"Tatar" as an ethnonym owns a very long and complicated history and in the past was often used as an umbrella term for different Turkic and Mongolic tribes.

The ethnogenesis of Volga-Ural Tatars is still debated, but their history is usually connected to the Kipchak Tatar-Turks of Golden Horde (1242–1502), and also to its predecessor, Volga Bulgaria (900s–1200s), whose adoption of Islam is celebrated yearly in Tatarstan.

He criticizes the phenomenon of identifying with Bulgars and states, that this happened due to the "pro-western rulers of the Romanov government", with the help of Bulgarist-Mullahs and European historians, that created a negative and distorted image of the Tatars, which ended up causing them to reject the term and lose national consciousness.

[28] Finnish historian Antero Leitzinger states: "They [Bulgarists] emphasize the contribution of the Bulgars mainly due to the feeling of inferiority created by the Russians, which is often attached to the Orda population".

[31] The 1921–1922 famine in Tatarstan was a period of mass starvation and drought that took place in the Tatar ASSR as a result of war communism policy,[32][33] in which 500 thousand[34] to 2 million[35] peasants died.

[44] In 2015 enquiry, most young people in the state preferred to learn Russian or English and thought that Tatar was not useful in work life.

[46] The long and multifaceted history between these two ethnic groups can be traced back to the times of Volga Bulgaria and the Golden Horde.

Researcher in Bremen University, Daria Dergacheva thinks independence could happen in time, but also, that it would be very difficult and might not achieve the decolonization desired.

[55] The national poet Ğabdulla Tuqay wrote in response to the Tatar emigration to Turkey that was happening in late 1800s and early 1900s: "Here we were born, here we grew up, and here the moment of our death will come.

[60] The foundation for such ideas were laid out by Crimean Tatar Jadidist thinker Ismail Gasprinsky, who believed in unity of the two peoples and thought Russia was "a continuation of the Golden Horde".

According to Alfred Khalikov, "the tsarist government and both the Russian and Tatar feudal lords were afraid of friendship between peoples and constantly incited chauvinistic and nationalist fervor".

[65] The first mufti of Russia, Tatar-born Mukhamedzhan Khusainov (1756–1824) had a big impact on bringing Russian rule to the Kazakh steppes and also to Caucasus, especially among Kabardians.

[66] Philologist-journalist Azat Akhunov: "Despite conflicts and national differences, Tatars are very close to Russians in mentality, even more so than Ukrainians and Belarusians.

[70] A. Rorlich sees the history as follows: Khazar invasions forced the Bulgars, Turkic people, to migrate from the Azov steppes to the Middle Volga and lower Kama region during the first half of the eighth century.

Tatar ethnogenesis took place after migrated Turkic peoples, mixed with the local Bulgar population and other inhabitants of the Volga River area, kept Kipchak dialect and became Muslims.

[87] Nukrat Tatars (Noqrat tatarları) live mainly in Udmurtia (Yukamensky, Glazovsky, Balezinsky, Yarsky districts) and Kirov Oblast.

Also, Kazan Tatars and partly Mishars who moved from the Middle Volga region to the Perm Territory in 16th - early 17th centuries had an influence.

According to one theory, originally Teptyars formed a special peasant group, which, in addition to the Tatars, included Bashkirs, Chuvash, Maris, Udmurts and Mordvins.

[109] Notable Tatar writers in 19th and 20th centuries are for example Ğabdulla Tuqay, Ğälimcan İbrahimov, Fatix Ämirxan, Ğädel Qutuy and Musa Cälil.

[115] The first published Tatar play was by Ğabdraxman İlyas in 1887, called "Biçara qız" (Бичара кыз, "The Unhappy Girl").

It was partially met with negative reception by the conservative Tatar audiences of the time due to including "advanced ideas based on social equality".

Among notable Tatar playwrights are Mirxäydär Fäyzi, Kärim Tinçurin, Ğäliäsğar Kamal, Ğayaz İsxaqi, and more recently, Zölfät Xäkim.

Volga Tatars played a significant role in the national and cultural movements of Muslims during Russian Empire and also in Soviet Union.

[127][128][129] The term "Caucasization of Tatarstan" or Volga-Urals has been coined to describe some of the radical Islamic elements found in the region, that mainly come from the Caucasus.

These include Astrakhan and the lands along the Volga that are under the hoof of the Russian kafirs.”[130] Most notable example of radical Islam among Tatars is the formation İttifaq, whose leader Fauziya Bayramova sided with the Salafists in the 2000s.

In 2010, the Interior Ministry of Tatarstan closed down a short lived assembly in Nurlatsky District, which had tried to emulate the Dagestani jamaat of the 1990s.

While the bulk of the population is found in Tatarstan (around 2 million) and neighbouring regions, significant number of Volga-Ural Tatars live in Siberia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

According to Mylyarchuk et al.:It was found that mtDNA of the Volga Tatars consists of two parts, but western Eurasian component prevails considerably (84% on average) over eastern Asian one (16%).

The authors suggest that "when the original Finno-Ugric speaking people were conquered by Turkic tribes, both Tatar and Chuvash are likely to have experience language replacement, while retaining their genetic core".

This effort reflects a broader trend among Tatar communities in the U.S. to maintain their cultural heritage, engage with local populations, and build networks of support.