Tatarstan authorities proposed to rename the president of the republic into "rais"

According to Kommersant, the initiators of the bill propose to call the head of the region "the head - the rais of the Republic of Tatarstan".

According to Albert Khabibullin, chairman of the Tatarstan State Council Committee on State Building and Local Self-Government, such an approach "will reflect the historical, cultural and national characteristics of Tatarstan." He added that "the current president of our republic, Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov, was elected as president."

“Our citizens voted for him as a presidential candidate,” Khabibullin was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The head of the region will be able to keep the title of "rais" - "president" until 2025.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin carried out a reform of regional authorities. In December 2021, he signed a law prohibiting the names of the heads of the country's regions as presidents. The document came into effect on June 1. The regions were given six months to bring their laws into line with the new federal job title standards.

In Tatarstan, the demand for a new law was perceived by many with disapproval, believing that the removal of the word “president” from the name of the head of the subject “violates the rights of the Tatars and Tatarstan,” since this issue should fall within the competence of the regional authorities. A number of officials in the republic offered alternative titles to the "president" of the post - such as the chosen ones "khan", "rais" or "bashlyk".

In July of this year, amid heated debate in the republic, the title of the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, was officially changed from President to " Head of the Republic of Tatarstan ." The decree was signed by the President of Russia, published on the portal of legal information and entered into force from the date of signing. From June 1, 2022, the heads of subjects of the Russian Federation may be called heads or governors. At the same time, the authorities of Tatarstan stated that such a decision implies a “transitional period” until January 1, 2023, and continued to use the name “president”. Thus, the republic became the only region that did not approve the adopted law.