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Russia

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By RFE/RL

February 22, 2012

The president of Russia's southern republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, says Russia needs a “tsar” rather than a manager as head of state, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports.

Minnikhanov made the comment on at a meeting of local media in Tatarstan’s capital, Kazan.

He added that it would be "disappointing" if the people of Tatarstan did not give mass backing to Vladimir Putin in the March 4 presidential election, saying Russia’s current prime minister had done “so much” for the republic.

In parliamentary elections in December, Tatarstan, a Volga region of almost 4 million people, officially gave Putin’s United Russia party 78 percent of its vote -- far above the national average.

According to federal law, Tatarstan’s president is nominated by the Russian president and confirmed by the local parliament.

With AFP reporting

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Comments

by: Konstantin from: Los Angeles

February 23, 2012 01:01

It doesn't mean too much from point of view of magority of
Russians, because smaller national entity have many reasons
for or against leders of larger entity, specially with genocidal
history of Russia...

Tatarstan robbed by Russia, specially Tatar gas, but in the
same time wisits of some Western leaders, in memory of
USA 1920-th humanitarian help, and left-over Gas rubles,
spread arround, might soften life conditions In Tatarstan...

In past history Tatars even were prohibbited to use their
own language and Russians were stealing their last
horses, also subjected them to general war of perpetual
genocide as against all other non-Russians...

Survival of any nation is more important for it
than politics...

Still, he shouldn't go as far as voting for "Zcar" of Russia,
unless he is (quite possible) the same proxy of Russian
occupiers as most (if not all) nomenclatura in CIS
countries and national authonomies in Russia...