By Country / Russia
Russian Duma Ratifies Tatarstan Power-Sharing Pact
February 09, 2007
February 9, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Russia's lower house of parliament today ratified a 10-year power-sharing agreement between federal authorities and the Republic of Tatarstan, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reported.
The treaty gives the predominantly Muslim Volga-region republic a degree of economic and political autonomy no other region enjoys.
After a heated debate, 306 lawmakers in the State Duma voted for the document, 110 voted against, and one abstained.
"There were almost no arguments from those who opposed the ratification of the treaty," Duma Deputy from Tatarstan Ildar Gilmutdinov told RFE/RL. "They couldn't justify why we shouldn't approve the treaty -- we didn't hear any of that. With the supporters, it was just the opposite. We could show that it was possible to grant special status based on Russian law itself, as we've done in the past for Magadan or Kaliningrad or Altai Krai. So today, more than 300 deputies voted to support the treaty with Tatarstan."
Deputy Duma speaker Oleg Morozov told RFE/RL that there will be similar agreements with other federation subjects in the future, most likely including Bashkortostan and Chechnya.
"I don't foresee a large number of agreements," Morozov said. "The count will be in the single digits."
The agreement, which Tatarstan ratified in 2005, was submitted to the Duma by President Vladimir Putin. It now heads to the Federation Council for a vote.
(with material from Interfax, ITAR-TASS)