Tatarstan in 2000, by Sabirzyan Badretdinov
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Subject: Tatarstan in 2000, by Sabirzyan Badretdinov
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Original sender: Sabirzyan Badretdinov <[email protected]>
Tatarstan in 2000, by Sabirzyan Badretdinov
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN TATARSTAN (January-December 2000)
January 5
Ravil Gallyamov, a 47-year old Tatarstan resident, was freed from
captivity in Chechnya. He had been kidnaped by Chechen rebels in June,
1998.
January 18
The leadership of the Tatar Public Center (TPC) held a
press-conference in Kazan at which it urged its supporters to boycott
the presidential elections in Russia planned for March, 2000.
January 20
President Shaimiev celebrated his 63d birthday in the Atnya region of
Tatarstan, where he was born in 1937.
January 20
The public association "Omet" issued an appeal to President Putin
claiming that the outcome of the December 19, 1999 State Duma
elections in Tatarstan were falsified. Omet's chairman, Gabdulla
Galiullin, claimed that just 10 percent of the voters in Tatarstan
cast their ballots for the All Russia - Fatherland movement (OVR), not
41 percent, as stated in the official reports. Galiullin appealed to
Putin, in the interests of preserving Russia's territorial integrity,
to nominate a presidential representative to Tatarstan, arguing that
since 1990 Tatarstan and its population had been hostage to the
authoritarian regime of President Shaimiev.
January 22
The TPC organized a protest rally outside the Kamal Theater in Kazan
against Russia's brutal war in Chechnya. A similar rally was held on
January 15 in the city of Chally (Naberezhniye Chelny).
February 1
President Shaimiev met with Ural Latypov, Foreign Minister of the
Republic of Belarus, who is an ethnic Tatar.
February 3
The state committee for the preparation to the 1000-year anniversary
of the founding of Kazan was formed in Moscow. President Putin was
chosen as its chairman. The anniversary celebration is scheduled for
August 30, 2005.
February 10
Tatarstan's KGB announced that the explosion of the gas pipeline
Urengoi-Pomari-Uzhgorod (which passes through the territory of
Tatarstan) had been arranged by a "gang of terrorists" who committed
the act hoping to attract Western Europe's attention to the plight of
the Chechen people. 10 people were arrested, while two more were put
on the federal "most wanted" list. The incident took place on December
1, 1999.
February 14
A new Russian-language monthly magazine for Tatarstan's Muslims was
presented to the public for the first time.
February 16
The State Prosecutor's Office and Ministry of Education of Tatarstan
appealed to the republican court asking for closure of the Muslim
religious school named after Rizaetdin Fakhretdin in the city of Almet
(Almetyevsk).
February 16
One of the most prominent Tatar writers, Amirkhan Yeniki, passed away
in Kazan at the age of 91.
March 3
The chairman of Tatarstan's Election Committee, Marat Sirayev, was
dismissed from his post. President Shaimiev suggested replacing him
with Anatoly Fomin, vice chairman of Tatarstan's trade union
association.
March 3
Rashid Yagafarov, Chairman of the Tatar Public Center, announced his
intention to leave the post "on the ground of poor health." He will
resume his work as a researcher of Tatar folklore.
March 4
The leader of the Tatar youth movement "Azatlyk," Ramai Yuldashev, was
removed from his post after being accused of signing an appeal of
Tatarstan's opposition to President Putin. In the appeal, issued on
February 15th, the opposition asked Putin to unilaterally suspend the
power-sharing agreement signed between Moscow and Kazan in 1994. The
election to choose the new leader of "Azatlyk" was scheduled for May,
2000.
March 9
Two groups of Muslims from Kazan started their journey to Saudi Arabia
(one - by air, the other one - by bus) for a pilgrimage to Mecca. This
year, only 50 pilgrims were able to make the trip (in 1999, 180
pilgrims from Tatarstan had been able to perform Hajj). The reduction
in the number of pilgrims is party due to the increased cost of travel
by air.
March 13
The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir
Zhirinovsky, came to Kazan for a short visit. During a rally, he
promised that if he is elected Russia's president he would abolish any
vestiges of autonomy that the ethnic republics within Russia still
have.
March 20
President Putin visited Kazan and met with President Shaimiev.
March 22
A rally of supporters of the Tatar Public Center was canceled by the
local authorities in Chally in order to prevent disorder during
President Putin's visit to the city.
March 23
The founding congress of the youth wing of the "Tatarstan - New
Century" party (headed by Tatarstan's parliamentary speaker Farid
Mukhametshin) was held in Kazan. Arif Mezhvedilov, the leader of the
League of Students of Tatarstan, was elected its chairman.
March 26
During presidential elections in Russia, Vladimir Putin received 68.5
percent of all votes cast in Tatarstan.
April 2
President Shaimiev visited the United Arab Emirates at the invitation
of the sheik Zaid ben Sultan al-Nahayana.
April 26
The Tatar Public Center held a protest rally outside a casino in
Chally. The participants in the rally demanded the closure of the
casino "Batyr" and transfer of ownership of the building to the TPC.
April 27
30 schoolchildren were hospitalized and over 350 failed to attend
school in the city of Tuben Kama (Nizhnekamsk) after an outbreak of
food poisoning traced to local drinking water.
May 10
A 16-year old member of the youth gang "Zhilploschadka" was arrested
for throwing a Molotov cocktail into a bus which he mistook for a
vehicle owned by the rival gang, "Sotsgorod."
May 17
Members of the opposition groups "Equality and Law," "Omet," and the
local branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation demanded
the annulment of the results of the December, 1999 elections in
Tatarstan and the abolishment of the office of the presidency in
Tatarstan. A few days earlier, President Putin started his drive to
tame Russia's unruly regional leaders by dividing the country into
seven larger administrative districts and promising to remove leaders
of the Russian regions from the upper chamber of the Russian
parliament, the Federation Council. At present, Russia consists of 89
regions.
May 19
The Tatar Public Center expressed its indignation at the plans to
divide Russia into seven federal districts. According to the TPC,
such a plan could threaten Tatarstan's sovereignty. As a
countermeasure, the TPC suggested instead to create a confederation of
the republics and regions of the Volga area. Such a confederation,
according to the TPC, might in the future lead to the establishment of
an independent state "Idel-Ural."
May 19
Sergei Shoigu, the leader of the pro-Putin "Unity" party, suggested to
merge the "Tatarstan - New Century" party with the local branch of
"Unity" and offered Farid Mukhametshin membership in the ruling
council of his party.
June 1
The prices of bread and milk were raised in Tatarstan.
June 2
President Putin, speaking about the appointment of Sergei Kirienko as
his representative in the Volga federal district (which includes
Tatarstan), mentioned that he initially offered the job to Mintimer
Shaimiev. President Shaimiev had refused the offer.
June 20
Thirty "KamAz" trucks produced in Tatarstan were delivered to the
Chita region of Russia in exchange for gold, as part of the Tatarstan
government's plan to increase the republic's gold reserves. At
present, it amounts to only 50 kilograms of gold. A part of last
year's reserve of 113 kilograms was sold to cover the budget deficit.
June 24
President Putin visited Kazan and took part in the Tatar folk festival
Sabantui.
June 29
Tatarstan established its own Constitutional Court.
June 30
The former prosecutor of the Kirov district of Kazan, Rashid Vagizov,
was appointed Tatarstan's Chief Human Rights Observer. The office of
the Chief Human Rights Observer was officially established on November
16, 1999.
July 20
The 10 small opposition political parties and movements aligned in the
Round Table appealed to President Putin to dissolve Tatarstan's
parliament because of procedural violations in nominating deputies.
The Round Table claimed that 55 out of the total 130 deputies are
simultaneously heads of local administrations directly appointed by
President Shaimiev. The opposition's appeal also calls for amending
Tatarstan's electoral legislation and constitution to conform with
those of the Russian Federation.
July 26
The criminals who kidnaped 7-year old Mansur Ikramov in Chally
demanded 10.000 dollars for his release. The father of the boy,
Mukhitdin Ikramov, promised to borrow the money from his friends and
relatives.
August 31
Mintimer Shaimiev met with President Putin in Samara.
September 2
President Putin signed a decree establishing the presidium of the
newly formed State Council. Mintimer Shaimiev, along with some other
regional leaders, was appointed a member of the presidium.
September 2
The 11th annual Tatar Youth Day was held in Kazan.
September 6
The publishing house "Magarif" received a manuscript of the first
Tatar-language textbook published in the Latin-based Tatar alphabet.
The new textbook will be introduced in several schools in Kazan as an
experiment. Starting from September 2001, most schools in Kazan are
expected to use the new textbooks. The Latin-based Tatar alphabet will
replace the Cyrillic-based Tatar alphabet by the year 2010.
September 21
Internal disagreement split the Chally branch of the TPC into two
factions, one of them supporting the current head of the Chally branch
Rafis Kashapov, the other supporting Damir Galeev, who was elected new
chairman of the Chally branch of the TPC on September 14th, 2000.
Rafis Kashapov accused the administration of the city of Chally of
promoting Damir Galeev with the ultimate goal of splitting the Tatar
national movement in order to weaken it. In his turn, Damir Galeev
accused the "former leadership" of the TPC of not trying hard enough
to win over the Tatar intelligentsia to the cause of national
liberation.
September 22
Marat Galeev, a member of Tatarstan's parliament, suggested holding
the next presidential elections in Tatarstan in December 2000, instead
of March 2001 when President Shaimiev's term expires. Deputy Alexandr
Shtanin strongly objected to changing the date of the elections.
Shtanin also objected to the law requiring a presidential candidate to
be fluent in both Tatar and Russian, the official languages of
Tatarstan.
September 23
The parliament of Tatarstan decided to choose December 24 as the date
of the forthcoming presidential elections. As of January 2001, all
laws of Tatarstan are required to be in conformity with federal laws.
Federal laws prohibit regional leaders to run for 3d term in office,
while Tatarstan's laws allow the president to be elected for 3d term.
President Shaimiev's 2d term expires in March 2001.
October 4
President Shaimiev, yielding to pressure from federal authorities,
asked the deputies of the parliament of Tatarstan to move the date of
the presidential elections back to March 2001. He explained the need
for such a move as necessary to "avoid the appearance of legal
impropriety."
October 9
Tatarstan's parliamentarians canceled their earlier decision about the
date of the presidential elections in Tatarstan. They decided that
the elections should be held in March 2001, as President Shaimiev
suggested.
October 15
A rally mourning the 448th anniversary of the subjugation of the Kazan
Khanate by the army of Ivan the Terrible was held on Kazan's main
square. Several hundred people took part in the rally.
October 16
President Shaimiev met with Berl Lazar, the chief rabbi of Russia.
Tatarstan's chief rabbi, Itskhak Gorelik, also took part in the
meeting.
October 17
Tatarstan's trade representation in Australia was closed down by a
decree of President Putin. At present, Tatarstan has over a dozen
trade missions and representations in foreign countries. As part of
his plan to reform the federal system in Russia, President Putin is
trying to limit regions' direct contacts with foreign countries.
October 21 and 22
The 9th congress of the Communist party of Tatarstan was held in
Kazan. Alexandr Saliy retained his position as chairman of
Tatarstan's branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
December 8
Tatarstan's parliament adopted the republic's budget for the year
2001.
December 18
Tatarstan's parliament decided to hold presidential elections in
Tatarstan on March 25, 2001. It also approved an amendment to the
local election law. The amendment will allow candidates who do not
speak Tatar to run for the presidency.
December 22
Rinat Akhmadiev, a prominent doctor who is a nephew of President
Shaimiev, was brutally killed by unknown assailants in his home
outside Kazan. Akhmadiev's two children, 6 and 9 years old, and an
unidentified woman were also killed during the assault.
December 22
During a plenary session of Tatarstan's parliament, President Shaimiev
spoke about "the anti-Shaimiev propaganda campaign" launched by some
Russian newspapers. Recently, "Novaya Gazeta" and "Obschaya Gazeta"
published articles unusually critical of Shaimiev's autocratic style
of leadership in Tatarstan.
December 25
The first three candidates for the post of the president of Tatarstan
declared their intentions to run in the March 2001 presidential
elections. The chairman of the movement "Against Crime and
Lawlessness" Dmitry Berdnikov, entrepreneur from Aznakaevo Marsel
Salyamov and Communist Robert Sadykov need to collect 50.000
signatures each in order to be officially registered by Tatarstan's
Central Election Committee.
Sources: www.regions.ru, www.tatar.ru, www.strana.ru, RFE/RL Regional
Report, www.elemte.ru/vid.
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