City celebrates 1000th anniversary

? Tens of thousands of Tatars, Russians and others packed the main square in Kazan on Friday for a gala concert to celebrate the millennial anniversary of the Volga River city, which President Vladimir Putin cast as a model of multiethnic coexistence.

The concert was part of the culmination of events surrounding the festivities in Tatarstan’s capital, located about 450 miles east of Moscow.

Kazan residents had to brave extraordinary security measures to accommodate Putin and other leaders.