Claim: Russian contains the urban center Kazan.

Kazan -LRB- -LSB- Каза́нь , p = kɐˈzanʲ -RSB- Казан , Qazan -RRB- is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan , Russia . With a population of 1,216,965 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia . Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia . The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site .   In April 2009 , the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the `` Third Capital '' of Russia . In 2009 it was chosen as the `` Sports capital of Russia '' and it still is referred to as such . The city hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade , 2014 World Fencing Championships , the 2015 World Aquatics Championships , and is one of the host cities for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup .   In 2015 , Kazan was visited by 2.1 million tourists , which is a 20 % increase in comparison with 2014 . The Kazan Kremlin was visited by 1.5 million tourists in 2015 and hotel and entertainment complex with aquapark called `` Kazan Riviera '' was visited by 1 million tourists .