Page "History of Tatarstan" Paragraph 20

In 1919 the Bolsheviks declared an autonomous Tatar-Bashkir Soviet Socialist Republic, but the region was at the time largely occupied by the White Army, the leader of whom, General Kolchak, did not support an independent Muslim republic.

The declaration, coupled with Kolchak's hostility, caused many Tatar and Bashkir troops to switch sides and fight for the Bolsheviks.

Ultimately, the victorious Communists subsumed Tatarstan within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( RSFSR ), leading to large-scale emigration from the country, particularly among the upper class.