He is the Russian President and wants to remain so. Rustam Minnikhanov has the same nationality as the Vladimir Putin, and also holds a position with the same name as anyone else in the biggest country in the world. In the Republic Minnikhanov can be called by the President — the President of Tatarstan. Oil-rich, wealthy Republic, located 800 km East from Moscow, has special rights in Russia. She got them in the 90s, when the Russian state was impoverished, politically weak, and in the Kremlin hosted Boris Yeltsin.
The greater part of the inhabitants of the Republic voted in a referendum for independence, Moscow has managed to avert through the transaction. The Republic of Tatarstan received, among other things, the right to own tax revenues, the minerals, the issuance of bilingual passports and the title of President. The influential in Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov in favor of Moscow for many years — only the head of the Republic because the position of President relies only Putin. However, in Tatarstan remained President. But that may change. The Republic should fear the loss of past privileges.
The latest agreement between Moscow and Kazan, which operated for ten years in a few days expires. According to Russian media, Moscow is not going to renew it. Otherwise, before the presidential elections in March and other regions may begin to require special agreements with Moscow, writes “RBK”. Formal review of the Russian leadership about Tatarstan is not followed.
In practice, there are not many of its former privileges. In addition to economic and political contacts with other States, the expiring contract of the right to sovereignty are limited to mainly symbolic aspects, particularly the status of the Tatar language along with Russian retains great importance in the Republic. The Kremlin with Vladimir Putin coming to power took control of the regions, their exclusive political rights disappeared. What’s important is loyalty to Moscow. But Tatar deputies and their Prime want in the future to keep at least the office of President. In his letter to Putin they are asking about entering into a new contract because the current contract “has convincingly proved the liveliness of the Russian federalism”.
There should soon be a center of high technology, a kind of Russian Silicon valley
Tatarstan, which is home to about 4 million people, is the only region in the country, which generally has a Treaty with Moscow. From these and related advances, argue the MPs. Kazan is one of the wealthiest Russian cities, and predominantly Muslim Tatarstan is considered in Russia the personification of religious tolerance center for moderate Islam, despite growing fundamentalism and various incidents of the past. Heavenly blue mosque Kul-Sharif was built twelve years ago and has become one of the largest mosques in Europe, combining a number of inter-religious symbols. However, she is in the territory of the Kazan Kremlin. The city has always had a strategic importance for Russia. The capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in the XVI century and its accession to Russia has become one of the key events on the way to the great power.
Republic benefits from its strategic position on the way from Moscow to Siberia, from the energy industry and its strong infrastructure, rail network, proximity to the Volga. In the next 15 years in Tatarstan should be built a model of Innopolis, a kind of high-tech cluster, which has been dubbed the Russian Silicon valley. Tatarstan is one of the most attractive investment regions of Russia, it uses cultural proximity to Turkey, but also maintains close ties with Germany. A few weeks ago in the presence of Seehofer Horst (Horst Seehofer) was concluded a multibillion-dollar deal with the Bavarian Linde on the construction of an industrial enterprise. And the fact that Kazan is among the cities which next year will host matches of the world Cup, for the proud Tatars — a thing taken for granted.
According to the liberal Moscow politician Vladimir Ryzhkov, all this is not accidental. “Tatarstan is an example of how the region is developing better when he has more freedom, rights and opportunities”, — he told on air of radio station “Echo of Moscow”. But too much political freedom center does not approve of, especially on the eve of crucial elections and in the period of growth of the protest movement. When in March in Tatarstan broke the banking scandal, and thousands of demonstrators demanded the resignation of the President, meant the President of Tatarstan. The President of Russia can make respective conclusions. Expiring contract could be a good opportunity.
