It exists on the basis of the Department of Astronomy of Kazan University, founded in 1810 by Joseph Johann von Littrow.

[1] The Department of Astronomy of the Imperial Kazan University was founded in 1810 by Joseph Johann Litrow.

On November 11, 1814, observations began at a small observatory (temporary construction) above a stone gatehouse in the university botanical garden.

A. Dyukov/[4] On May 4, 1983, in Kazan, V. Kapkov made a successful observation of the occultation of an 8.6 magnitude star by asteroid 2 Pallas.

This was the first reliable observation of an asteroid occulting a star on the territory of Russia and the fourth within the borders of the USSR.