Head of the Republic of Tatarstan
Highest-ranking official in Tatarstan, Russia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The head of the Republic of Tatarstan,[a] known as the president of the Republic of Tatarstan[b] from 1991 to 2023, is the head and highest-ranking official of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia. The office was established in 1991.
| Head of the Republic of Tatarstan | |
|---|---|
 Standard of the head of the republic | |
| Executive branch of the Republic of Tatarstan | |
| Style | |
| Type | |
| Residence | Kazan Kremlin |
| Nominator | Political parties |
| Appointer | |
| Term length |
|
| Formation | 12 June 1991 |
| First holder | Mintimer Shaimiev |
| Website | Official website |
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
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) |
Term of office | Political party | Elected | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 |  |
Mintimer Shaimiev (born 1937) |
4 July 1991 | 25 March 2010 | 18 years, 264 days | Communist Party of the Soviet Union | 1991 1996 2001 2005[c] |
[15] | |
| Independent | |||||||||
| Fatherland – All Russia | |||||||||
| United Russia | |||||||||
| 2 | .jpg) |
Rustam Minnikhanov (born 1957) |
25 March 2010 | Incumbent | 16 years, 171 days | United Russia | 2010[c] 2015 2020 2025 |
[16][17] | |
Timeline
Latest election
The latest election for the office was held on 14 September 2025.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rustam Minnikhanov (incumbent) | United Russia | 1,963,583 | 88.09 | ||
| Khafiz Mirgalimov | Communist Party | 110,734 | 4.97 | ||
| Ruslan Yusupov | Liberal Democratic Party | 93,536 | 4.20 | ||
| Vitaly Smirnov | Party of Pensioners | 42,292 | 1.90 | ||
| Valid votes | 2,210,145 | 99.15 | |||
| Blank ballots | 18,944 | 0.85 | |||
| Total | 2,229,089 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 2,229,089 | 75.81 | |||
| Registered voters | 2,940,212 | 100.00 | |||
| Source: | [18] | ||||
See also
Notes
- Appointed by the President of Russia with the consent of the State Council.