government in the eastern part of European Russia, lying between N. Lat. 54. 10. and 56. 45., and E. Long. 46. 20. and 51. 45., and bounded on the N. by Viatka, E. by Orenberg, S. by Simbirsk, and W. by Novgorod. Area 23,947 square miles. The surface is generally flat, with here and there ranges of low hills. In the S.E. are some long off-shoots of the Ural Mountains. The principal rivers are the Volga and the Kama, the former entering the government from the W., the latter from the E. They meet near the centre, and, uniting their streams, pursue a southern course into Simbirsk. Besides these, there are many smaller streams, and numerous lakes abounding in fish. The climate, although very severe in winter, is, on the whole, salubrious. The rivers are covered with ice from November to the end of March, but the rest of the year is mild, and apples, pears, cherries, plums, apricots, and other fruits, come to perfection in the open air. The soil is fertile, but agriculture is very imperfectly carried on. Sufficient crops of rye, wheat, hemp, flax, &c., are raised for home consumption. Extensive forests of pine, fir, and oak, occupy nearly one-half of the surface. Bears, wolves, and various kinds of game abound. Besides agriculture and fishing, the inhabitants find employment in the numerous distilleries, tanneries, oil and saw-mills, and potash works. Spinning and weaving are also common pursuits. Pop. (1851) 1,347,352, of whom about one-half are Russians, the rest being Tartars, Circassians, Chuvasses, &c.

The khanat, or kingdom of Kasan, was founded by the Tartars in 1441, and comprised the present Russian governments of Kasan, Penza, Perm, Simbirsk, and Viatka. It was subjected to Russia in 1552.

capital of the above government, is situated on an elevated tongue of land formed by the Kasanka, and its tributary the Bulak, about 5 miles above the mouth of the former, in the Volga. It consists of three parts, the kremlin, the middle town, and the lower town. The kremlin is situated close to the steepest part of the bank, and is surrounded by a high stone wall built by the Tartars. It contains the governor's and archbishop's palaces, barracks, prisons and workhouses for criminals, and the highly venerated cathedral of the Kasan "Mother of God." In the part of the middle town which adjoins the fortress, the great size of the bazaar, and the grand appearance of some of the private houses near it, attest the rank which Kasan held at an early period. In the bazaar are seen immense piles of furs, vegetables and fruits both fresh and dried, fish, &c. The market-place is surrounded by lofty buildings for the most part of stone, and has recently been much improved in appearance by the planting of rows of trees. Many of the old churches here display elaborate execution, and some of them, perhaps, excel in this respect even those of Moscow. The lower town contains several rows of elegant houses, separated from one another by gardens, and inhabited chiefly by opulent merchants. The chief building here, however, is the university, an elegant structure of white hewn stone, having its principal fronts adorned with Corinthian columns. It contains a library of 30,000 vols., a fine collection of Russian and Tartar coins, scientific apparatus and collections, observatory, botanical garden, &c., and had, in 1854, 91 professors, and 366 students. The study of history and of the Eastern languages receive special attention here. The Tartars dwell apart from the Russians, having a settlement on the eminences which surround Lake Kaban in the vicinity. Kasan is the seat of various manufactures, as woollens, cottons, leather, soap, cutlery, &c., and carries on Kaschau (Hung. Kassa, Lat. Cassovia), a royal free city of Hungary, finely situated at the confluence of the Hradid and Csermel, in the county of Albaivjar, 125 miles N.E. of Pesth. It is enclosed by vineyards, at an elevation of 1060 feet above the sea-level, in N. Lat. 48° 39', E. Long. 21° 16'. The town, which is nearly oval in shape, is well built, its streets are regularly laid out, and it is adorned with squares, and handsome buildings. The cathedral, called Elizabeth-Pfarrkirche, with its copper-covered tower, and fine internal decorations, is as old as the middle of the fourteenth century, and is the best specimen of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture in Hungary. There are thirteen Catholic, and two Lutheran churches, besides the various government houses, bishop's palace, schools, museum, library of 10,000 vols., infirmary, theatre, and aristocratic mansions. The manufactures consist of leather, hats, tobacco, woollen cloth, paper, and gunpowder. There are quarries of stone and slate, and works for making tiles and bricks. The chief trade of Kaschau is in wine. The nobility and upper classes resort to the town in the winter time. Latin, as well as German, is spoken, and both in great purity. Pop. (1851) 13,034.