Tatarstan aims to maintain its two-tier system.
The draft bill "On the General Principles of Organizing Local Self-Government within a Unified System of Public Authority" was developed by the chairpersons of the State Duma and Federation Council committees on state construction, Pavel Krasheninnikov and Andrey Klishas. The document was submitted to the Duma in December 2021 and was adopted in the first reading on January 25, 2022. One of its main and most controversial innovations was the abolition of first-level municipalities (urban and rural settlements) and the transition to a single-level local self-government system with urban and municipal districts. Initially, a transitional period until January 1, 2028 was planned, but by the second reading, the relevant committee of the Duma recommended amendments extending the transition period to a single-level system until 2035.
The initial version of the municipal reform draft was discussed by the State Council of Tatarstan at the end of 2021 and was generally supported, but it promised to propose a number of changes by the second reading. In total, the deputies prepared 54 amendments, 25 of which concerned the preservation of a two-level local self-government system. However, most of these amendments (including those on maintaining two levels of local self-government) were rejected by the relevant committee of the State Duma (see the reference).
The main report on the local self-government reform was presented at the State Council meeting on November 28 by the deputy chairman of the committee on state construction and local self-government, Hafiz Mirgalimov (CPRF).
The main conclusion drawn from his rather emotional speech was that the transition to a single-level local self-government system would cause significant harm to grassroots municipalities.
“Do we really want to completely ruin our village? — the communist exclaimed. — For so many years it has remained a place that carefully preserves and passes on the traditional values of our peoples from generation to generation, educating hardworking youth, defenders of the Fatherland?..” As Mr. Mirgalimov later informed “Ъ”, this position is shared by all factions of the State Council, and there are no disputes among the deputies on this issue.
The deputy chair of the committee also proposed to send the transcript of this meeting to the State Duma so that federal deputies would finally listen to the opinions of their Tatarstan colleagues. The chairman of the State Council, Farid Mukhametshin, responded that the relevant appeal had already been sent to the speaker of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin.
Then the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, took the floor. “Our country is vast; it cannot be governed with a single template. The decisions made by the State Duma are part of the state management system. Who gave them such authority without consulting the population? <…> Now, out of nowhere, the country will argue about which system is right or wrong. This is shameful, disgraceful! Now we will discuss in the Duma how the country should be governed. It is being managed quite well,” noted Mr. Minnikhanov. He also emphasized that Tatarstan does not reject the draft bill and the local self-government reform in general: “Certain changes have occurred and will occur; this should be viewed normally. We are not against it. Territories with small populations should be given the right to create such a management system. It does not interfere with anyone. Our territories are different.”
State Duma deputy from Tatarstan, Ayrat Farakhov, explained to “Ъ” that the republic proposes to maintain a two-level local self-government system on its territory: “It is one of the main tools for the effectiveness of Tatarstan today, and everyone acknowledges this… It helps to address many issues, ensuring efficiency and involving citizens in solving local self-government issues.”
Furthermore, in the deputy's opinion, the abolition of the settlement level may reduce the attention of authorities to rural development and lower the status of the leaders of the corresponding territories.
Head of the Department of Public Administration, History, and Sociology at KNTU-KHHTI, Andrey Tuzikov, believes that the federal center may heed the opinions of Tatarstan's colleagues: “If the same State Duma sees that a particular draft law is attracting justified criticism, they will take this into account, and some work will begin to adjust the provisions that have caused tension in the regions.”
Vlas Severin, Kazan
The relevant committee of the State Duma recommended adopting the local self-government draft bill in the second reading
Context
The State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation recommended adopting a new edition of the law on local self-government in the second reading on Thursday. The chamber will consider it at a plenary session on December 11. As reported to journalists after the closed committee meeting by its head and co-author of the project, Pavel Krasheninnikov (“United Russia”), 332 amendments were recommended for adoption, and 395 for rejection. The 264-page document submitted for the second reading consists of 12 chapters and 93 articles.
According to the deputy, the main amendments to the draft bill concerned the powers of municipalities. The document proposes to establish a “closed” list of powers that cannot be transferred to the regional level, as well as to specify the transferred powers — those that the subject of the Russian Federation can reclaim from the municipal level or, conversely, delegate to the municipality. “It has been decided to create territorial bodies so that citizens can quickly contact the authorities. There were also many amendments, which we took into account, that representatives of territorial bodies will be municipal employees,” added Mr. Krasheninnikov.
Moreover, many amendments regarding the preservation of the two-level system have been submitted to the Duma, but the committee recommended rejecting them, Mr. Krasheninnikov stated. He also reminded that 20 subjects of the Russian Federation have already transitioned to a single-level local self-government system, and another 25 are ready to transition and will do so next year. As for the position of the authorities of Tatarstan, who oppose the abolition of the settlement level, Mr. Krasheninnikov assured that he understands it, as the local self-government system in the republic is “very well-established.” But for this reason, the deputies of the State Duma decided to extend the transitional period until 2035 — to give regions the opportunity to properly establish the new system.
Ksenia Veretennikova