Universiade Flame winds its way through east of Tatarstan

Four municipal districts of Tatarstan at once - Sarmanovo, Muslyumovo, Aktanysh and Menzelinsk - welcomed the Universiade Flame on June 22. Thousands of locals lined streets to greet the main symbol of the 2013 Summer Universiade along its entire route through their towns.

Sarmanovo became the first Tatarstan town to host the Torch Relay today. 11 Torchbearers ran with the Flame through the main streets. The overall distance of the run, which started in the square in front of Sarmanovo Agrarian College, was about 1,000 metres.  

Residents of Muslyumovo were next to cheer on the Flame's arrival in their town. The Torch Relay team had a very warm welcome there with people  offering them chack-chack, bread and salt and local food. 11 Torchbearers were granted the privilege of carrying the Flame through the town. 

Aktanysh was the third city to receive the Universiade Flame that day. 13 local citizens picked for their achievements as Torchbearers for the 2013 World University Summer Games took part in this once-in-a-lifetime event. Crowds of Aktanysh residents gathered in streets to cheer on the Flame's arrival and greet the local heroes with applause, flags and banners. 

"The Universiade Flame, which had been lit in Sorbonne, finally arrived in our town and it's an unprecedented event!" said Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Guzel Nigmatullina. "In a matter of days Kazan will become the centre of world university sports: it will bring together best young athletes from all over the world. We are looking forward to seeing you in Kazan on July 6-17!"

The last town hosting the Torch Relay on June 22 was Menzelinsk. 29 Torchbearers ran a distance of about 3,000 kilometres that stretched along the main streets of the town. The Relay kicked off in the square in front of the Ice Palace and culminated in the lighting of the City Cauldron in front of the Palace of Culture. The special guest at the ceremony was Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan Engel Fattakhov. 

"The town celebrates a big event today: having covered tens of thousands of kilometres, the Universiade Flame arrived in our district," said Head of the Menzelinsky Municipal District Aidar Salakhov. "The Universiade is a symbol of sports, youth and peace and 90-year-old history of the international university sports movement is an obvious proof of the fact sport is a vital part of students' lives all over the world."

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan, residents were greeted by Angel Fattakhov: "The capital of our republic, Kazan, is getting ready to host the World University Games. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world will come to Kazan to witness a grand sports celebration. The Universiade is a truly historic event and Kazan has certainly earned the right of hosting this big event."

At the end of the Relay, Engel Fattakhov handed a souvenir torch to the town's leaders. 

The Universiade Flame fever will continue tomorrow, on June 23, when residents of Agryz, Mendeleevsk and Yelabuga will welcome the Universiade Flame to their towns. 

The Universiade Torch Lighting Ceremony took place at Paris-Sorbonne University where the first ‘World Student Games’ were held in 1923. The historic moment in the Torch Relay arrived when the Universiade Flame embarked on a round-the-world voyage aboard the world’s largest bark - the tall ship Sedov. On July 15th, the Torch was handed over to a team of navy cadets – the Keepers of the Universiade Flame. Travelling aboard the bark Sedov, the Torch covered 45,000 nautical miles and repeated the route of greatest sailors of all times. 

The Russian leg of the Universiade Torch Relay started off on January 25, on Russian Students' Day. Travelling from east to west, the Flame is carried through Russia’s 30 top student cities such as Khabarovsk, Yakutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Arkhangelsk, Stavropol, Pyatigorsk, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Vladimir, Moscow, Perm, Izhevsk, Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod, Yoshkar-Ola, Cheboksary, Ulyanovsk, Saransk, Penza, Saratov, Samara, Orenburg, Ufa and passes through 43 municipal districts of the Republic of Tatarstan, finishing its odyssey in Kazan on July 6, on the opening day of the 2013 Summer Universiade. 2,013 Torchbearers will carry the Universiade Torch as it will make its way all over the country.