Verkhneuslonsky District

The Verkhneuslonsky district is located in the northeastern part of the Volga Uplands, on the right bank of the Volga at the confluence of the Volga with the Sviyaga and Sulitsa rivers. Other large rivers in the region are the Klyancheyka, Changara (tributaries of the Sulitsa) and Biy (tributary of the Sviyaga) and form a total length of at least 15 km. The region shares borders with Zelenodolsky district in the north and north-west; with Kamsko-Ustinsky, Apastovsky and Kaybitsky districts in the south and south-west; with the Laishevsky district of Tatarstan and the Kirovsky district of Kazan in the east across the watershed of the Volga river. Agricultural land covers 84.8 thousand hectares with more than 54 thousand hectares considered arable land while forested areas occupy 23 thousand hectares. The Upper Uslon region is characterized by a temperate climate and the transition of soil and vegetation zones from forest to steppe. The soils are of the clay type and contain limestones, clays, dolomites, sands and sandstones. The terrain is undulating-flat with cliffs, river valleys and numerous ravines.{{sfn|Zigashin|Ivanov|Tomaeva|2015}}{{sfn|Suprunenko|2007}}{{cite web

|url = https://verhniy-uslon.tatarstan.ru/programma-sotsialno-ekonomicheskogo-razvitiya.htm

|title = Стратегия социально-экономического развития Верхнеуслонского муниципального района Республики Татарстан на 2016-2021 годы и плановый период до 2030 года(с изменениями от 30.09.2019)

|trans-title = The strategy of socio-economic development of the Verkhneuslonsky municipal district of the Republic of Tatarstan for 2016-2021 and the planning period until 2030 (as amended on 09/30/2019)

|date = 30 September 2019

|publisher = Верхнеуслонский муниципальный район. Официальный сайт [Verkhneuslonskii munitcipalnyi raion. Ofitsialniy sait]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}

In March 2006, the Council of the Verkhneuslonsky Municipal District approved its new heraldic insignia. The dominant color of the coat of arms is red symbolizing courage, strength, labor and beauty. Against this background, at the center of the canvas, there is a high and steep bank or “uslon” that is reflected in the region’s name. A falcon sits on the rock recalling the popularity of falconry in the region in ancient times. The bird, ready to fly, symbolizes the linkage of time, the residents aspirations for the future and also symbolizes courage, intelligence, and swiftness. Since most of the district's borders are located along the Volga and Sviyaga, there is a blue wavy strip at the bottom of the emblem representing the geographical features of the area. The flag is based on heraldic elements of the coat of arms. Like the coat of arms, it has a dominant red background and a blue wavy stripe, which occupies 1/5 of the width of the cloth, at the bottom.{{cite web

|url = https://geraldika.ru/s/15364

|title = Флаг Верхнеуслонского района

|trans-title =Flag of the Verkhneuslonsky District

|date = 14 March 2006

|publisher =Геральдика.ру [Heraldika.Ru]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}{{cite web

|url = https://geraldika.ru/s/15365

|title = Герб Верхнеуслонского района

|trans-title =Coat of arms of the Verkhneuslonsky district

|date = 14 March 2006

|publisher =Геральдика.ру [Heraldika.Ru]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}

In the first half of the 16th century, the territory of the modern Verkhneuslonsky district belonged to the Kazan Khanate, and the nearby Sokolnechya Gora was occupied by outlaws and freebooters. In addition to the Don, the Volga was a common place for runaway serfs who faced ever escalating punishments if caught. The territories that lay downstream of Kazan would be called the “grassroots free zone” as a result. From the Sokolka mountain, freebooters looked out for merchant ships passing along the Volga and as a result called themselves “falcons”. Due to the constant robberies and raids organized by the so-called “falcons”, the Muscovite state decided to get rid of the dangerous outlaws. As a result, the Cossack Ataman Ermak Timofeyevich with his army quickly drove the robbers out of the Volga.{{cite web

|url = https://rg.ru/2015/11/05/reg-pfo/pechishe.html

|title = "Сарынь, на кичку!"

|trans-title = “The mob, on the bow of the ship!”

|author=Олег Корякин [Oleg Koriakin]

|date = 5 November 2015

|publisher =Российская газета [Rossiyskaya Gazeta]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}} Shortly after driving out the bandits, the settlement of Pechischi was formed two kilometers from the modern village of Verkhniy Uslon. The inhabitants of the village earned their living by mining near Uslonskaya Gora, rolled stones to the shore and loading them onto barges. Thanks to the stone mined in the village, the walls of the Kazan Kremlin and the Sviyazhsky monastery were rebuilt. A limestone kiln plant was opened in the village and operated until 1980.{{cite web

|url = http://rt-online.ru/tajna-pechishhinskih-katakomb/

|title = Тайна печищинских катакомб

|trans-title =The mystery of the Pechishchi catacombs

|author=Артем Субботкин [Artyom Subbotin]

|date = 29 November 2016

|publisher = Газета Республика Татарстан [Gazeta Respublika Tatarstan]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}{{cite web

|url = https://inde.io/article/29696-pyat-poezdok-dlya-teh-kto-neuderzhimo-hochet-ubezhat-iz-goroda-v-krasivoe-mesto-i-ne-za-rulem

|title = Пять поездок для тех, кто неудержимо хочет убежать из города в красивое место (и не за рулем)

|trans-title = Five ideas for trips for those who desperately want to escape from the city to a beautiful landscape (and without driving)

|author= Александра Елисеева [Aleksandra Eliseeva]

|date = 17 July 2020

|publisher = Инде [Inde]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}

Until the 1720s, the territory of the Verkhneuslonsky district belonged to the Sviyazhsky county (uyezd). In 1565, some of the largest settlements of that time were founded in the region including Busurmanskaya Sloboda (130 peasant households), Morkvashi (51 peasant households) and Burnashevo (50 peasant households). Under the reign of Peter the Great, the peasants of the Sviyazhsky district were not assigned to build the new city of St. Petersburg but until the age of 45 they could be recruited for the army. In 1708, the Kazan province was formed and the territory of the modern Verkhneuslonsky district was transferred to the Sviyazhsk province. In the 1775-1780s, as a result of the administrative reforms of the Catherine the Great, the Kazan province was divided into 12 districts. The Verkhneuslonsky district remained a part of Sviyazhsk until 1927, when the eponymous canton of the Tatar ASSR was established.{{sfn|Abramov|2001}}

In 1927, the territory of the Verkhneuslonsky district was divided with one part being transferred to the newly established Tenkovsky district, while another part was left to Sviyazhsky district. In October 1931, the Verkhneuslonsky district was reestablished by merging Tenkovsky and Sviyazhsky districts. During World War II, the Pechishchinsky District Flour Mill Plant supplied Verkhniy Uslon with food. From 1941 to 1942, the Belarusian poet Yanka Kupala (Ivan Dominikovich Lutsevich) lived in a small two-story building next to the plant. In 1958, the lands of the Verkhneuslonsky district expanded to incorporate territories of the disbanded Tenkovsky district. In 1963, the Verkhneuslonsky district was also abolished, and its land transferred to Zelenodolsk. Yet subsequently on January 12, 1965, the Verkhneuslonsky district was reestablished within its current borders.{{sfn|Zigashin|Ivanov|Tomaeva|2015}} {{cite web

|url = https://realnoevremya.ru/articles/59405-territorialnoe-delenie-tatarstana-posle-revolyucii

|title = Образование ТАССР: от Татаро-Башкирской республики и штата Идель-Урал к 10 кантонам и 70 районам

|trans-title = Formation of the TASSR: from the Tatar-Bashkir Republic and the state of Idel-Ural to 10 cantons and 70 regions

|author=Лев Жоржевский [Lev Zhorzhevskii]

|date = 17 March 2017

|publisher =Реальное время [Realnoe Vremya]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}

== Administrative and Municipal Status ==

Within the framework of administrative divisions, the Verkhneuslonsky District is one of the forty-three districts in the republic. In 2019, the population in the Verkhneuslonsky district amounted to 16.2 thousand people. As of the beginning of 2020, 15,935 people lived in the district. In terms of ethnic composition, 67% of the district population are Russians and 33% are Tatars. 2.5% of the district population live in urban conditions in the city of Innopolis.{{cite web

|url=https://tatstat.gks.ru/storage/mediabank/%D0%9C%D0%9E%D1%87%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BB2020_308759_311478.pdf

|title = Численность населения муниципальных образований Республики Татарстан

|trans-title = Population of municipalities of the Republic of Tatarstan

|date = 2020

|publisher =ТатарстанСтат [Tatarstanstat]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}

In 2006, the Verkhneuslonsky district was headed by Vladimir Osyanin who had priorly served as the head of the District Administration since 1997. Osyanin left the post in 2010 in connection with a transfer to the post of head of the department for the protection and use of wildlife objects of the Republic of Tatarstan. Alexander Timofeev who before was the long time head of the Laishevsky district was appointed acting head. He was approved as the head of the Verkhneuslonsky district in 2011, but after a few months Timofeev was dismissed in relation to a bribe of 5 million rubles and a court sentenced him four years in prison. Since 2012, Marat Ziatdinov has occupied the position of the head of the Verkhneuslonsky district.{{cite web

|url = https://www.tatar-inform.ru/news/society/11-03-2012/marat-ziatdinov-novyy-glava-verhneuslonskogo-rayona-rt-5346361

|title = Марат Зиатдинов - новый глава Верхнеуслонского района

|trans-title = Marat Ziatdinov — the new head of the Verkhneuslonsky district

|date = 11 March 2012

|publisher =Татар-Информ [Tatar-Inform]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}{{cite web

|url = https://rt.rbc.ru/tatarstan/17/11/2015/564aead29a79473c0546e430

|title = Экс-глава Верхнеуслонского района РТ А.Тимофеев выйдет на свободу по УДО

|author=Татьяна Ренкова

|date = 2015-11-17

|publisher =РБК-Татарстан

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}{{cite web

|url = https://www.tatar-inform.ru/news/society/30-07-2011/v-tatarstane-prostilis-s-vladimirom-osyaninym-5337447

|title = В Татарстане простились с Владимиром Осяниным

|trans-title = Tatarstan said goodbye to Vladimir Osyanin

|date = 30 July 2011

|publisher =Татар-Информ [Tatar-Inform]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}

The largest enterprises in the region include Keramika-Sintez and the Shelangovsky fruit and berry farm “Shelangovsky” in the Shelanga village, Tatkrakhmalpatoka in the Kuralovo village, the Verkhneuslonsky branch of Tatavtodor, as well as the Velvette boat and yacht plant.

In 2008, the “Klyuchischinskaya ceramics” plant with a capacity of 48 million units per year began operations in the village of Klyuchischi. The construction of the plant cost 1.5 billion rubles. In 2012, every tenth brick in Tatarstan was produced at the “Klyuchishchinskaya ceramics” plant. In 2018, the company was declared bankrupt and put up for auction for 581 million rubles and in two years the plant was bought by entrepreneur Vadim Samarkin for 350 million rubles. At this time Samarkin already had his own company “Zavolzhskaya ceramics”, established in 2019.{{cite web

|url=https://realnoevremya.ru/articles/188372-klyuchischenskaya-keramika-ushla-s-molotka

|title = «Ключищенская керамика» ушла с молотка за треть вложенного

|trans-title = "Klyuchischenskaya ceramics" was sold at an auction for a third of the investment

|author=Александр Артемьев [Alexander Artem’yev]

|date = 23 September 2020

|publisher =Реальное время [Realnoe Vremya]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}{{cite web

|url=https://www.business-gazeta.ru/news/370983

|title = Завод «Ключищинская керамика», принадлежавший Ливаде, выставили на аукцион за 581 млн рублей

|trans-title = The Klyuchischinskaya Ceramics plant, owned by Livada, was put up for auction for 581 million rubles

|date = 28 January 2018

|publisher =Бизнес Online [BUSINESS Online]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}{{cite web

|url=https://www.business-gazeta.ru/article/82107

|title = Анатолий Ливада: «Наша задача – производить дома, а не кирпич»

|author=Дмитрий Катаргин, Рустам Ахметгареев [Dmitrii Katargin, Rustam Akhmetgareev]

|date = 18 June 2013

|publisher =Бизнес Online [BUSINESS Online]

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}} Additionally, there is another district brick factory “Keramika-Sintez” that is owned by TAIF, the largest industrial holding in Tatarstan. As of 2017, the company produced 20 million bricks annually. Materials produced there were used to construct the facilities of the 2013 World University Games in Kazan. In 2019, the company produced 21.3 million units of ceramic stone.{{cite web

|url=https://realnoevremya.ru/articles/179448-gruppa-taif-podvela-itogi-finansovo-hozyaystvennoy-v-2019-g

|title = Не прекращая движение: ТАИФ подвел итоги 2019 года

|trans-title = Without stopping to move: TAIF summed up the results of 2019

|author=Арсений Фавстрицкий [Arsenii Favstritskii]

|date = 2 July 2020

|publisher =Реальное время

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}{{cite web

|url=https://realnoevremya.ru/articles/64401-reyting-samye-bednye-i-samye-bogatye-rayony-tatarstana

|title = Рейтинг «Реального времени»: «Рублевка» сравнялась по эффективности с нефтехимической столицей Татарстана

|trans-title = Rating by Realnoe Vremya: Rublevka has caught up in efficiency with the petrochemical capital of Tatarstan

|author= Фаиль Гатаулин, Сергей Афанасьев [Fail Gataulin, Sergei Afanasev]

|date = 5 May 2017

|publisher =Реальное время [Realnoe Vremya]

|access-date =22 December 2020

}}

The construction industry in Verkhneuslonsky is also represented by the Matyushinsky quarry enterprise (a subsidiary of Tatagrokhimservice), which extracts limestone for the needs of the road construction and agriculture in Tatarstan. The volume of products manufactured in the Verkhneuslonsky district in 2018 amounted to 59.7 million rubles, and the average number of employees working at enterprises there was more than 40 people. According to the federal statistics agency of Tatarstan, at the beginning of 2019, there were 665 small and medium-sized businesses in the district, of which 425 were individual entrepreneurs. The share of small and medium-sized businesses in the gross territorial product of the Verkhneuslonsky municipal district increased from 26.8 to 30.5% during the period from 2015 to 2018. In January-September of 2020, the value of goods produced and shipped by enterprises operating in the district amounted to 2.5 billion rubles.{{cite web

|url = https://mert.tatarstan.ru/reyting-munitsipalnih-obrazovaniy-v-2020-godu.htm

|title = Рейтинг социально-экономического развития муниципальных районов и городских округов Республики Татарстан за январь-сентябрь 2020 года

|trans-title = Rating of socio-economic development of municipal districts and urban districts of the Republic of Tatarstan for January-September 2020

|date = 2020-11-25

|publisher = Министерство экономики Республики Татарстан. Официальный сайт

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

The leading agricultural sectors are the dairy and beef cattle industries and the cultivation of grain and fodder crops. The agricultural sector is primarily represented by seven agricultural enterprises including the four largest: Krasny Vostok-Agro, the Uslon agricultural company, the Zarya enterprise, and Shelanga (a branch of the Narmonka agricultural company) as well as 87 individual farms. Among other enterprises are Zolotoi kolos (a branch of the “Kolos-Sintez” company), Luch, the “Uslon” agrofirm, the Pechishchensky factory of grain products, and the “Nizhny Uslon” cannery. As of July 2019, agricultural producers of all forms of ownership used 54.1 thousand hectares of arable land, rearing 10,202 head of cattle, 3,629 cows, 5 020 pigs and 96 horses. In total, the agricultural sector employed 470 people. In the first half of 2020, the gross agricultural output of the district amounted to 26 million rubles.

Since 2015, a high-tech livestock complex has been operating in the village of Kildeyevo. The total investment in the construction of the complex amounted to more than 260 million rubles in 2017. In the same year, the complex built a sanitary checkpoint for the disinfection of technical transport.

The regional company “Tatkrakhmalpatoka” cultivates and produces dry fermented rye and barley malt which is then supplied to the countries of the former CIS, Poland, Lithuania and China. In 2017, the company held a leading position in Russia in the production of kvass wort concentrate, maltose syrup and malt extracts. According to the CEO, in 2019, the company's revenue amounted to 380 million rubles.{{cite web

|url = https://www.business-gazeta.ru/article/409788

|title = Тимур Нагуманов о чиновниках: «До сих пор на «палках» сидят и за штрафы премии получают!»

|trans-title = Timur Nagumanov about officials: "They still sit on the" sticks "and receive bonuses for fines!"

|author=Александр Андреев [Alexander Andreev]

|date = 17 January 2019

|publisher = Бизнес Online [BUSINESS Online]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

In 2016, The Verkhniy Uslon milk processing plant shipped 22,993 tons of products. In 2018, the enterprise planned to replace the equipment in its butter facility and developed a project to increase the daily volume of processed milk by 25%. The plant took over the repair costs of the central road to the village of Makulovo that leads to the workshops. The volume of products manufactured by the plant in 2018 amounted to 617.6 million rubles. As of 2020, the plant produces 60-70 tons of processed milk per day. According to E-Kazan media, their butter is among the top five in Tatarstan.{{cite web

|url = https://www.dairynews.ru/company/russia/pfo/respublika-tatarstan/agrofirma-verkhniy-uslon-ooo/

|title = Агрофирма Верхний Услон, ООО

|trans-title = Agrofirm Verhniy Uslon, OOO

|date = 2020

|publisher = The Dairy News

|access-date = 2020-11-29}}{{cite web

|url = https://e-kazan.ru/news/show/40686

|title = Экспертиза. Молоко и масло, которые можно покупать в Казани

|trans-title = Expertise. Milk and butter that can be bought in Kazan

|date = 31 August 2018

|publisher = Казанский Портал e-Kazan [Kazanskii Portal e-Kazan]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

{{Main|Innopolis}}

In 2010, the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov announced the idea of creating a science and innovation city on the territory of the Verkhneuslonsky district. In 2012, the town of Innopolis along with a university was founded. Construction lasted three years until its official opening in 2015. Currently, the city occupies the area of 1200 hectares and intended to accommodate the offices of resident companies and laboratories. Innopolis has its own special economic zone (SEZ) whose residents receive tax benefits on revenue, transport, property, land and insurance premiums. As of 2020, 109 companies were residents of the Innopolis SEZ, with 26 of them being partners, and another 50 startups. These companies to date have provided jobs for 3.8 thousand people and invested about 27 billion rubles into the economy of Tatarstan.{{cite web

|url = https://www.cnews.ru/news/line/2020-11-30_v_oez_innopolis_razrabotayut

|title = В ОЭЗ «Иннополис» разработают систему беспилотного движения в метро и единую платформу для зарядки электромобилей

|trans-title= The SEZ “Innopolis” will develop a system of unmanned metro and a unified platform for charging electric vehicles

|date = 30 November 2020

|publisher = C-News

|access-date = 22 December 2020

}}

There are two technology parks within Innopolis. The first tenants of the space in 2014 were Ak Bars-Bank and Russian Post. As of 2020, according to the General Director of the Innopolis SEZ Renat Khalimov, the occupancy rate of the Popov Technology park is 87%. Another 10% of office space has been booked under preliminary cooperation agreements with companies. The opening of the second industrial park named after Nikolai Lobachevsky with an area of 30 thousand square meters was postponed from the end of 2020 to 2021. In 2020, the opening of a third park was announced to be completed in 2023 with an area of 22.7 hectares. Total investment in the project is tentatively estimated at 1.5 billion rubles. Potential residents, with whom negotiations on cooperation are already underway, plan to work on projects in the field of microelectronics and electromechanics, as well as in industrial robotics and unmanned aerial vehicles together with Innopolis University.{{cite web

|url = https://inkazan.ru/news/city/26-12-2019/pohoroshel-li-innopolis-pri-shayhutdinove

|title = Похорошел ли Иннополис при Шайхутдинове?

|trans-title = Has Innopolis become prettier under Shaikhutdinov?

|date = 26 December 2019

|publisher = InKazan

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}{{cite web

|url = https://kazanfirst.ru/articles/521205

|title = Иннополис строит промпарк

|trans-title = Innopolis is building an industrial park

|author=Ирина Егорова [Irina Yegorova]

|date = 19 June 2020

|publisher = KazanFirst

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

In 2017, the republic authorities announced their intentions to build a large agro-industrial park in the Verkhneuslonsky district. According to preliminary plans, about 420 million rubles will be spent on its construction, including funds allocated by the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, the Ministry of Agriculture of Tatarstan, municipal authorities, farmers and investors. It is planned to accommodate nine residents at the site, who will be engaged in the production, cutting, processing, packaging, storage and sale of agricultural products.{{cite web

|url = https://regnum.ru/news/economy/2308373.html

|title = Агропромышленный парк «Услон» построят в татарской деревне

|trans-title = Agro-industrial park "Uslon" will be built in the Tatar village

|date = 9 August 2017

|publisher = Regnum.ru

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

In January-June 2020, the total volume of investment in fixed assets of the district, excluding budgetary funds, amounted to 1.45 billion rubles. The district authorities plan to increase this amount to 13 billion rubles by 2030, as well as expected tax and non-tax budget revenues to 330 million rubles.

Two federal highways pass through the district: the M-7 Volga “Moscow—Nizhny Novgorod— Kazan— Ufa” and the R-241 “Kazan— Buinsk— Ulyanovsk”. Other important highways include the R-241— Verkhniy Uslon, Ulanovo—Bolshiye Kaibitsy and Oktyabrsky— Kamskoye Ustye. Until 2018, connections between various settlements of the Verkhneuslonsky district were provided mainly by water transport. During winters, people were transported using hovercraft. In 2018-2019, as a result of a program to subsidize rural transport, three overland routes were opened in the region: Verkhniy Uslon—Shelanga, Verkhniy Uslon—Kanash and Verkhniy Uslon—Innopolis.{{cite web

|url = https://kazanfirst.ru/articles/521205

|title = В Верхнеуслонском районе открыли новые автобусные маршруты

|trans-title = New bus routes opened in Verkhneuslonsky district

|author= Ирина Егорова [irina Yegorov]

|date = 23 October 2018

|publisher = Татар-Информ [Tatar-Inform]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

In 2018, the regional authorities announced their intention to build cable cars from the Verkhneuslonsky district to Kazan. In particular, the international company Leitner Ropeways proposed to link Upper Uslon and the Temple of all religions located in Kazan. The route will be 2 km long with a throughput capacity of 1200 people per hour. The project is at the stage of seeking investors with costs estimated at 9 million euros.{{cite web

|url = https://www.business-gazeta.ru/article/397251

|title = «Мне Никифоров сказал: мы вас поддержим»: свяжут ли канаты Верхний Услон и храм Ханова?

|trans-title = “Nikiforov said to me: we will support you”: will the ropes tie Verkhniy Uslon and the Khanov temple?

|author= Наталья Голобурдова, Дмитрий Катаргин, Алексей Лучников [Natalia Goloburdova, Dmitrii Katargin, Aleksei Luchnikov]

|date = 1 October 2018

|publisher = Бизнес Online [BUSINESS Online]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

The district’s largest settlements are connected by suburban bus service to Kazan, while the distance from the regional center and villages to Kazan by motorways varies from 35-55 km.

There are 10 natural monuments and reserves on the territory of the district. These include the “Mountain pine forest” with an area of 70 hectares, “Kamenny ravine”, “Stratigraphic section of the Kazan and Urzhum stages near the village of Kyzyl-Bayrak” with an estimated age of 260 million years, the ravine “Cheryomushki”, “Klykovsky Sklon”, “Tashevskie Sklony”, “Kuralovskie Rodniki” and the “Sulitsa River”. The natural monument “Pechishchensky geological section” is a popular site among geologists around the world, since each layer of the rock corresponds to a different era. Fossil remains of the Upper Permian fauna and flora were found here: ganoid fish, molluscs, sea lilies and algae. The natural monument “KSU Zoo—Dachny massiv” includes the eponymous zoological station, founded in 1916.{{sfn|Ivanov|2015}}

As of 2019, there were 25 schools operating in the district instructing 1,747 students. Another 464 children attend 16 kindergartens. There is a technical school offering courses for professionals like tractor drivers, social workers, and an integrated profession of cook-driver. There is also a children's and youth sports school in Verkhniy Uslon. The cultural resources of the district include a centralized club system with 33 branches and a library system with 25 branches, a children's art school and a local history museum, which was opened in 2001. The regional newspaper “Volzhskaya Nov” is published in Russian.

From 1920 to 1940, the famous composer Salikh Saydashev spent his summer months in the village of Kyzyl Bayrak. To commemorate this, a musical festival has been organized there since 2000. Notable artists and musicians from the republic perform at the event and in 2005 the composer's works were performed for the first time by a symphony orchestra.{{cite web

|url=https://www.tatar-inform.ru/news/culture/14-08-2006/v-sele-kyzyl-bayrak-proshel-prazdnik-iskusstv-posvyaschennyy-pamyati-kompozitora-saliha-saydasheva-4851653

|title = В селе Кызыл Байрак прошел праздник искусств, посвященный памяти композитора Салиха Сайдашева

|trans-title = An arts festival dedicated to the memory of composer Salikh Saydashev was held in the village of Kyzyl Bayrak

|date = 14 August 2006

|publisher = Татар-Информ [Tatar-Inform]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}{{cite web

|url=https://www.tatar-inform.ru/news/culture/20-08-2005/v-sele-kyzyl-bayrak-proshel-prazdnik-posvyaschennyy-tvorchestvu-saliha-saydasheva-5655911

|title = В селе Кызыл Байрак прошел праздник, посвященный творчеству Салиха Сайдашева

|trans-title = A holiday dedicated to the creativity of Salikh Saydashev was held in the village of Kyzyl Bayrak

|date = 20 August 2005

|publisher = Татар-Информ [Tatar-Inform]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

The former steam mill of the Ivan Okonishnikov and Sons Trading House built in 1895 is a surviving architectural monument built in the area. In one of the buildings there is a museum named after Yanka Kupala, a poet evacuated to the region during the Great Patriotic War. According to statistics, more than 10 thousand tourists visited the museum in 2017 and 2018. Additionally, in the village of Klyuchischi, there is the estate of the Marquis Paulucci dated the late 19th-early 20th centuries, which is in disrepair and is looking for investors for its restoration. As part of the regional tourism development program in 2018, a guest house “Vvedenskaya Usadba” was opened in the village of Vvedenskaya Sloboda.{{sfn|Иванов|2015}}{{cite web

|url = https://realnoevremya.ru/news/178633-baltusova-ischet-investorov-dlya-usadeb-knyazya-gagarina-i-markiza-pauluchchi

|title = Балтусова ищет инвесторов, которые отреставрируют усадьбу князя Гагарина и маркиза Паулуччи

|trans-title = Baltusova is looking for investors who will restore the estate of Prince Gagarin and Marquis Paulucci

|date = 24 June 2020

|publisher = Реальное время [Realnoe Vremya]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}} In the region there are also suburban summer cottages, houses and recreation centers (Pustye i Naberezhnye Morkvashi, Shelanga and others), an equestrian sports complex Shelanga and a modern year-round ski sports and recreation complex “Kazan”.

There are many historical temples on the territory of the district, including:

• The Church of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos (the village of Vvedenskaya Sloboda), built in 1782, currently it houses the courtyard of the Makakryevsky Monastery and restoration work is underway;{{cite web

|url = https://tatmitropolia.ru/temples/poblagochiniym/verhniwslon/vedenskaysloboda/

|title = Храм Введения Пресвятой Богородицы (с. Введенская Слобода)

|trans-title = Temple of the Introduction of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Vvedenskaya Sloboda village)

|date =2020

|publisher =Православие в Татарстане [Pravoslavie v Tatarstane]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (village of Verkhniy Uslon), built in 1831{{cite web

|url = https://tatmitropolia.ru/temples/poblagochiniym/verhniwslon/nikilyhrm/

|title =Николо-Ильинский храм (р.ц. Верхний Услон)

|trans-title = Nikolo-Ilyinsky temple (district center Verkhniy Uslon)

|date =2020

|publisher =Православие в Татарстане [Pravoslavie v Tatarstane]

|access-date =22 December 2020}}

• Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (village Verkhniy Uslon), built in 1831;
• The two-altar church of the Nativity of Christ (Shelanga village), built in 1783;у{{cite web

|url =https://tatmitropolia.ru/temples/poblagochiniym/verhniwslon/rogvahrvashlga/

|title =Храм Рождества Христова (с. Шеланга)

|trans-title = Church of the Nativity of Christ (Shelanga village)

|date =2020

|publisher =Православие в Татарстане [Pravoslavie v Tatarstane]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• Temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh (the village of Nizhny Uslon), built in 1890;{{cite web

|url=https://tatmitropolia.ru/hramy_tatarstana/kazan_eparhiya/verhniy_uslon/?id=65545

|title =Храмы Верхнеуслонского благочиния

|trans-title = Temples of the Upper Uslon Deanery

|date =2020

|publisher =Православие в Татарстане [Pravoslavie v Tatarstane]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• Temple in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Korguz village), built in 1887;{{cite web

|url=https://tatmitropolia.ru/temples/poblagochiniym/verhniwslon/nik_chud/

|title =Храм в честь святителя Николая Чудотворца (с. Коргуза)

|trans-title = Temple after St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Korguz village)

|date =2020

|publisher =Православие в Татарстане [Pravoslavie v Tatarstane]

|access-date = 2020-12-01}}

• Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Inexhaustible Chalice” (Kuralovo village), built in 2001;{{cite web

|url=https://sobory.ru/article/?object=18956

|title =Куралово. Церковь иконы Божией Матери "Неупиваемая Чаша".

|trans-title = Kuralovo. Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Inexhaustible Chalice”.

|date =2020

|publisher =Соборы.ру [Sobory.Ru]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• The bell tower of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Maidan village), built in 1768;{{cite web

|url=https://sobory.ru/article/?object=21550

|title =Майдан. Колокольня церкви Спаса Преображения.

|trans-title = Maidan. Bell tower of the Church of the Transfiguration.

|date =2020

|publisher =Соборы.ру [Sobory.Ru]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• Temple of the Position of the Lord's Robe (Tikhy Plyos village), built in 1877;{{cite web

|url=https://tatmitropolia.ru/temples/poblagochiniym/verhniwslon/tihuplesrizply/

|title =Храм положения Ризы Господней (с. Тихий Плес)

|trans-title = Temple of the Superimposition of the Lord's Robe (Tikhy Ples village)

|date =2020

|publisher =Православие в Татарстане [Pravoslavie v Tatarstane]

|access-date = 2020-12-01}}

• Temple of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands (Ulanovo village), built in 1802.{{cite web

|url=https://tatmitropolia.ru/hramy_tatarstana/kazan_eparhiya/verhniy_uslon/?id=65582

|title =Храм Нерукотворного Образа Спасителя в селе Уланово

|trans-title = Church of the Savior Nerukotvorny in the village of Ulanovo

|date =2020

|publisher =Православие в Татарстане [Pravoslavie v Tatarstane]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• Kafil Fakhrazeevich Amirov — an official Prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan, born in 1949 in the village of Nariman, Verkhneuslonsky District;{{cite web

|url = https://www.business-gazeta.ru/article/426590

|title = Кафиль Амиров: «Вот так и живу с улыбкой, чтобы не радовать врагов»

|trans-title = Kafil Amirov: “This is how I live with a smile so as not to please my enemies”

|date = 23 February 2019

|publisher = Бизнес Online [BUSINESS Online]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• Vladimir Vyacheslavovich Belokurov — theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR, was born in 1904 in the village of Nizhny Uslon, Sviyazhsky district;{{cite web

|url = https://www.kino-teatr.ru/kino/acter/m/sov/392/bio/

|title = Владимир Белокуров

|trans-title = Vladimir Belokurov

|date = 1 October 2020

|publisher = Кино-Театру.ру [Kino-Teatru.ru]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

• Semyon Vasilyevich Konovalov — Hero of the Soviet Union, was born in 1920 in the village of Yambulatovo.{{cite web

|url=http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=4743

|title = Коновалов Семён Васильевич

|trans-title = Konovalov Semyon Vasilievich

|date =2020

|publisher= Патриотический интернет-проект "Герои Страны" [Patrioticheskii internet-proekt "Geroi Strany"]

|access-date = 22 December 2020}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{RussiaBasicLawRef|ta}}
• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|ta|mun|list|verkhneuslonsky}}
• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|ta|adm|list}}

== Bibliography ==

• {{cite book

|last= Abramov

|first= L. G.

|date= 2001

|title= Verkhnii Uslon: krai rodnoi, navek liubimyi… [Verkhniy Uslon: a native land, forever beloved ...]

|location= Kazan

|publisher= Po gorodam i vesiam

}}

• {{cite book

|date= 1999

|title= Tatarskii entsiklopedicheskii slovar [Tatar encyclopedic dictionary]

|location= Kazan

|publisher= Institut Tatarskoi entsiklopedii AN RT

}}

• {{cite book

|last= Suprunenko

|first= Yu.P.

|date= 2007

|title= Noveishaia entciklopediia tainstvennykh mest Rossii [The newest encyclopedia of mysterious places in Russia]

|location= Moscow

|publisher= Gelios

}}

• {{cite book

|last1=Zigashin

|first1= I.I.

|last2=Ivanov

|first2= D.V.

|last3=Tomaeva

|first3= I.F.

|url=https://eco.tatarstan.ru/file/Karman_spravochnik_web_spread.pdf

|date= 2015

|title= Ekologicheskii gid po zelenym ugolkam Respubliki Tatarstan [Ecological guide to the nature of the Republic of Tatarstan]

|location= Kazan

|publisher= Foliant

}}

{{Republic of Tatarstan}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2012}}

Category:Districts of Tatarstan