Rustam Minnikhanov will be the President of the Republic until 2025

The State Council of Tatarstan supported the preservation of the post of “president” for Rustam Minnikhanov until the end of his term in 2025, a Vedomosti correspondent reported.

Presidium today introduced for consideration by the Parliament of an initiative concerning the title of the head of the republic. Instead of the president after 2025, he will be called “the head – the rais of Tatarstan.” At the same time, rais is the name of the title of the president in Arabic and a number of other oriental languages.

On December 21, a group of deputies of the parliament of Tatarstan from the United Russia faction contributed amendments to the Constitution of Tatarstan, according to which, from January 1, the President of the Republic, Minnikhanov, as the highest official, may lose his status and be renamed the “head” of Tatarstan.

Today’s version of the bill was introduced after the day before, on December 22, members of the Committee of the State Council (parliament) of Tatarstan on state building and local self-government recommended that amendments to the republic’s constitution on renaming the position of the head of the region be withdrawn for revision.

On June 1, 2022, the law on the general principles of organizing public authority in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation came into force, according to which the heads of regions can only be called heads (at the level of constituent entities of the Federation, any other job titles, except for the president, can be used).

On December 27, 2021, Minnikhanov himself, commenting on the adoption of the law by the State Duma, recalled that the parliament of Tatarstan (as well as some of its representatives in the State Duma) opposed a number of norms in the law, but noted that “law-abiding people live in the republic.”

The region resists compliance with the requirements of the law and takes advantage of the fact that the center cannot put much pressure on the largest republic, says political analyst Alexander Kynev. Other republics fulfilled the requirements with some cynicism, he believes: “For example, in Yakutia they renamed the position to il darkhan, this word was no longer translated [в местных СМИ]. Everyone began to say so: elections or darkhan.”

“[Рустаму] It is important for Minnikhanov not to spoil his image in the eyes of the electorate and the old elites of Shaimiev’s time. Probably, the republic is counting on being given time to amend the law,” political analyst Rostislav Turovsky told Vedomosti. So far, he has managed to avoid sanctions. [со стороны центра]he noted.

Minnikhanov was appointed to the post of president of Tatarstan in March 2010. In this post, he replaced the first head of the republic, Mintimer Shaimiev. In 2015, Minnikhanov was elected for a second term, and in 2020 for a third.

Daria Mosolkina contributed to the preparation of the article