Politician shaimiev mintimer sharipovich - biography, activities and interesting facts. Shaimiev mintimer sharipovich Mintimer sharipovich shaimiev autobiography

Mintimer Shaimiev was born into a Tatar family on January 20, 1937, p. Anyakovo, Aktanyshsky district, Tatar ASSR. The surname of his father, Shagisharip Shaimukhametovich (1901-1967), comes from the fact that Shaimiev's grandfather - Shaimukhammat (1870-1929) was called Shaimi in the village.

Shaimiev's childhood fell on the war and post-war years. After graduating from the institute, in 1959 he worked as an engineer, then chief engineer of the Muslyumovskaya repair and technical station. At the age of 25, he was sent to Menzelinsk to manage the Selkhoztekhnika interdistrict association.

In 1967 he began his administrative career - he worked as an instructor, deputy head of the agricultural department of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU. In 1969-1983 - Minister of Land Reclamation and Water Resources of the Tatar ASSR. In 1983 - First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the TASSR. In 1983-1985. - Secretary of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU; 1985-1989 - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the TASSR. In 1989 he was elected First Secretary of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU; 1990-1991 - Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tatarstan. In 1990-1991 - Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

On June 12, 1991, he was elected President of the Republic of Tatarstan on a non-alternative basis. In 1996, he was re-elected for a second term in an uncontested election, receiving more than 90% of the vote. In 2001, for the first time, presidential elections were held on an alternative basis: in addition to Mintimer Shaimiev, four candidates participated, including two members of the Russian Duma (Sergei Shashurin and Ivan Grachev). Shaimiev received 79.5% of the votes.

Under the leadership of Shaimiev, the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the Tatar SSR was adopted, and the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan was developed and adopted. On the initiative of Shaimiev, a referendum was held in 1992 on the state status of the Republic of Tatarstan, during which about 62% of voters voted for Tatarstan to become a sovereign state, "a subject of international law, building its relations with the Russian Federation and other republics, states on the basis of equal treaties. With the active participation of Shaimiev in 1994, an agreement was concluded between Tatarstan and the Russian Federation. (Boris Yeltsin recalled Shaimiev in connection with this: “what help and support he provided when the national question was being resolved! When we were on the verge of general national discord in Russia. After all, we were able to agree with him together, and immediately all the republics supported this and picked up.)

In August 1991, during an attempted coup, Shaimiev supported the State Emergency Committee.

Under the leadership of Shaimiev, the periodically convened "World Congress of Tatars" was established. He headed the official delegation of the Republic of Tatarstan at the II World Kurultai of the Bashkirs in 2002 and at other major events of federal and regional significance. Initiator of the "Hague Program".

Member of the State Council of the Russian Federation (member of the Presidium of the State Council of the Russian Federation 2000-2001). In 1999, he was one of the founders and co-chairs of the All-Russian Fatherland-All Russia party, which on December 1, 2001 became part of the United Russia party, of which he became co-chairman of the Supreme Council.

On March 25, 2005, the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan gave Shaimiev the powers of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin (before that, Shaimiev raised the question of trust in Putin before him).

On January 22, 2010, 73-year-old Shaimiev, two months before the expiration of his powers, announced his withdrawal from the list of 3 contenders for the empowerment of the President of the Republic, introduced at the end of 2009 by the ruling United Russia party. "Mintimer Shaimiev asked the President of Russia not to consider his candidacy," Natalya Timakova, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, said. Shaimiev explained that he supports the course announced by Dmitry Medvedev in his Address to the Federal Assembly, and believes that it is necessary to give the young generation of politicians an opportunity to prove themselves, Interfax reported. "Shaimiev thanked the head of state for the trust and support he felt during his leadership of the republic," the spokeswoman added.

The powers of Mintimer Shaimiev as President of Tatarstan expired on March 25, 2010. On the same day, the inauguration of the second President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, took place.

Subsequently, Shaimiev occupies the newly established unpaid honorary position of the State Councilor of the Republic of Tatarstan, who is a life member of the Parliament and the subject of introducing legislative initiatives at the republican level.

In addition, Shaimiev is the initiator of the creation and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Republican Fund for the Revival of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Tatarstan. The Foundation is implementing a federal project "Cultural heritage of Tatarstan: the ancient city of Bolgar and the island-city of Sviyazhsk."

On February 6, 2012, he was officially registered as a confidant of the candidate for the President of the Russian Federation at that time, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

On April 28, 2017, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Mintimer Shaimiev was awarded the title of Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation with the wording "for special labor services to the state and people."

During the 2018 presidential election, he was a confidant of Vladimir Putin.

Among the former heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, he ranks fifth in terms of tenure (6862 days), surpassing, among other things, the ex-mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov and the ex-president of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov. Among all the heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the acting governors of the Belgorod region Yevgeny Savchenko (since 1993), the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleev (since 1997), the Samara region Nikolai Merkushkin (since 2012, in 1995-2012 headed Mordovia), as well as the former heads of the Tomsk region Viktor Kress (1991-2012), the Omsk region Leonid Polezhaev (1991-2012), Udmurtia Alexander Volkov (1995-2014). In 1954, after graduating from school, he entered the Kazan Agricultural Institute.

Born on January 20, 1937 in the village of Anyakovo, Aktanyshsky district, into a peasant family. In 1954 he entered the Kazan Agricultural Institute at the Faculty of Mechanization, graduating in 1959.

After graduating from high school, Shaimiev worked first as an engineer, then as chief engineer of the Muslyumovskaya repair and technical station. In 1962, he took the position of manager of the Menzelinsky district association "Selkhoztekhnika". In 1967, he switched to party administrative work: first he worked as an instructor, then he was deputy head of the agricultural department of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU.

In 1969, Shaimiev took the post of Minister of Land Reclamation and Water Resources of the Republic. In 1983 he was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, then worked as secretary of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU for two years. In 1985, he headed the Council of Ministers of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and in 1989 he became the first secretary of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU.

In the early 1990s, the media named Shaimiev among the Russian leaders who led the struggle of the national republics for sovereignty and the greatest possible independence from Moscow. In 1990, Shaimiev was elected chairman of the Supreme Council of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and in the same year the Supreme Council of the republic adopted a declaration on its state sovereignty.

On June 12, 1991, Shaimiev was elected the first president of the Republic of Tatarstan, and in 1994 he became a member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Subsequently, he was elected twice more (March 24, 1996 and March 25, 2001) to the post of head of the republic, and in 2005 he was approved as president by the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin (before that, Shaimiev raised the question of self-confidence).

Shaimiev's first presidential term was marked by the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan. Subsequently, the media wrote that in 2002 the Tatar deputies had to make a number of serious amendments to the constitution so that it would not contradict the federal one, however, the new version of the basic law still retained provisions that contradicted the Russian constitution.

In August 1999, Shaimiev was one of the co-founders of the Fatherland - All Russia (OVR) bloc, which later became part of the Unity and Fatherland - United Russia party (in December 2003 it was renamed United Russia) On December 1, 2001, Shaimiev was elected co-chairman of the Supreme Council of the party along with the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Sergei Shoigu, and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.

In October 2007, Shaimiev headed the regional list of United Russia candidates in the Republic of Tatarstan in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the fifth convocation. After the victory of the party in the parliamentary elections held on December 2, 2007, he, as expected, refused the deputy mandate.

Best of the day

The media noted that in the republic the president is called Babai (father, grandfather) behind his back. According to a number of publications, he is the most authoritative among the leaders of the national republics of Russia. In September 2000, Shaimiev was elected a member of the Presidium of the State Council of the Russian Federation (he held this post until March 2001), later he remained a member of the State Council of the Russian Federation. In June 2001, Shaimiev was included in the commission set up by President Putin's decree to prepare proposals for the division of powers between the federal, regional and local levels of government. In 2007, after the Federation Council refused to ratify the agreement on the delimitation of powers between Tatarstan and Russia adopted by the State Duma, information appeared in the media about the possible imminent resignation of the president of Tatarstan.

Shaimiev has a number of state orders and medals, most of which he received back in the Soviet period. Among them are the Order of Lenin (1966), the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1971), the Order of the October Revolution (1976), the Order of Friendship of Peoples (1987). In 1997, Shaimiev was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, as well as a certificate of honor from the government of the Russian Federation.

Shaimiev was elected an honorary member of the Presidium of the International Parliament of the World Confederation of Knights working under the auspices of the UN; Academician of the Academy of Technological Sciences of the Russian Federation; Honorary Academician of the International Informatization Academy; Honorary Professor of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. He is a laureate of numerous awards: the International Prize of the Tatar People named after Kul Gali, the Prize of the Union of Journalists of the Russian Federation "For openness in dealing with the press", the national award in the field of development of public relations "Silver Archer", established by the Union of Journalists, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the Russian association for public relations, the national theater award of the Russian Federation "Golden Mask" in the nomination "For support of the theatrical art of Russia" following the results of the 1997-1998 season. In 1998, the International Biographical Center of Cambridge (Great Britain) awarded Shaimiev the international title "Person of the Year", and in June 2001 he was awarded the Avicenna Silver Medal for his great contribution to the preservation of cultural and historical values.

Shaimiev is married, his wife is Sakina Shakirovna Shaimiev. The Shaimievs have two sons. According to media reports, their eldest son Airat graduated from the Energy Institute. He is the general director of OAO Road Service of the Republic of Tatarstan. The younger, Radik, an architect by education, according to 2005, was a member of the board of directors of the joint-stock company Tatneft, and also headed the foreign trade company JV LLC NIRA-Export, according to some reports, was engaged in the transportation of oil to the West (on the official Internet on the website of Tatneft, Radik Shaimiev was no longer on the list of members of the Board of Directors in 2006-2007).

A number of publications noted that the Shaimiev family controls more than 70 percent of the economic potential of Tatarstan, including "road money" and the fuel and energy complex of the republic. According to the results of 2005, which were summed up by the Finance magazine, Radik Shaimiev, who at that time was nominally an adviser to the general director of the group (Russian-American joint-stock company) TAIF (Tatar-American Investments and Finance), was included in the list of the richest citizens Russia is in 56th place with a fortune of 23 billion rubles (about $800 million). True, the following year, according to the same publication, he dropped to 245th place in the ranking, as his fortune was reduced to 5.8 billion rubles (220 million dollars). But Airat Shaimiev appeared in the list of the richest Russians in 2006 - in 366th place with a fortune of 3.7 billion rubles (140 million dollars). At the end of 2005, Radik Shaimiev was included in his list of billionaires by the Russian Forbes, who estimated his fortune at $ 780 million (61st place). Both Shaimiev's sons are racing drivers, European autocross champions. Mintimer Shaimiev's nephew Ilshat Fardiev, the general director of the Tatenergo joint-stock company, was also mentioned in the media (according to Kommersant, he was predicted to be the successor to the president of Tatarstan).

The first President of Tatarstan, a federal politician who headed the republic in Soviet times and held power until 2010, inscribed his name in the history of the country. Mintimer Shaimiev, full holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland and Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, is put on a par with people who glorified the region: Renat Akchurin,.

Childhood and youth

The future president of the republic was born in January 1937 in the village of Anyakovo in a family of Sunni peasants. Mintimer is the 9th and penultimate child in the family. Shaimiev's name is translated as "I am iron". According to the national tradition, parents gave "strong names" to offspring if the first-born died before their birth. Before the birth of the eldest son Khantimer, after whom Mintimer appeared, four heirs died of the Shaimievs.

The childhood of the future statesman fell on a difficult war and post-war period. The sons of the Shaimievs early joined the work. Father - Shagisharip Shaimukhametovich - led the collective farm. In the late 1940s, people in the village were swollen with hunger. The chairman allocated 2 bags of millet for public catering, for which he almost ended up in jail.

Seeing his father's ordeals, Mintimer decided to become a prosecutor, but in his senior year he heeded the advice of a parent who dreamed of seeing his son as an MTS engineer. In 1954, Shaimiev was awarded a matriculation certificate, and he became a student at the Agrarian University (then the Agricultural Institute) in Kazan.

Mintimer chose the Faculty of Mechanization, which he successfully graduated in 1959 with a degree in mechanical engineering. After leaving the walls of the university, Mintimer Shaimiev got a job as a mechanic at the Muslyumovsky district tractor station. Soon the intelligent engineer was promoted to the chief of the RTS. Three years passed, and Shaimiev was appointed head of Selkhoztekhnika in Menzelinsk. The young manager is 25 years old.

Policy

The young and ambitious Shaimiev becomes a member of the CPSU and in 1967 changes his job - moves to the Tatar regional party committee: a former mechanical engineer is appointed instructor in the department of agriculture. Soon he becomes the deputy head of the department.

After 2 years of nomenklatura-party work, the career of a native of the provinces makes a rapid leap upwards: Shaimiev is appointed minister. 32-year-old Mintimer Sharipovich is entrusted with the leadership of the agrarian sector of the republic.

Politician Mintimer Shaimiev

The unwritten rules of hardware games for a long 14 years stop the promotion of Mintimer Shaimiev on the career ladder. The talented administrator failed to break the established hierarchy and break through the dense cordon of elderly officials replacing each other in strict order. Only in 1983, Shaimiev took the post of deputy chairman of the republican government, and 2 years later he headed the Council of Ministers of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Perestroika, initiated by , gave a chance for promotion to ambitious regional politicians. The future president of the republic accepted the challenge of the time and participated in the battle of apparatchiks. Bypassing competitors, he took the chair of the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU of Tatarstan.

In 1990, Mintimer Shaimiev headed the Supreme Council of Tatarstan, concentrating power in his hands. The beginning of the 1990s, marked by a parade of sovereignties of the former Soviet republics, posed new challenges for the head of Tatarstan. Shaimiev did not strive for complete independence of the republic from the center and supported the State Emergency Committee, but he could not ignore the moods of the nationalists.

In the summer of 1991, a native of the Tatar province became the first president, leaving his rivals far behind. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the head of the republic joined the struggle for the expansion of rights and independence from the Russian Federation, while not wanting a complete separation from the federal center. The struggle between Shaimiev and the ruling elite of Tatarstan culminated in a declaration of state sovereignty.

The economy of the region developed dynamically, the indicators of life of the inhabitants of the republic were higher than those of the neighbors, who tragically experienced the crisis of the 1990s. Mintimer Shaimiev was re-elected to the presidency until 2010, easily defeating his competitors. The residents of Tatarstan voted for him, not really listening to the criticism of the opposition, which pointed to the president's family, which was taking control over the sectors of the economy.

Towards the end of the 1990s, the ambitious leader went beyond the framework of national education and, together with him, founded the Fatherland - All Russia party. The party rapidly gained weight in the Russian parliament, but the "undercover struggle" of heavyweight politicians ended in defeat: the founders of the OVR capitulated, agreeing to unite with the Unity bloc.

Soon, a pro-government party was born in the political arena, called United Russia. The authoritative leader from Tatarstan took the chair of the co-chairman of the United Russia Supreme Council, in which he had been for many years.

In total, Mintimer Shaimiev led the republic (including the period of the USSR) for 21 years. The political biography of the leader ended in 2010: in January, a 73-year-old native of the village of Anyakovo announced his withdrawal and left the top three candidates for the presidency of the republic. But for the respected politician, they established the honorary position of state adviser, in which Shaimiev remains today.

The position of adviser allows Mintimer Sharipovich to remain a member of the republican parliament forever, introduce draft laws and influence public life.

Shaimiev's achievements during his leadership are called the growth in agricultural production (in 2008, 2nd place in the Russian Federation after the Krasnodar Territory). Tatarstan became the leader of the Russian Federation in housing construction and ranked 6th in terms of gross regional product (2008).

Mintimer Shaimiev calls the changed attitude towards the people of the republic and the preservation of the Russian Federation from further fragmentation during the perestroika period the main achievement for the twenty-year rule.

Personal life

Shaimiev met his future wife at a dance. Sakina, after graduating from a technical school, came to the Kalininsky district, where Mintimer underwent undergraduate practice. I liked the girl with long hair at first sight, and the young man did not waste time: once he invited her to dance, and then he talked with her friend all evening, having learned everything about Sakina.

The parents liked the choice of their son, and soon Mintimer brought his young wife to Muslyumovo, where his father and mother lived. The first president of the republic married once and forever. Family for the leader of Tatarstan is an unshakable value. In the 1960s, Sakina gave birth to her husband of two children - the sons of Airat and Radik, the difference between which is 2 years.

The sons of the ex-president are successful businessmen, whose fortune, according to Forbes, exceeded $ 1 billion each. The Shaimievs Jr. are co-owners of the Russian holding TAIF. This is a group of companies that controls half of the oil refining, chemical and gas processing industries of the republic. The central office of TAIF is located in Kazan.

The sister of Mintimer Sharipovich owns a network of outlets in the east of Tatarstan.

In 2015, Shaimiev married his granddaughter Kamil, who owns part of the TAIF holding. The girl was included in the list of the Russian Forbes magazine. Her fortune was estimated at $ 190 million. Kamilya graduated with honors from MGIMO.

Grandson Timur received a diploma from a British university and works in the oil industry. The youngest granddaughter Leila graduated from school with a gold medal.

Mintimer Shaimiev now

You can find out about the activities of the state adviser of the republic on the Official Tatarstan website. Shaimiev is engaged in research work and the revival of the ancient settlement of Bolgar and the island-city of Sviyazhsk.

In January 2018, the president visited an aircraft factory in Kazan and visited the sick Mintimer Shaimiev in the hospital, who was included in the list of trusted persons in the presidential election.

Shaimiev handed over to the President of the Russian Federation the 8th volume of the Book of Benefactors, in which Vladimir Vladimirovich found a place.

Awards and achievements

1966 - Order of Lenin
1971 - Order of the Red Banner of Labor
1976 - Order of the October Revolution
1987 - Order of Friendship of Peoples
1997 - Order of the Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, 1st class
1997 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree
2003 - Order of Honor and Glory, II degree (Abkhazia)
2005 - Honorary citizen of Kazan
2005 - Order of Honor "Al-Fakhr" first degree
2005 - Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 1st class
2007 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class
2007 – King Faisal International Prize (Saudi Arabia)
2008 - Olympic Order
2010 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree
2010 - Order of Merit for the Republic of Tatarstan
2010 - Order of Dostyk, 1st class
2013 - Order of St. Anne of the first degree
2014 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree
2015 - Order "Duslyk"
2017 - Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation
2017 - Order of Merit for the Republic of Dagestan

Mintimer Shaimiev, Rudolf Nuriev, Rinat Akchurin - all these are the names of respected representatives of the Tatar people. However, Mintimer Sharipovich occupies a special place in this row, having established himself as the most powerful politician on a federal scale in Russia. He headed back in the days of the Soviet Union and later did not let go of power in the republic from his hands until 2010, after which he retired in his declining years.

RTS Engineer

The biography of Mintimer Sharipovich Shaimiev begins in 1937, when he was born into an ordinary peasant family, in the village of Anyakovo, Aktanyshsky district. The unusual surname is explained by the fact that his grandfather Shaimukhamet had the nickname Shaimi.

As you can easily guess, the politician's childhood fell on difficult military and first peaceful years. The ambitious and purposeful Mintimir was not going to sit in Anyakovo all his life and diligently studied at school in order to enter the city university. In 1954, Mintimer Shaimiev became a student at the Kazan Agricultural University.

Having honestly earned his diploma through years of diligent study, in 1959 he began his career at the Muslyumovskaya repair and technical station as an engineer. Soon he made good progress up the ranks and became the chief engineer of the RTS. The young specialist made a good impression on the leadership of the district with his energy and hard work, after which Mintimer Shaimiev was sent to manage the Selkhoztekhnika association in Menzelinsk.

Entry into politics

A native of Anyakovo was not going to spend his whole life in a modest position in charge of agricultural machinery. Ambitious Mintimer joins the CPSU, and in 1969 he moves to the staff work. He starts as a simple instructor in the agricultural department of the Tatar regional party committee, soon becomes the deputy head of the department.

In 1969, the future national leader becomes one of the youngest ministers in the USSR, heading the Ministry of Agriculture and Melioration of the Tatar Republic. Mintimer Shaimiev settled in this position for a long time without any special prospects for promotion, which was dictated by the unwritten rules of the hardware games of those years. The most talented administrator could not rush upwards too abruptly and wedge himself into a tight group of elderly party leaders who established a strict order of priority for each other.

Mintimer Sharipovich led the agriculture of his native republic until 1983, after which he was appointed first deputy head of the government of the Tatar ASSR. Two years later, he becomes the full chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic.

Power battle

After the start of perestroika, young ambitious politicians in the regions got a chance to compete for power. Mintimer Shaimiev did not stand aside, in 1989 he defeated all competitors in a tough hardware battle and became the first secretary of the Tatar regional committee of the CPSU, which actually meant leadership of the entire republic. In 1990, he was elected chairman of the Supreme Council of Tatarstan, which meant the concentration of all power in his hands.

The beginning of the nineties was the time of the parade of sovereignties in national entities. The USSR was bursting at the seams, the union republics were separated one after another from the Union, nationalist aspirations became popular in society. Being the head of the republic, Mintimer Sharipovich could not ignore these sentiments, despite the fact that he himself was not a supporter of the complete independence of Tatarstan from the center. Few people remember, but Shaimiev supported the State Emergency Committee, the purpose of which was to preserve the USSR as a whole.

new time

In June 1991, Mintimer Shaimiev was elected president of the Tatar ASSR in the absence of other competitors for the post. After the collapse of the USSR, he became one of the most active fighters for the expansion of the rights of national entities and greater independence from the federal center.

Not wanting to separate from the Russian Federation, the head of Tataria nevertheless demanded real autonomy for his republic, called for a reduction in Moscow's control and the ability to independently manage its budget and manage the economy. This had its own truth, since until recently the orders of the central government regulated the smallest issues of the economic life of Tatarstan, any initiative had to receive the highest approval.

The result of the activities of President Mintimer Shaimiev was a declaration on the state sovereignty of Tatarstan, according to which the republic acquired the status of a subject of international law and theoretically could go on a free voyage.

Sovereignty

Shaimiev was one of the most influential leaders of the national republics of the Russian Federation, so the sovereignty declared by Tatarstan became a real time bomb for the state integrity of the Federation. Boris Yeltsin had no choice but to make concessions, and in 1994 an agreement was concluded between Tatarstan and the Russian Federation, which stipulated all the controversial issues of relations between the region and the center.

This compromise turned out to be salutary, and many leaders of the national republics did the same, which made it possible to reduce the degree of tension in the country and stop the process of the disintegration of the state.

Mintimer Shaimiev, in fact, was not eager to secede from Russia, so he was pleased with the result. The republic gained a significant degree of economic independence, got the opportunity to build its own economic policy.

Regional politician on a federal scale

Under Mintimer Shaimiev, things were going well in the republic, the economy was developing quite dynamically, and the standard of living of ordinary people exceeded that of neighboring Volga regions, choking on poverty in the nineties.

It is not surprising that the first president of Tatarstan enjoyed great prestige and was constantly re-elected to his post. Local residents even turned a blind eye to the fact that representatives of the Shaimiev family were gaining more and more control over the economic sphere in the republic.

However, the ambitious leader felt cramped within the framework of a separate national entity, and in the late nineties he entered the federal arena. Together with another regional heavyweight in 1999, he became one of the founders of the all-Russian party "Fatherland - All Russia".

The newly created bloc initially gained immense popularity and had every chance of becoming the leading faction in parliament. However, the brutal, behind-the-scenes political battle at the federal level ended with Luzhkov, Shaimiev and other founding fathers of the OVR actually capitulating to formidable rivals and agreeing to unite with another newborn creation - the Unity bloc. Thus, the ruling party "United Russia" was born.

The capitulation was honorable, Mintimer Shaimiev became co-chairman of the Supreme Council of the party and remained in this status for many years.

Retired

A native of Anyakovo, he led his republic for almost 21 years, if we count the Soviet period. The political biography of Mintimer Shaimiev came to an end in 2010, when he asked for his resignation from the presidency of Tatarstan.

Especially for a respected person, the position of the state adviser of the republic was established.

According to the status of this honorary post, the ex-president is an eternal member of the parliament of Tatarstan, has the right to introduce legislative initiatives.

Considering how old Mintimer Shaimiev is (80 years old), his activity in the field of social activity cannot but surprise. His name is associated with research work in the ancient city of Bolgar, the island of Sviyazhsk, related to the restoration of the cultural heritage of Tatarstan.

Mintimer Shaimiev was born into a Tatar family. The surname of his father, Shagisharip Shaimukhametovich (1901-1967), comes from the fact that Shaimiev's grandfather (1870-1929) was called Shaimi in the village.

Shaimiev's childhood fell on the war and post-war years. In 1954, after graduating from school, he entered the Kazan Agricultural Institute. After graduating from the institute, in 1959 he worked as an engineer, then chief engineer of the Muslyumovskaya repair and tractor station. At the age of 25, he was sent to Menzelinsk to manage the district branch of Selkhoztekhnika.

In 1967 he began his administrative career - he worked as an instructor, deputy head of the agricultural department of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU. In 1969-1983 - Minister of Land Reclamation and Water Resources of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, then First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; 1983-1985 - Secretary of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU; 1985-1989 - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the TASSR; in 1989 he was elected First Secretary of the Tatar Regional Committee of the CPSU; 1990-1991 - Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Under the leadership of Shaimiev, the Declaration on the state sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan was adopted, and the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan was developed and adopted. At the initiative of Shaimiev, in 1992, a referendum on the sovereignty of Tatarstan was held, during which about 62% of voters voted for Tatarstan to become a sovereign state. With the active participation of Shaimiev in 1994, an agreement was concluded between Tatarstan and the Russian Federation. (Boris Yeltsin recalled Shaimiev in connection with this: "what help and support he provided when the national question was being resolved! When we were on the verge of general national discord in Russia. After all, we were able to agree with him together, and immediately all the republics supported this and picked up.)

In August 1991, during an attempted coup, Shaimiev supported the State Emergency Committee.

Under the leadership of Shaimiev, the periodically convened World Congress of Tatars was established. He headed the official delegation of the Republic of Tatarstan at the II World Kurultai of the Bashkirs in 2002 and at other major events of federal and regional significance. Initiator of the "Hague Program".

The powers of Mintimer Shaimiev as President of Tatarstan expired on March 25, 2010. On the same day, the inauguration of the second President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, took place.

In addition, Shaimiev is the initiator and head of the Fund for the Restoration and Development of the Island-City of Sviyazhsk and the settlement of Bolgar as museum-reserves of federal significance.

On February 6, 2012, he was officially registered as a confidant of the candidate for the President of the Russian Federation and the current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Wife - Shaimieva Sakina Shakirovna (born in 1939) Sons - Airat (1962) and Radik (1964), one of the richest businessmen in Tatarstan, with official multi-billion annual incomes. The sister is the owner of a chain of stores in the eastern part of the republic.

It remains the record holder for the length of time in office of the head of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (6862 days), surpassing, among other things, the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, and the president of Bashkortostan, Rakhimov.

Awards and titles

Order of Lenin (1966)
Order of the October Revolution (1976)
Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1971)
Order of Friendship of Peoples (1987)
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class (January 20, 2007) - for outstanding contribution to the strengthening of Russian statehood and the socio-economic development of the republic
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree (January 17, 1997) - for his great personal contribution to the strengthening and development of Russian statehood, friendship and cooperation between peoples
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" III degree (February 6, 2010) - for a great contribution to the socio-economic development of the republic and many years of conscientious work
Medal "In memory of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg" (2003)
Medal "In memory of the 1000th anniversary of Kazan" (2005)
award pistol PM (January 20, 2002)
award edged weapons - personalized saber "Eastern" (a replica of the Iranian saber "shamshir" of the 16th century);
Certificate of Honor of the President of the Russian Federation (December 12, 2008) - for active participation in the preparation of the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation and a great contribution to the development of the democratic foundations of the Russian Federation
Order of Merit for the Republic of Tatarstan (2010)
Medal "In commemoration of the production of the three billionth ton of oil in Tatarstan" (2007)
Order of Honor and Glory, II degree (Abkhazia, 2003) - for a significant contribution to strengthening peace and friendly relations in the Caucasus and active assistance and support to Abkhazia
Order of the Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, 1st class (ROC, 1997)
Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 1st class (ROC, 2005)
Badge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia "For contribution to international cooperation" (2007)
Honorary Diploma of the Government of the Russian Federation (1997)
State Prize of Peace and Progress of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2005)
Honorary citizen of Kazan (2005)
Order of Honor "Al-Fakhr" first degree (June 2005)
King Faisal International Prize (Saudi Arabia) - "for his contribution to the revival of Islamic culture." (2007)
Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts
Olympic Order (2008) - "for outstanding contribution to the development of the Olympic Movement."
Order of Friendship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 1st class (2010).

After M. Shaimiev was awarded in February 2010 with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree, it was reported that M. Shaimiev became a full holder of this order, since "Shaimiev already has this order of the first, second and fourth degree", however, the decree The President of the Russian Federation on awarding M. Shaimiev with the Order of the IV degree was not officially published; on the official website of the President of Tatarstan, there is also no data on awarding M. Shaimiev with the Order of the IV degree.

Achievements of the Republic of Tatarstan under Shaimiev

In terms of agricultural production, Tatarstan ranks second in Russia after the Krasnodar Territory (2008).
In terms of housing construction per capita, Tatarstan is in first place in Russia (2008).
In terms of GRP, Tatarstan ranks sixth in the Russian Federation in 2008.

In 2010, on the Rossiya 24 news channel, Mintimer Shaimiev noted that he considers the main result of his presidency to be a change in attitude towards the people of Tatarstan and the fact that Tatarstan, according to Shaimiev, played a huge role in maintaining the integrity of the Russian Federation (Russia) during the years of perestroika, the text of the first oath of the president signed by M. Shaimiev was also shown