Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia, capital of Astrakhan Oblast. Astrakhan is situated in the South-West of the European part of Russia, in the South part of the East-European plain. In the West Astrakhan region borders with the Kalmykya-Halm Tangch Republic, in the North - with the Volgograd region, in the East - with the Kazakhstan Republic, in the South it's washed by the Caspian sea. The first written references to Astrakhan go back to the 13th century, when the Astrakhan Khanate emerged in the lower reaches of the great river after the Golden Horde disintegrated. For several centuries, Astrakhan prospered on the crossing of trade routes which linked Europe and Asia. Astrakhan region is rich with natural resources among which large resources of oil and gas, pooch, construction materials (clay, gypsum, ceramics, Crystal sand, salt saturated with bromium and chlorine. The resources of fish are unique. Astrakhan is known for contrasts - boundless steppes and shrub-grown banks, the north Caspian ice-bound for half a year, and lush lotuses in the Volga estuary. With it inimitable beauty, eventful past and age-old hospitality, this land attracts tourists by the thousand. Today, Astrakhan is a major industrial and cultural centre of the Volga country with a multi-ethnic population of 700,00.