The authorities of Tatarstan have contrived - in Russia there will temporarily remain two officials in the position of president
The State Council of Tatarstan voted today for the head of the republic to be called “rais”. Previously, the head of Tatarstan was called “president”. This was the only such title among all subjects of the federation; the local elite was flattered that in Russia “there are two presidents: in Moscow and in Kazan.”
However, the Mother See was not satisfied with such ambiguity. Last year, the State Duma adopted the law “On the general principles of organizing public power in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation,” which prohibited regional heads from being called presidents.
Tatarstan resisted at all stages of its approval and adoption. Last October, the State Council of the Republic unanimously did not support the draft federal law. In November, when voting took place in the State Duma, all Tatar deputies abstained or voted against, even from United Russia.
Even after the adoption of the law, Tatarstan ignored it for a whole year, although all other national entities obediently switched to the unified title “head of the region.”
It was only in December that a local law of similar content was finally submitted to the State Council of the republic. But even here there were some surprises. Yesterday, the relevant committee of the Tatar parliament unexpectedly recommended withdrawing the bill on renaming the post of president of the republic in order to finalize it.
Liberal political scientists sharply cheered up and began to predict that Tatarstan would “fall away from the Russian into the Islamic world,” which would lead to a “cascading collapse of the entire structure of the Russian Federation.”
But these predictions did not come true. The current leader of the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, called on the deputies “not to play along with the West,” and they found a compromise option. They suggested calling their head the Arabic word “rais” - captain, leader, leader. And Swahili speakers use it for the president.
Liberal writer Anatoly Nesmiyan somewhere dug up another meaning of this word - “belligerent”.
“Formally, the Center’s demand will be satisfied; in fact, the special status of the Tatarstan leadership remains, distinguishing it from all other regions,” Nesmiyan wrote in his TG channel.
Liberal publicist Kirill Shulika drew attention to the fact that the bill contains transitional provisions, according to which the new name provided for by the draft law will apply only to the newly elected highest official of the Republic of Tatarstan.
“That is, Moscow allowed the possibility of a compromise here,” he states.
“The story with the title of head of the Republic of Tatarstan has dragged on. It is important for the federation that in this way the ambiguity associated with the existence of two presidents in Russia is eliminated,” said Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin on the radio station “Moscow Speaks”.
“Tatarstan masterfully turned Moscow and its administrators on the axis, showing that even in wartime one cannot forget about independence,” writes political scientist from Volgograd Alexander Saigin.
The issue of abandoning the word “president” in relation to regional leaders was first raised in 2010. Then the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, was the first to voluntarily abandon this name and called on his colleagues from other regions to follow his example. Only Tatarstan persisted.
Political strategist Yaroslav Ignatovsky believes that behind this persistence there are not empty ambitions, but specific economic interests.
“They don’t like the unification of local self-government, because they fear the loss not so much of political influence as of economic preferences - after all, if Tatarstan becomes an ordinary Russian region, then the federal center will take most of the taxes and oil,” Ignatovsky wrote in his TG- channel.
“The Tatar establishment could not abandon the oriental flavor. The Kazan Khanate was the first national region that became part of Russia as a subject of the Empire and never had any preferences. And today no one has canceled the principles of federalization,” says radio host Sergei Mardan.
Officially, the press service of the Tatarstan government describes the debate as follows:
The issue of amending the republic's Constitution sparked widespread discussion among deputies. Marat Galeev emphasized that " the Constitution is not only a political and legal document, but also a historical one ."
" Russia was declared a federal state, and Tatarstan had its own instruments for joining the federation—this is spelled out in the first chapter of the Basic Law: 'Tatarstan is a democratic state governed by the rule of law, united with the Russian Federation by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Treaty.' Today, questioning Article I of the Constitution based on current legislation is methodologically incorrect. No matter what changes we make, it must remain inviolable. The direct will of the people always trumps any decision by parliament ."
Galeev also supported the proposal of the profile committee to retain the name President of the Republic of Tatarstan until the end of the term of office of the elected President.
Deputy Ilshat Aminov emphasized that “ compromise is impossible in such an issue .”
" In this hall is the first President of the Republic, Mintimer Shaimiev, and behind me is the current President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, and each of them was elected President," he said. "I respect the opinion of my people, I respect the Constitution of Tatarstan. Many in this hall will decide with their minds, but I will vote with my heart ."
Deputy Nikolai Rybushkin also noted that the post of President was established by the people, not the deputies, " and before abandoning the title of the republic's highest official, we must ask the people ."
" The topic we are discussing today is difficult and painful, and I understand your emotional and concerned attitude, but we must move forward and make a decision ," Rustam Minnikhanov emphasized, speaking from the parliamentary podium. " Yes, we did everything we could to preserve the title of President, even though we had many opponents, but we were unable to defend the right to decide for ourselves what to call the republic's highest official ."
Rustam Minnikhanov proposed “ moving forward not through protest, but through legislation .”
“ The decision needs to be made today, this is a requirement of the law,” he emphasized, “things don’t always go as you wish .”
Commenting on Marat Galeev's speech, Rustam Minnikhanov noted that " Tatarstan is one of the country's key regions ," participating in many projects and represented in federal programs.
" Yes, the Treaty played its role in its time ," said Rustam Minnikhanov, " but today, the most important thing is to ensure a high quality of life for our people. The republic has significant support from the federal center. We have excellent relations with the country's leadership and the government. Today, in the context of the Special Military Operation, it is important to maintain the unity and cohesion of our country ."
State Advisor of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev also noted that “ the proposed title of the highest official of the republic, ‘Head – Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan’, is acceptable in this situation .”
Mintimer Shaimiev also dwelled on the issues of the federal structure of Russia, recalling the historical mission of this form of government. According to Mintimer Shaimev, today, in the context of the annexation of new territories, the republics of the LPR and the DPR, to Russia, Russian federalism takes on a special meaning.
“ What is needed now is the unity of the Russian Federation, and this is of decisive importance ,” emphasized Mintimer Shaimiev. “ We also need the nationwide support of our country’s leadership .”
The Chairman of the State Council, Farid Mukhametshin, called the found version of the name of the highest official of the republic a “ compromise .”