Minnikhanov on 30th anniversary of State Council of Tatarstan: ‘I was in the same convocation twice: as head and prime minister’
In the anniversary year, the head of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, Ilgiz Gilazov, told how he defended the right of citizens to 30 minutes of free parking near kindergartens, schools and clinics in Kazan
“A special role in the history of Tatarstan parliamentarism belongs to the state counselor of Tatarstan, the first president of the republic, Mintimer Shaimiev, thanks to whom it was possible not only to overcome the challenges of the time, but also to lay the foundations for sustainable development," said Rustam Minnikhanov in a congratulatory speech on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the work of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan. In March 1990, for the first time, elections of deputies on an alternative basis to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tatarstan were held, and five years later, the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan was established on these principles. Protection of the rights and social support of the population are among the priorities, said Farid Mukhametshin. On this path, the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Tatarstan supported citizens who demanded the abolition of paid parking near social institutions in Kazan, after which the authorities began to give 30 minutes of free time this year. Read more in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
“30 years passed unnoticed”: how the Constitution and the Land Code were adopted
On 28 March, the State Council of Tatarstan solemnly celebrated the 30th anniversary of legislative activity. On this occasion, the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and the regional Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin came to the parliament. Together with the Speaker of the State Council, Farid Mukhametshin, they examined historical materials about important milestones of the parliament, presented at the exhibition in the foyer of the second floor. The anniversary session was attended by deputies of the first draft — Vasily Loginov, the chairman of the Committee on State Construction and Local Self-Government, Renat Kharisov, a writer and poet, Alexander Gusev, the former head of the Rubin football club, and many other veterans. Among them was the cheerful journalist and writer Lyubov Ageeva, who headed the press center of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan from 1995 to 2003.
“30 years have passed unnoticed," said Yury Kamaltynov, the deputy chairman of the State Council. “We are happy to remember all those who stood at the origins. Many thanks to Mintimer Sharipovich Shaimiev and Vasily Nikolaevich Likhachev (the first speaker of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan, who worked until 1998). Initially, 39 deputies moved to permanent work, forming a “small parliament”, which met every week. There was a lot of work.”
The details of this work were revealed in the film. It described how the constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Land Code of the Republic of Tatarstan were adopted and the presidential program for the elimination of dilapidated housing in Kazan was launched.
“The Supreme Council of the TASSR, which operated for 11 convocations, from 1938 to 1990, played a significant role in the implementation of parliamentary practice and the accumulation of experience in Soviet state-building," said Speaker of the State Council Farid Mukhametshin. “The March 1990 elections to the 12th Supreme Council of the TASSR, which were held on an alternative basis for the first time, are considered to be a turning point in the development of representative democracy. Today, it is safe to say that the legal foundation laid by the Supreme Council has become a reliable pillar of our legislative “building”, and therefore thirty years of fruitful and responsible work of the State Council as the successor of the Supreme Council have become a period of further development of parliamentary democracy.”
During the work of the State Council in 1997, a special commission was established to identify republican laws and resolutions of the State Council in Tatar and Russian, the institute of “government” hours was introduced in 1999, and the position of Commissioner for Human Rights was legislatively approved in 2000. In the same year, the State Council elected the first composition of the Constitutional Court of the republic. In 2004, the previously functioning Parliamentary Control Committee was transformed into the Accounting Chamber of the Republic of Tatarstan. “Behind all these strategic steps there was a large-scale analytical, law-making, organisational work of Tatarstan deputies," said Farid Mukhametshin.
In just six convocations, deputies have adopted more than 2,613 laws, of which one third (855) are basic. More than 130 legislative initiatives of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan have been prepared and sent to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, 17 of them (approximately one in eight) have acquired the force of federal laws. Relevant parliamentary appeals were also addressed to the chairman of the State Duma, the prime minister of Russia, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and federal ministers.
Minnikhanov — to deputies: “I am your colleague”
“The 30th anniversary of the State Council is a landmark event for the whole republic," Minnikhanov delivered a congratulatory speech. “A special role in the history of Tatarstan parliamentarism belongs to the state councilor of Tatarstan, first president of the republic, Mintimer Shaimiev, thanks to whom it was possible not only to overcome the challenges of the time, but also to lay the foundations for sustainable development.”
“Deputies of all convocations have always reacted promptly to changes, found solutions that ensure the stability of the republic and the legal protection of citizens,” said the rais (head) of the republic. “All this has allowed not only to improve the quality of life of the population, but also to strengthen the status of our republic as a core region of the Russian Federation. It is safe to say that today the State Council of the republic expresses the will of the multinational people of Tatarstan, protects and defends the interests of the republic and its citizens.”
After finishing his official speech, Minnikhanov spoke from the bottom of his heart: “I was a deputy in the same convocation twice. While in the district, he was elected, then, as minister of finance, I resigned. And [then] when he became prime minister, he could have been a deputy at that time. So I'm your colleague.”
Kazan residents were first deprived of free parking near social institutions and then granted 30 minutes
Then the floor was given to Chairman of the Constitutional Council of the republic Ilgiz Gilazov. He made a report on the state of constitutional legality in Tatarstan in 2023-2024. As you know, the Constitutional Court was created to replace the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Tatarstan, which was abolished two years ago. After the judicial reform, only four regions decided to keep the constitutional councils, but their decisions are advisory, not binding, and the councils themselves are not part of the general judicial system of the Russian Federation.
“Currently, constitutional councils within the legislative bodies of state power have been established in the republics of Adygea, Bashkortostan and Sakha (Yakutia), with which we closely cooperate,” Ilgiz Gilazov noted. “Unlike them, the Constitutional Council of Tatarstan is a permanent state body of the republic, which carries out its activities in order to strengthen constitutional legality.”
At the meeting, the head of the Constitutional Court spoke about a topical topic — parking in Kazan. According to federal law, paid parking may be prohibited near sports complexes, kindergartens, schools and clinics. This norm is enshrined in the republican law of December 20, 2018 “On the regulation of certain issues in the field of traffic management in the Republic of Tatarstan”. However, in Kazan, residents are faced with that only paid parking is available near social institutions.
Citizens asked the council to recognise the resolution of the Executive Committee of Kazan dated April 18, 2014 “On the procedure for creating and using parking lots in Kazan, including on a paid basis," as inconsistent with the constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan.
“The Constitutional Court recommended making changes to the regulatory act, but the executive committee refused to do so, although laws and other regulations that worsen the rights of citizens must not be issued," Gilazov said.
They failed to achieve a change in the resolution, but later information appeared in the media that the authorities plan to increase the free parking time near socially significant institutions to 30 minutes.
