Infrastructure of the mid XVI - beginning of the XVIII centuries

After devastating wars the government made an important decision to reconstruct old towns and built new ones. In this way appeared such towns as Laishev, Cheboksary, Kokshaisk, Urzhum and some others. Still Kazan remained the largest and the most important centre. In 1558 the English traveler Jankinson wrote about it: “Kazan is a wonderful city, built in accordance with Russian and Tatar traditions, with a solid castle on a high hill. At first the castle was enclosed in wooden wall, but the Russian tsar ordered to build a new wall of white stone”.

At the beginning of the XVIII century the Tatar settlement consisted of 1-2 streets on the bank of the lake Kaban. In 1715 the English traveler John Bell who visited Kazan wrote that its citizens “live in freedom and have lots of rights. They trade with Turkey, Persia and other countries. And some of their people are very rich”.