However, in rural areas some still cling to pre-Revolutionary traditions. In these outlying areas, up to three generations may live in one house. Their social system is strongly patriarchal. This means that the father is the legal head of the household and his word is final in all family matters. The men are also in charge of the family income and how it is spent.
Women usually cook, carry water, wash clothes, and tend livestock.
Unlike devout Muslims, about one fourth of the Tatar eat pork. In fact, very few Tatar observe Islamic eating customs and fasts. In Ukraine, the most important Tatar colony is in the Donets region. Most of the Tatar in this area are industrial workers who have assimilated into the Russian culture. In 1979, only half of the Tatar population of the Donets region claimed Tatar as their mother tongue.