In September, Flouting Moscow, Tatars will Again Elect a Republic President

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 2 – Since January 1, 2016, Tatarstan has been in violation of Russian law because its government has refused to stop referring to its chief official as president, even though Vladimir Putin has said on occasion that it is up to the people of Tatarstan to decide (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2016/02/five-possible-scenarios-for-resolution.html).

            Now, Kommersant reports (kommersant.ru/doc/4365861), Kazan is set to go into the September elections without any change, something that will please many Tatars who see the title as essential to their status but that many in Moscow and some Russians in Tatarstan and elsewhere view as unacceptable and offensive.  

            Some had expected that Tatarstan’s State Council would make the change at a June 11 meeting which had been slated to discussion the vote, but one of that body’s deputies says that is not going to happen and that “we will elect a president of the Republic of Tatarstan” on September 13^th as planned (idelreal.org/a/30650559.html).

            Since the Duma declared Russia can have only one president, Tatar officials repeatedly have refused to drop that title (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/07/tatarstan-state-council-wont-do-away.html), and activists there have said saving it is among the republic’s most important tasks (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2020/03/saving-office-of-republic-president.html).

            Given everything else that is going on, the Kremlin apparently has decided not to press the issue. But what this means is that it will be far harder for Moscow to force Kazan to make a change given that the man elected in September will have been chosen as president and thus will be less willing to make a change than otherwise would be the case.

            And as a result, Tatarstan may retain its republic presidency for yet another four years, highlighting for all to see that a republic can resist the Russian government if it chooses to. That may be even more important in the current climate that just the retention of this title in the Middle Volga republic.