Temirgaliev's resignation revealed a conflict between the parliament and the government of Crimea
Simferopol, June 16 (Navigator, Astra Yazyka) – The resignation of the first Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea Rustam Temirgaliev exposed the struggle for power between the State Council and the Council of Ministers of the republic. The officially stated reason for Temirgaliev’s decision to focus on business is as incomprehensible as the versions about his responsibility for stolen humanitarian aid that arrived in Crimea from Russian regions.
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Temirgaliev’s mission in attracting Tatarstan for negotiations with the Crimean Tatar Majlis and the Muslim clergy has truly been accomplished. But going into business when the main money in the republic comes from the federal budget is not entirely logical. Moreover, economic sanctions do not allow us to count on attracting private capital and starting large business projects.
Responsibility for the distribution of humanitarian supplies lies with another Deputy Prime Minister, Sergei Donich, who was already preparing his way out to become the rector of the Crimean Federal University, but at the last moment his documents were withdrawn from approval.
As Navigator learned, the Presidium of the State Council of Crimea insisted on Temirgaliev’s resignation. In addition to the First Deputy Prime Minister, the leadership of the parliament is not satisfied with the Minister of Fuel and Energy Sergei Kolobov, the Minister of Housing and Communal Services Sergei Glebov and the head of the Crimean Property Fund Karen Barseghyan. The last two came to the government together with Temirgaliyev, and Kolobov retained his position during the formation of the new Council of Ministers.
The reasons for the resignation were given different, but it is obvious that the parliament has its own candidates for ministerial positions and the head of the property fund, which is confirmed by the high probability of the confirmation of the head of the parliamentary budget commission, Vitaly Nakhlupin, as first deputy prime minister.
It is quite possible that Temirgaliev’s resignation would not have taken place if he had not informed Moscow about the conflict between the Council of Ministers and the State Council. The Ministry for Crimean Affairs took an extremely negative view of the very fact of fragmentation of the republican government with the set tasks of making the region advanced in terms of management and economic indicators. A scandal broke out in the Council of Ministers, and the issue of Temirgaliyev’s resignation, which was not on the agenda of the parliamentary meeting, was introduced literally five minutes before it began.
Having agreed to the resignation of his first deputy, Prime Minister Sergei Aksenov took the first step towards reformatting power in favor of the State Council. Back in early March, Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov said that when Crimea joins the Russian Federation, it will remain a parliamentary republic, and the main advantage in this is “the government’s control over parliament.” Konstantinov also mentioned that the first person of the republic in this case would be the head of parliament, but with the caveat that this is not as important as the overall work for the benefit of Crimea and Crimean people.
However, already during the formation of the new Constitution of Crimea, it became clear that the parliament would go about its business - writing laws, and the highest official would be the head of the republic, who could also head the government. The consolation prize for the parliament was the agreement of the two ministers - resorts and natural resources, although initially the State Council planned to retain resorts and finance.
Having received legal powers, Konstantinov changed his rhetoric and repeatedly emphasized that the task of parliament is to write laws that are paramount for the republic, and the Council of Ministers should deal with issues of water supply, food and transport. In turn, the government actually switched to manual control and decided to postpone its legislative initiative for calmer times, thereby depriving the State Council of leverage.
It is also important in the State Council’s desire to subjugate the Council of Ministers that the former “Donetsk-Makeevka” rulers of Crimea seek to preserve their acquired and squeezed-out property with the help of the same deputies, promising financial support in the upcoming elections in September, or decent payment for services. Since the Council of Ministers is now in charge of all the property, the price of the portfolio is rising.
It is worth noting that throughout the modern history of the republic, its parliament and government have most often been in confrontation. The Prime Minister in Crimea was guided by the president, while multi-vector political forces were present in parliament. The latest elections to the Crimean parliament, which gave the Party of Regions 80 mandates, completely deprived the representative body of any meaning - all decisions were unconditionally made by the majority.
Temirgaliyev's resignation has exposed a conflict between the Crimean parliament and government.