Head of Tatarstan explained

Post:Head
Body:the Republic of Tatarstan
Flag:Standard for Tatarstan.svg
Flagborder:yes
Flagcaption:Standard of the head of the republic
Incumbent:Rustam Minnikhanov
Incumbentsince:25 March 2010
Department:Executive branch of the Republic of Tatarstan
Residence:Kazan Kremlin
Nominator:Political parties
Appointer:Direct elections
Termlength:5 years
Formation:12 June 1991
First:Mintimer Shaimiev

The Head of the Republic of Tatarstan (Russian: Глава Республики Татарстан; Tatar: Татарстан Республикасы Рәисе|translit=Tatarstan Respublikası Räise), formerly known as the President of the Republic of Tatarstan (1991–2023,), is the head of the republic and the highest-ranking official of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia. The office was established in 1991.

Title

In 2017, following the expiration of the 1994 agreement between Moscow and Kazan which granted Tatarstan substantial autonomy, the title of president was expected to be replaced with head, as it was done with other republics in Russia.[1] The government of Tatarstan however resisted attempts to have the title abolished and the federal government declined to press the issue.[2]

However, shortly after legislative elections in September 2021, deputies in the State Duma prepared a bill to unify the titles of the leaders of all of Russia's regions to head.[3] The bill, seen as directly aimed at Tatarstan, would reserve the title of president exclusively for the president of Russia.[4] In response, lawmakers in Tatarstan's State Council voted against it.[5] The bill was approved in its first reading in November.[6] On 15 December, it was approved by the Federation Council and subsequently signed by president Vladimir Putin on 21 December.[7]

The law went into effect on 1 June 2022.[8] Tatarstan's presidential secretary said that the title would remain during a transitional period throughout 2022 where the constitution was to be amended.[9] The renaming of the post was expected to be completed by 2023.[10] The loss of the title was perceived by many in Tatarstan as a further erosion of their autonomy within Russia.[11]

In December 2022, regional lawmakers voted to change the title of the head of the republic from president to rais (an Arabic title for "leader"). The title of president was seen as the last remaining symbol of federalism following the centralization reforms under Vladimir Putin.[12] Incumbent president Rustam Minnikhanov however would have retained the title of president until his term expired in 2025 under transitional agreements.[13] On 26 January 2023 Minnikhanov signed the amendments into law; however, the proposed transitional period was abandoned, forcing the title change to occur by 6 February.[14]

List of presidents

PortraitName
Term of officePolitical partyElected
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1Mintimer Shaimiev
4 July 199125 March 2010Independent1991
Fatherland – All Russia1996[15]
United Russia2001
2005
2Rustam Minnikhanov
25 March 2010IncumbentUnited Russia
2015
2020
[16] [17]

Latest election

The latest election for the office was held on 13 September 2020.[18]

CandidatesPartyVotes%
Rustam MinnikhanovUnited Russia1,930,35583.27
Almir MikheyevA Just Russia114,3094.93
Alfred ValiyevCommunists of Russia107,5014.64
Oleg KorobchenkoParty of Growth82,9593.58
Vladimir SurchilovLDPR65,9472.84

Notes and References

  1. News: The Kremlin will not extend the agreement with Tatarstan. Will it change something?. Kozlov. Peter. 2017-08-11. BBC. 2018-11-06. Russian.
  2. News: 29 December 2020. Tatarstan does not want to give up the presidential post. ru. Kommersant. 10 September 2021.
  3. Web site: Pertsev. Andrei. 8 October 2021. Resets for the ‘right people’: Russia plans to do away with term limits for regional leaders. 27 October 2021. Meduza.
  4. Web site: Coalson. Robert. 19 October 2021. Putin's Power Play? Tatarstan Activists Say Loss Of 'President' Title Would Be An Existential Blow. 20 October 2021. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  5. Web site: 27 October 2021. Russia’s Tatarstan may lose president despite MPs rejecting bill. 27 October 2021. Daily Sabah.
  6. Web site: 11 November 2021. State Duma adopts law prohibiting heads of regions to be called presidents. 11 November 2021. Realnoe Vremya.
  7. Web site: 21 December 2021. Putin signed a law prohibiting the heads of Russian constituent entities from being called presidents. 21 December 2021. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. ru.
  8. Web site: 1 June 2022. President of Tatarstan did not become governor on June 1. 1 June 2022. Kazan Reporter. ru.
  9. Web site: Antonov. Kirill. 1 June 2022. The post of president will be excluded from the constitution of Tatarstan by 2023. 1 June 2022. Kommersant. ru.
  10. Web site: Leukhina. Tatyana. 1 June 2022. The post of President of Tatarstan will be renamed by 2023. 1 June 2022. Realnoe Vremya. ru.
  11. News: Latypova . Leyla . Russia’s Tatar Minority Mourns Loss of Regional Presidency . 3 September 2022 . The Moscow Times . 4 August 2022 . en.
  12. Web site: Russia’s Tatarstan to Rename Regional Presidency. The Moscow Times. 23 December 2022.
  13. Web site: Tatarstan Lawmakers Vote To Change Constitution And Scrap Post of President In Nod To Moscow. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. }
  14. Web site: 26 January 2023. Rustam Minnikhanov signed the law on amendments to the Constitution of Tatarstan. 27 January 2023. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. ru.
  15. News: History of presidential elections in Tatarstan. 2020-09-11. TASS. Russian.
  16. First President of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev: Chronicle of events (March 25, 2010). "Rustam Minnikhanov has taken office as President of the Republic of Tatarstan"; for more information, see the Russian version, "Рустам Минниханов официально вступил в должность Президента Республики Татарстан".
  17. Web site: Выборы Президента Республики Татарстан . tatarstan.vybory.izbirkom.ru . 16 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220304110733/http://www.tatarstan.vybory.izbirkom.ru/region/region/tatarstan?action=show&root=1&tvd=21620002551470&vrn=21620002551454&region=16&global=&sub_region=0&prver=0&pronetvd=null&vibid=21620002551470&type=222 . 4 March 2022 . ru.
  18. http://www.tatarstan.vybory.izbirkom.ru/region/region/tatarstan?action=show&root=1&tvd=21620002551470&vrn=21620002551454&region=16&global=&sub_region=0&prver=0&pronetvd=null&vibid=21620002551470&type=222 Results