Astrakhan is an ancient capital of Tatars in what’s now the southern Russia. It is located on 11 islands of Caspian Sea and has 30 bridges. Astrakhan’s location between Persia and India and Russia and Europe made it one of the richest cities in this part of the world.

Astrakhan was the capital of the Golden Horde (the alliance of Tatars and Mongols) – the arch enemy of the young Russian state. In XV century, powerful Ivan the Terrible of Moscow was able to conquer Astrakhan finally putting an end to three-century-long Mongol quest into Europe.

Russian have held Astrakhan ever since. For a brief moment it seemed that German would take it away in World War II, but, exhausted, the German armies had been stopped just 100 km away from the city. Russians were able to secured fuel supply from Azerbaijan, which was immensely important for battle of Stalingrad.

By today’s standards Astrakhan may seem provincial, but its immense role in Russian and world history cannot be underestimated.