Tatarstan Path to Sovereignty

This Page is aimed to present you Tatarstan path to sovereignty and objective panorama of Tatarstan-Russia relations.

Official collection of documents (1990-1995)

Compiled by Dr. RAPHAEL KHAKIMOV,
State Advisor to President of the Republic of Tatarstan on Political Affairs

The official documents, connected with the consolidation of the state sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan, the negotiations and consultations between the delegation of the Republic of Tatarstan and the delegation of the Russian Federation are published in this collection for the first time.

Compiler's preface

On August 30, 1990, Tatarstan has proclaimed the sovereignty. This date carries significance not only for the Republic of Tatarstan, but also for the course of political events in Russia. The citizens of the Republic of Tatarstan were eye-witnesses of this process; at the same time the population of Russia is aware of these events from sketchy accounts in the mass media. Our path to sovereignty is not known by foreign politicians and specialists. The goal of this collection is to fill a "gap" in the history of the Republic's state formation. Some documents were published in the press, but the materials of negotiations between the official delegations of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Federation are published for the first time. The declaration on the Republic of Tatarstan state sovereignty was adopted immediately after the declaration on the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, which provided the peoples' right "to self-determination in the national-state and national-cultural forms they have chosen" (item 4). The political discussions on legitimacy of new political status which were held in the Republic of Tatarstan were maintained by official Russian circles and resulted in the referendum. On March 21, 1992 in the Republic of Tatarstan in the presence of Russian and foreign observers the referendum was conducted, which confirmed the direction towards strengthening sovereignty. The juridical documents gathered in this collection, cannot reflect the tenseness of the actual situation, however, they give a feel for the period. After consolidation in the Constitution of the political status of Tatarstan Republic, the self-determination of Tatarstan's peoples acquired full political and legal form. However, the sovereignty of Tatarstan had not been recognized by Russia. It was necessary to conduct negotiations. On August 12, 1991, the consultations and negotiations between the official delegations of the Tatarstan Republic and the Russian Federation began, which at first had the nature of political discussion and then resulted in signing a trade-economic agreement between the governments. In 1992 the negotiations became more intensive; specialists of different levels and official representatives from the state institutions took part in negotiations. As a result, the draft of the bilateral Treaty was prepared, in which all the positions were coordinated. This enabled the Republic to hold negotiations at the highest level. In January 1993 a new round of negotiations between two delegations, headed by the Presidents, took place, where the agreement on interstate treaties within the framework of the coordinated items of "The Main Treaty" was achieved. In 1993 seven (of twelve) agreements were signed. In this Collection the most important documents are introduced, which were signed by the Parties and became a considerable landmark in the process of negotiations between the official delegations. Furthermore, there are dozens and hundreds of variants of different draft treaties and separate agreements. Their study is not the task of politicians but historians.

P A R T I
Legal documents consolidating the political status of the Republic of Tatarstan (1990-1993)

1. Declaration on the state sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan, August 30,1990).
2. Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic (Tatar SSR) on the draft of Union Treaty (December 13,1990).
3. Statement of the Supreme Soviet of Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic (April 16,1991).
4. Joint Statement of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of Tatar SSR, Cabinet of Ministers of Tatar SSR, Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU, Tatar Regional Trade Union, Tatar Regional Committee of the YCL on the participation of the Republic of Tatarstan in signing the Union Treaty (May 8,1991).
5. Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic (Tatar SSR) on the Act of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan (October 24,1990).
6. Declaration on the entry of the Republic of Tatarstan into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (December 26,1991).
7. Official documents of the referendum on the state status of the Republic of Tatarstan

8. Resolution of Tatarstan Supreme Soviet on conducting the referendum on state status of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan, February 21,1992).
9. Statement of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tatarstan.
10. Appeal of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tatarstan to the people of the Republic of Tatarstan in connection with the Appeal of Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation to the Supreme Soviet, President and people of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan, March 6,1992).
11. Appeal of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tatarstan to mass media leaders (Kazan, March 6,1992).
12. Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tatarstan on the interpretation of question wording submitted at the referendum in the Republic of Tatarstan on March 21,1995 (March 16,1992).
13. Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tatarstan on measures securing the state sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan arising from the results of the referendum on the state status of the Republic of Tatarstan, which was conducted on March 21, 1992.
14. Results of the referendum in the Republic of Tatarstan on March 21, 1992. Protocol of the Central election Committee of the Republic of Tatarstan (March 25,1992).
15. Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan (extract) (Adopted on November 6,1992).
16. Law of the Republic of Tatarstan on the order of implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan (extract).
17. Official Letter to the President of the Russian Federation, Yeltsin B.N. on the draft of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Kazan, May 10, 1993).
18. Legislatie initiative of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tatarstan (June 4, 1993).
19. Appeal of the President and the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan, June 24,1993).
20. Results of general voting on the Russian Draft Constitution in the Republic of Tatarstan (December 12, 1993). Protocol of Tatarstan's regional electoral committee No 16.

P A R T II
Official documents reflected the process of bilateral negotiations and consultations between the delegations of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan (1991-1995)

1. Official letter of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, M.Shaimiev, to the President of the Russian Federation, B.Yeltsin (June 30,1991).
2. Order of the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on the Russian delegation's membership for the purpose of concordance on economic and legal problems with Tatar SSR (August 9,1991).
3. Protocol on the results of consultations between the delegations of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Republic of Tatarstan (Moscow,12-15 August,1991).
4. Protocol on the results of consultations between the working group of the Supreme Soviet, the working group of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the delegation of the Republic of Tatarstan, (Kazan,3-5 October,1991).
5. Agreement on economic cooperation between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan.
6. Protocol on the results of consultations between the delegations of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan (Moscow, March 30 - April 2,1992).
7. Communique on the results of meetings between the commissions of state bodies of the Russian Federation and state bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan.
8. Order of the President of the Russian Federation on the Russian delegation's membership for the purpose of negotiations on delegation of authorities with the Republic of Tatarstan (July 14, 1992).
9. Official letter of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation N 6-660 (August 12, 1992).
10. Resolution of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan on the delegation of the Republic of Tatarstan for the purpose of negotiating the elaboration of the Treaty on delegation of authorities between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan (August 13,1992).
11. Draft Treaty on mutual delegation of jurisdictional subjects and state powers (August 15,1992).
12. Order of the President of the Russian Federation on the list of members for the purpose of negotiation between the representatives of supreme bodies of the Russian Federation and representatives of supreme bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan on the legal state status of the Republic of Tatarstan and on mutual delegation of jurisdictional subjects and authority between the state bodies of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan (January 21,1993).
13. Communique on the results of the negotiations between the delegations of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan (January 21, 1993).
14. Order of the President of the Russian Federation on the list of members for the purpose of negotiation between the representatives of supreme bodies of the Russian Federation and representatives of supreme bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan (May 27,1993).
15. Communique on the results of the negotiations between the delegations of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan (May 27, 1993).
16. Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan on delegation of powers and terms of reference in defense industries.
17. Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan on military issues.
18. Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan on delimitation of authorities in the sphere of foreign economic relations.
19. Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan "On Delimitation of Jurisdictional Subjects and Mutual Delegation of Authority between the State Bodies of the Russian Federation and the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan".