Tatarstan is not rushing the inevitable – Newspaper Kommersant No. 235 (7436) of 12/19/2022
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The issue of renaming the office of the president of Tatarstan is not yet included in the agenda of the last meeting of the State Council this year, although the region must bring this norm into line with the new federal law by the end of 2022. The deputies say that amendments to the republican constitution are still being discussed and they are thinking about how “not to leave the legal field” and “not to belittle the interests of Tatarstan.” Experts believe that “psychologically and politically” the authorities of the republic are ready to make the necessary amendments, but they do not understand why they are needed, so the decision is made “emphatically slowly.”
At the final meeting of the State Council of Tatarstan this year on December 23, the deputies are expected to consider amendments to the constitution of the republic. However, the draft amendments have not yet been made public, and, moreover, the presidium of the parliament has not even put this issue on the agenda yet. Meanwhile, according to the new federal law “On the General Principles of Organization of Public Power in the Subjects of the Russian Federation”, the regions must bring their constitutions and charters in line with it by January 1, 2023. The law, in particular, forbids the heads of subjects to be called “presidents”.
So far, the deputies are planning to consider on December 23 only four bills, mostly of a technical nature. At a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on Friday, Parliament Secretary Lilia Mavrina noted that in the future the agenda “will be significantly supplemented” with issues that the relevant committees are currently working on. Farid Mukhametshin, Speaker of the State Council, added that such issues could be introduced “by vote” at the meeting itself. But whether a draft amendment to the constitution will be among them was not discussed at the presidium. “Today there is no concrete answer to this question. At the moment, there is no information, specifics, ”Albert Khabibullin, head of the State Council Committee on State Construction, admitted to Kommersant.
Tatarstan is the only subject of the Russian Federation, the head of which is called the president. Since 2010, this post has been occupied by Rustam Minnikhanov, who replaced the first president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev. At the same time, for the first time, a rule appeared in federal legislation that the head of the region could not be called president. The regions were supposed to fulfill this requirement by the beginning of 2015, but Tatarstan did not do this, and in 2020 Mr. Minnikhanov was re-elected for a new five-year term as president.
Adopted at the end of 2021, a new law on public authority, in which the ban on the word “president” migrated, provoked harsh criticism in Tatarstan. Even before its consideration in the first reading, the State Council sent a negative review to the State Duma, and proposed 18 amendments for the second reading, including that the regions independently determine the name of the highest official “taking into account historical, national and other traditions and the will of his people” . However, the key amendments of the republic were never supported, after which some of the Duma deputies from Tatarstan voted against the law.
After its adoption, Rustam Minnikhanov said that the authorities of the republic would fulfill it: “We are law-abiding people. It so happened that our voice was not heard in some issues.” And Farid Mukhametshin promised Kommersant that in the fall of 2022 a working group to change the constitution would meet in the State Council. “We are not making a big tragedy out of this. Very carefully, evenly, within the framework of our powers, we will consider, among other things, amendments to the constitution and in these matters. Trust us, we will do it all carefully, you will be satisfied, ”he assured Kommersant.
Lilia Mavrina told Kommersant that the working group had been preparing amendments to the constitution for a year and now its “work is nearing completion.” “But we have until January 1st. Two more weeks,” she said. Kommersant failed to get a comment from the head of this group, Vice Speaker of the State Council and head of the United Russia faction, Yuri Kamaltynov.
A Kommersant source in the State Council said that the issue of the president is still being discussed: “Now we will gather more intensively and make a decision in accordance with federal law.” “We cannot leave the legal field, but at the same time, the interests of Tatarstan should not belittle either,” he added.
“This topic is difficult for the elite of the republic only morally. I think that by the end of the year the issue of changing the constitution will be resolved,” says political strategist Konstantin Kalachev. In his opinion, “the authorities of Tatarstan still have concerns that if they give up one position, they will have to give up others.” At the same time, the expert believes that the republic will retain its independence: “The elite will remain their own, and personnel policy will continue to be determined in Kazan.”
At the same time, Sergey Sergeev, a Kazan political scientist, does not rule out that Tatarstan may retain the presidency for some more time. “For the republican elite, this is an important issue, since it was formed when the regions were sovereignized. They do not give away the attributes of independence very willingly,” the expert says. If the federal center “raises the issue point-blank”, then the decision will be made, says Mr. Sergeev, but the federal authorities are now “occupied with other, more important problems”, “and, perhaps, this issue can wait a little longer.”
Governor of Sevastopol does not need a third term yet
The Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol is preparing for consideration in the second reading a draft amendment to the charter of the city, aimed at bringing it into line with the new law on public authority. A number of new norms will appear in the charter concerning legal regulation, the name and work of local authorities and, in particular, the governor’s right to dismiss the heads of administrations of municipal districts.
At the same time, the text of the draft did not include a clause on lifting restrictions on the stay of one person as head of the region. Recall that the previous law on regional authorities forbade being elected to this post more than twice, but this prohibition is absent in the new law on public authorities. Its co-author, head of the State Duma Committee on State Construction, Pavel Krasheninnikov, previously explained that “regional authorities must decide for themselves whether to remove this provision from their main law or leave it.”
Most subjects, including Crimea, have abandoned the restrictions. But the government of Sevastopol is not going to do this “in the foreseeable future”, noting that now, against the backdrop of a special operation, the city faces more important tasks. “So far no changes are planned,” Irina Yukhina, head of the city’s information policy department, told Kommersant.
The city authorities also emphasize that the subject of the Russian Federation has the right to independently determine the time frame for the implementation of this reform. The Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol explained to Kommersant that from January 1, 2023, most of the provisions of the new law will come into force, but for its full implementation, a transitional period has been established that will last five years – until 2028.
However, Kommersant’s sources in the government of Sevastopol do not rule out that the deputies will still adopt amendments to lift the ban for a third term right before the new year. Although, given that Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev has not yet served even half of his first term, this issue is not a priority for the city’s leadership, the interlocutors add.
Political scientist Vladimir Jaralla agrees that for the head of Sevastopol, the issue of the number of terms is not the most important: “In Crimea, this issue was key for Sergei Aksyonov in terms of strengthening his personal power. And for Mikhail Razvozhaev, this moment is far from being the most relevant. Yes, he is popular, he managed to arrange the solution of everyday issues, but almost no one in the city, and he himself, does not seem to believe that his life will be connected with Sevastopol. At the same time, the expert admits that the deputies “will be able to jump into the last carriage” and adopt the amendments before the end of the year.
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