Institution of the referendum in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russian Federation)

Abstract

The Republic of Tatarstan is one of the 85 entities of the Russian Federation listed in the Constitution of the Russian Federation (including the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol). In relation to other entities, the Republic of Tatarstan stands out in the number of organized referendums. In the Republic of Tatarstan in 1992, a referendum was held to define the status of the republic and then declare the independence. However, as a result of the change in the policy of the Russian authorities consisting in the departure from supporting separatism for the consolidation of the state, the Republic of Tatarstan has never been recognized as an independent and sovereign entity. In spite of this, the Tartars have succeeded in fundamentally changing their position to increase financial and economic independence of the center. This was possible because a referendum was used and its outcome was referred to as the legitimacy of the actions of the Tatarstan authorities. In addition, it is worth emphasizing the extremely frequent use of referendum at the local level in the Republic of Tatarstan. In connection with the above, this article defines the legal status of the referendum in the Republic of Tatarstan in the light of the legal system of the Russian Federation and presents examples of the application of the referendum at the level of the republic and the local one. Legal regulations are largely identical to solutions at the federal level, the referendum was considered an example of direct rule of the people (article 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation from 1993 and article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan from 1992). After 1992, at the level of the republic, the institution of the referendum was no longer used, and at the local level, although the institution of the referendum was very often used, it was mainly regarding the consent for additional taxation of citizens for local purposes.