Bolgar. Journey into the past

The festival of historical reconstruction will be held in the Bulgarian Museum-Reserve of Tatarstan.

History lovers from all over the country come to this event to immerse themselves in medieval life, see the reconstruction of competitive traditions of the past, attend thematic master classes and exhibitions.

In addition to the main festival program, the square of the historical and archaeological complex hosts fairs, fiery ancient dances, fire shows, animators' performances and folklore concerts.

Horse battles, early and late medieval sites are waiting for you already this year!

"Bolgar. Journey into the past"

A new festival in an old place brings friends together.

A new festival in an old place brings friends together

On September 28-29 on the territory of the Bolgar Museum-Reserve in the Republic of Tatarstan will be held a new large-scale historical festival “Bolgar. Journey to the Past”. The event is expected to bring together more than 10,000 history buffs and travelers and give them the opportunity to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the ancient Volga city. The guests of the festival will be able to get acquainted with the life of bygone eras in an accessible form and learn how people lived, worked and spent their leisure time in different periods on the territory of the ancient settlement. The entrance to the event will be free of charge for all guests of the festival.

During all two days of the festival 10 sites will be presented for guests, where everyone will be able to plunge into the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, recreated with the help of unique theatrical performances, workshops, historical fairs and thematic battles. All sites will be divided into four historical periods of the ancient city of Bolgar: the Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde, the Kazan Khanate and the Russian state. The central event of the whole festival will be thematic battles of reconstructors of Moscow raitars of the XVII century, cavalrymen of a new formation with firearms.

The organizers have planned an evening music program with the participation of famous Russian and Tatarstan bands. As a bright finale of the event, a spectacular fire show is planned, where fire performances will be accompanied by medieval music.

“The site for the festival was chosen by our team, of course, not by chance. Firstly, Bolgar is one of the significant historical places not only in Tatarstan, but also in the whole of Russia. Secondly, the territory is ideal for such a large-scale festival: a huge area and incredibly beautiful nature. This year we have prepared new original formats for our guests. Among them will be many educational: we will hold historical lectures, quests, we will reveal the history of costume, talk about the history of Tatarstan and the Volga region. In addition, the festival will become the center of event tourism of the Volga region”, - shared Alexey Kokurin, organizer of the festivals ‘Battle of the Epochs’ and ‘Great Bolgar’, executive director of the company ‘Journey to the Past’.

“Bolgar. Journey to the Past” is an event that is designed to unite people of different generations in a fascinating journey into history. In order to feel the atmosphere of the past for a while, guests will be able to take part in fencing classes on sports weapons, master classes on ancient crafts or spin in the whirlwind of medieval dance.

“Each of our festivals is special and is aimed, above all, at preserving traditional family values. “Bolgar. Journey to the Past” is no exception. The festival organizers will present the guests with a holiday of history, culture and enlightenment. Participants of all ages will be able to find something to their liking. Children and adults will join the history, see historical battles, watch exciting performances, learn ancient crafts or get acquainted with the work of the most famous masters from all over Russia. And industry professionals, through a specially designed business program, will be able to learn modern trends in the development of event tourism from leading Russian experts in this field”, - said Mark Rofman, organizer of the festivals ‘Battle of the Epochs’ and ‘Great Bolgar’, commercial director of the company ‘Journey to the Past’.

Reference:
In 2022, the organizing team announced the closure of the already well-known large-scale, which became international, medieval battle festival “Great Bolgar”. The event was held annually in Tatarstan on the territory of the Bolgar ancient settlement, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from 2014 to 2022. Over 200 thousand spectators have visited the festival over the entire period of the project's existence. “Great Bolgar” is the winner in the category ‘Event of the Year’ of the annual Russian Event Industry Awards EFEA Awards and the winner of the Grand Prix ‘Russian Event Awards’ 2020.

Preliminary program “Bolgar. Journey into the past”

Preliminary program “Bolgar. Journey into the past”

September 28
Rivalry central
10.00 - 11.00 Historical maneuvers (Early Middle Ages).
11.00 - 13.00 Theatricalized opening of the festival. Continuation of the battle program of the Early Middle Ages.
13.00 - 16.30 Equestrian tournament:
- yard competitions;
- exercises on shells;
- cavalry competitions of raitards
16.30 - 17.30 Technical break.
17.30 - 19.00 Team duels of warriors of the Early Middle Ages.
Sports Sword Playground - children's historical fencing

10.00 - 19.00 Competing in individual nominations.

Historical Fair. Workshops on medieval crafts
10.00 - 19.00 Craft Fair.
10.00 - 18.30 Master classes from leading Russian re-enactors:
-mountain beadmaking;
- jewelry workshop;
- leather workshop;
- gold embroidery;
- cube stitching and cube dyeing of fabric;
- felting, pottery and painting of dishes with the sgraffito technique;
- armor workshop (weaving of riveted and mitered chain mail);
- casting;
- birch bark weaving;
- ancient musical instruments;
- alchiki (dice for playing and fortune-telling);
- Old Russian school (writing workshop with authentic writing utensils);
- forge;
- rope loom;
- medieval pharmacy (MC on preparation of ointments).
13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.30 Ancient gusli and puppet theater at the fair
Music scene
11.00 Official opening ceremony of the festival.
11.30 - 12.30 Master class on medieval dances
12.40 - 13.00 Contest of children's drawings

16.00 - 17.00 Concert of DRAGONSPELL band
17.00 - 18.00 Concert of the band El Mental
18.40 - 19.30 Concert by the band Morroz | Folk Metal
19.30 - 20.30 Concert by the band Arida Vortex
20.30 - 21.30 Concert by Mystterra + Fiery Tale
Fair and master classes in folk arts and crafts
10.00 - 20.00 Working the fairgrounds with handmade products.
10.00 - 19.00 Master classes from craft fair participants.
14.00 - 14.30 Medieval theater
Family recreation area
10.00 - 19.00 The grounds are open all day.
- old-fashioned games with animators;
- round dances and streams;
- children's historical fencing;
- archery range;
- creative master classes;
- relay races, contests, competitions;
- PLASTICINE CITY!!!!
- GAME FORTRESS!!!
- HISTORICAL PLAYGROUND (board and mobile historical games)!!!
- hay maze.
Volga Bulgaria site (Early Middle Ages)
10.00 – 13.00 Master classes and games with the participation of guests of the site:
- archery master class;
- master class in javelin throwing;
- master class on historical fencing;
- master class of medieval jewelry making;
- medieval and folk games.
13.00 – 14.00 Club Tournament - a competition between clubs to find the strongest.
14.00 - 16.00 Military competitions - mass fights, martial exercises and games.
16.00 - 19.00 Workshops and games with the participation of guests of the venue.
The “Golden Horde” site
10.00 - 20.00
- The site of the “Khan's Bet”
- Work of historical exposition
- Photo zone
- Historical master classes
Archery tournament area
14.00 - 17.00 Archery tournament among the participants of historical reconstruction clubs
Food court area
10.00 – 20.00 catering operation
10.00 – 20.00 food fair outlets
September 29
Rivalry central
10.00 - 11.00 Historical Maneuvers. Early Middle Ages Block.
11.00 - 14.00 Team nominations Early Middle Ages.
14.00 - 14.30 Technical break.
14.30 - 17.30 Equestrian tournament:
- exercises on shells;
- cavalry competitions of raitards
17.30 Solemn awarding of the winners of the tournament directions.
18.00 Solemn closing of the festival.
Sport Sword and HMB-soft children's historical fencing platform

10.00 - 14.00 Competing in individual nominations.

Historical Fair. Workshops on medieval crafts
10.00 - 17.00 Craft Fair.
10.00 - 16.30 Master classes from leading Russian reenactors:
- mining beadmaking;
- jewelry workshop;
- leather work;
- traditional dolls;
- gold embroidery;
- weaving;
- authentic fabric dyeing;
- horse stitching on fabric;
- felting;
- pottery workshop;
- archery workshop;
- armor workshop;
- forge;
- rope loom;
- molding;
- historical board games;
- alchiki (dice for playing and fortune-telling);
- Old Russian school;
- historical cuisine.
13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.30 Ancient gusli and puppet theater at the fair.
Music scene
14.00 - 15.00 ...........
15.00 - 16.00 Jarsis
16.00 - 19.00 Rаndom Reеl
17.00 - 18.00 Broken Dronez
Fair and master classes in folk arts and crafts
10.00 - 17.30 Working the fairgrounds with handmade products.
10.00 - 17.00 Master classes from craft fair participants.
15.20 - 15.50 Medieval theater
Family recreation area
10.00 - 17.00 The grounds are open all day.
- old-fashioned games with animators;
- round dances and streams;
- children's historical fencing;
- archery range;
- creative master classes;
- relay races, contests, competitions;
- PLASTICINE CITY!!!!
- GAME FORTRESS!!!
- HISTORICAL PLAYGROUND (board and mobile historical games)!!!
- hay maze.
Volga Bulgaria site (Early Middle Ages)
10.00 – 13.00 Master classes and games with the participation of guests of the site:
- archery master class;
- master class in javelin throwing;
- master class on historical fencing;
- master class of medieval jewelry making;
- medieval and folk games.
13.00 – 14.00 Club Tournament - a competition between clubs to find the strongest.
14.00 - 16.00 Military competitions - mass fights, martial exercises and games.
16.00 - 17.00 Workshops and games with the participation of guests of the venue.
The “Golden Horde” site
10.00 - 17.00
- The site of the “Khan's Bet”
- Work of historical exposition
- Photo zone
- Historical master classes
Archery tournament area
11.00 - 13.00 Archery tournament among the participants of historical reconstruction clubs
11.00 - 14.00 Bowling tournament among spectators
Food court area
10.00 – 17.00 catering operation
10.00 – 17.00 food fair outlets

Battle of the EPochs

The Second All-Russian Festival of Historical Reconstruction “Battle of the Ages” was first held in Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of the Republic of Mari El, on August 10-11, 2024.
The festival was dedicated to two historical periods: the early Middle Ages in Russia and Scandinavia and the late Middle Ages in Europe.
The entire focus of the two days of the event was on the military art, aesthetics and authenticity of both periods of the Middle Ages. The organizers prepared a parade of participants in original costumes of the respective epochs, battles on 7 types of weapons under the rules of the XV century, military competitions and the battle of the epochs, where Slavs and Vikings opposed European knights.
Concert program of the festival “Battle of the Epochs” 2024.
In 2022 our team announced the closing of another large-scale historical festival “Great Bolgar” . The new project has no analogues in Russia. Only on our site you can actually see the impossible - a battle between the armies of those eras, which have never crossed in time or space.

This year for the theme of the festival we have chosen historical periods that are distant in chronology, but actually close in ideology: the early and late Middle Ages. All two days will be completely different, but will definitely follow our motto “Everything is real here!”. For example, in the final battle of the epochs will clash low-performance warriors with knights in lats, during which the participants and spectators will be able to fully experience the tactical and technical characteristics and features of the presented troops,” - said Alexey Kokurin, organizer of the festivals ‘Battle of the Epochs’ and ‘Great Bolgar’, executive director of the company ‘Journey to the Past’.
At the sites for peaceful activities and entertainment will be presented about 15 different master classes on medieval crafts from the leading reconstructors of Russia: from armor workshop and birch bark weaving to medieval pharmacy and mining beadwork. All the days of the festival there will be separate zones for children and family recreation with a lot of mobile games, contests and master classes.
The organizers have also planned an extensive concert program. Every day famous Russian folk-rock musicians will perform for the guests, including “Troll Bends Spruce”, “Arida Vortex”, “MystTerra” and others. The names of the headliners are being kept secret for now.

The festival will be held outdoors on the territory of Tsarevokokokshaisky Kremlin in Yoshkar-Ola. The modern red-brick Kremlin is a cultural and historical complex, which was newly erected in 2009 on the site where the historical fortress in Tsarevokokokshaisk (now Yoshkar-Ola) built in 1584 was located until 1696.

Alexey Kokurin added: “This is the first time our team is organizing a festival outside of our native Tatarstan. We have long wanted to hold such an event on a closed site that would exactly meet historical and tourist expectations - we found just such a venue in the neighboring republic of Mari-El, in the very center of Yoshkar-Ola on the territory of the Tsarevokokokshaisky Kremlin. Despite the novelty of the construction, this place has undoubted historical value, besides, the city has a highly developed tourist and logistic infrastructure, which will create a high level of comfort for guests”.

Last year the festival of historical reconstruction “Battle of the Ages” was first held in the Republic of Tatarstan on the territory of the Kirmenchuk fortress. Then the event was dedicated to the epochs of the Roman Empire flourishing and the formation of the Streltsy army in the Russian state. In the first year of the festival it was visited by about 5 thousand amateurs and enthusiasts of military-historical reconstruction from 27 regions of Russia.
Kysh Batyr
“Kysh Batyr” is not just a winter festival.
Ski races. Historical biathlon.Various sites integrated into a common space and united by a common theme.
There has never been anything like this on the banks of the Volga, Kama and Vyatka rivers!

The concept of the Festival is a combination of sport, physical culture, history, culture and entertainment for all guests.

The festival organized a sports and historical program of competitions in cross-country skiing and historical biathlon, where, depending on the selected nominations, participants used not firearms, but analogues and replicas of medieval weapons, such as bow, crossbow, sulitsa (short spear), throwing axe.
The main objectives of the festival are to introduce the population of the Republic of Tatarstan to winter sports (skiing and biathlon), patriotic education of children and youth through the popularization of healthy lifestyles, family values and traditions, thanks to which the festival harmoniously fit into the program of events in the framework of the Year of the Family announced by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

In our Republic of Tatarstan there are a lot of traditions associated with the Batyrs - these are fairy tales, legends, as well as competitions with the strongest people of the republic. I am sure that such festivals can give an opportunity to show themselves to people who like to be strong, noble, honest”, - emphasized at the opening of the historical festival the chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan on Tourism Sergey Ivanov.
The “Hot Winter” knights' tournament
The “Hot Winter” knight tournament is a large-scale, colorful medieval festival, in the best traditions of summer festivals. But the action takes place in winter, when such events are a rarity! And it is not only battles in the arena. During the program our guests can try various activities.
Having saturated with battles, you can move to the foyer, visit the fair, take the children to a special playground and try on a historical image in the interactive exposition.
There will be hot battles in armor, music that will give you goosebumps and make you dance! Champions and the best fighters of the ISF of Russia will meet at the tournament. Two days of hot, bright, powerful fights, in which the spirit is stronger than steel!
The 2023 Hot Winter Knight's Tournament.
Photos of fighters from the Hot Winter 2023 tournament by Zakhar Trapeznikov.
Regions
Contacts
+7(960)048-05-50 | +7(843)258-05-50
put_v_proshloe@mail.ru
Tatarstan, Kazan, office 1, 19 Victory Prospect Street
OGRN - 1171690033680
INN/ KPP - 1648045540 / 164801001