Car as top prize for TAIF Group’s best wrestler

The preparation started long before the festival

Sabantuy is not just a holiday but, as Chairman of the Tatarstan State Council Farid Mukhametshin has noted many times, “an indispensable part of the cultural code of the Tatars, a living thread connecting the past and the present”. For all the multiethnic population of Tatarstan, the plough festival, which was recognised as a masterpiece of immortal cultural human heritage and is protected by UNESCO, is one of the brightest events that people expect and prepare for in advance.

Works began on the sites at the height of the spring: waste, dry leaves and woody debris were removed from the territory, fixed constructions were put in order. By Sabantuy itself, it was time for temporary constructions to be erected.

For Kazanorgsintez PJSC, this territory is especially precious. How much effort, money and time it took to return the previous depth and purity to the lakes, free them from silt and dirt. How many innovative approaches were taken for the first time in one of the largest restoration programmes in Russia’s contemporary history (this is how the programme is called even at federal level).

On the threshold of the celebration, workers of the company actively participated in a clean-up in the area, assembled a series of facilities for national contests and fun. Also, in 2021, additionally to a traditional tent and food court, in the enterprise set up its own site, which perhaps became the brightest spot at the 2021 Sabantuy near Swan Lakes.

Impossible to bypass

It was simply unreal to bypass one of the biggest “villages” of the maidan, which is an area where Sabantuy is held. Firstly, because it was the first place everybody going through the main gates of the maidan saw. Secondly, it really impressed with its both scale and richness. Both Tatarstan State Council Chairman Farid Mukhametshin and guests from the Republic of Tuva who were in Tatarstan on a business trip and thousands of Tatarstan residents and guests of the republican capital who decided to attend the festival made sure of this.

Executives of TAIF Group’s companies chaired by TAIF JSC Director General Ruslan Shigabutdinov were one of the first people to look the site of Kazanorgsintez PJSC over. Farid Minigulov demonstrated what a charming host he was. And artists dressed in national Tatar costumes helped him to make excursions. They welcomed guests at the entrance to the site to the tune of cheery Tatar folk songs. Eduard, a “grandson” of the oldest residents of the Sabantuy “village”, warmly welcomed the guests and assumed the role of the guide.

There was an entire car fleet behind the gates. By the way, it was the only fleet in the area.

“Sabantuy is peasants and farmers’ holiday. Therefore it is logical to start with a small exhibition of agricultural machinery our friends and partners of Kazanorgsintez PJSC are presenting,” he explained in answer to visitors’ surprise. “It is a unique agricultural machine designed for fertilisation. It has a turbodiesel. Fuel consumption is 100 grams per hectare,” he talked about the first sample of the machinery.

The unusual equipment — tall, with a tank and three axes of rotation completely designed and created in Tatarstan — obviously drew the attention of the TAIF Group management. Ruslan Shigabutdinov even sat in the cabin and pronounced some time later with some sadness as it might seem to people around: “No, we won’t start the engine.”

Director General of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC Ayrat Safin immediately tested the driver’s seat that became vacant. And he seemed to be impressed. Tractors, balers and other equipment also aroused their interest. But the focus quickly shifted to a scarlet firefighting vehicle.

“This vehicle symbolises the strength and power of Kazanorgsintez PJSC or, more precisely, the firefighting office of the company that has 14 pieces of modern effective and reliable equipment at its disposal today, many of them are unique and the only in the republic,” the guide explained.

Nine vehicles equipped with both the necessary rescue instruments and, most importantly, professional firefighters daily work to protect the gas and petrochemical complex from fire.

Before moving further, the guests took a traditional photo in the background of one of the constructions of the maidan.

Then they headed towards an avenue of masters where everybody could try their hand at being a locksmith or potter or a traditional Tatar hat — tubetey and kalfak — maker.

There was a masterclass in making slime and a real chemical lab for children where a generation of would-be petrochemists was actively mixing something in tubes and beakers precisely when the guests approached. And judging by their involvement in the process, chemistry risks being one of their favourite school subjects.

“Zone of national entertainment”

The next part of the maidan where the guests were offered to try their luck, dexterity, accuracy and power bore such name. The guide warned from the beginning that one was offered to compete for a reward: every winner got a local Sabantuy currency. And then it could be exchanged for those prizes they liked.

And the choice of competitions was big enough: somebody could try and catch a coin in a basin with a fermented milk product. The coronavirus pandemic made organisers be as responsible for safety measures as possible. Coins and the vessels had been thoroughly disinfected.

Those who successfully went “fishing” could try luck at sack battles.

“The competition comes from the ancient times when warriors competed: the log symbolises a horse, while the sack is a weapon. The task was and is one: to win the rival,” Eduard explained.

A pot smash contest is another traditional fun. One of the guests accepted the invitation to try his luck. As soon as he was blindfolded and was spun to make him lose his bearings, spectators immediately split into two camps: some sincerely rooted for him, while others gave him dud advice by frustrating him. The second team won in the end: the pole was far from the pot.

Ruslan Shigabutdinov didn’t restrain himself and participated in the next contest. He had to saw a log against the clock.

The next stop is a foodie’s joy: one could taste delicious pastry baked by canteen workers of Kazanorgsintez PJSC, make pancakes oneself, have energising rosebay willowherb tea and eat fresh strawberries. There was a special joy for children: cotton candy equipment, which was quite popular despite hot weather.

Rapturous applause was louder than the guide at the next stop where the guests were welcomed by last season’s heroes — winners of the cup and championship of Russia as well as numerous international awards, athletes of Sintez aquatics club, a team that has been supported by Kazanorgsintez PJSC since its foundation day.

Meanwhile, tensions were running high on the mat in front of the main stage. Strongest wrestlers of TAIF Group were competing in three weight categories (from 75 to over 130 kg) trying to win a victory and prizes: Rembo pedigree sheep and a new motorbike, quad and car.

TAIF officials watched the bouts with enthusiasm. Everybody had an athlete to support: the best wrestlers from Group’s companies were on the mat. We will note in advance that representative of the host team Damir Adiyatullin, engineer of the Department of Material Procurement at Kazanorgsintez PJSC, celebrated a win. He got the top prize — a new Russian off-road vehicle.

Of course, a Sabantuy cannot help but include theatre performances and a concert. The festival’s guest’s expectations lived up this time too. Many noted another undoubted edge of this site — Kazanorgsintez PJSC improved one of the most convenient corners of the parkland where people could calmly have a rest and fun in the shadow. Meanwhile, the temperature in the sun reached 44 degrees Celsius.