renamed as Atninsky. On October 12, 1959, it was abolished and its territories were transferred to the Tukaevsky district (formerly Kzyl-Yul district), and restored on October 25, 1990. Since October 2005, the head of the Atninsky municipal district is Khakimov Gabdulahat Gilumkhanovich
Population
The region is the most mono-ethnic in Tatarstan with Tatars making up 98.6% of the population.
Municipal-territorial structure
In 2014, a new settlement was formed in the district, which was included in the Bolsheatninskoe rural settlement - the village of Novaya Atnya. Since 2014, there are 47 settlements in the Atninsky district, comprising 12 rural settlements.