Before reading this article, I would like to thank you for your support by clicking "Follow", which is not only convenient for you to discuss and share, but also can bring you a different sense of participation.
When it comes to the states and republics with the largest autonomy in the Russian Federation, Chechnya is the first thing that comes to mind.
However, in the territory of the Russian Federation, there is a union republic that is even more bullish than Chechnya, which not only enjoys the autonomy of the Russian Federation government, but also enjoys the only two "presidential" titles in the Russian Federation, claiming to be on an equal footing with Putin!
The republic, which enjoys the greatest autonomy within the territory of the Russian Federation, is the Republic of Tatarstan.
What is the reason why Putin, who has always imposed an iron-fisted policy on Chechnya, has given the Republic of Tatarstan such great autonomy? What is so special about the Republic of Tatarstan in the territory of the Russian Federation?
Where is the Republic of Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan, which claims to be the only union republic in the Russian Federation with diplomatic rights, has a local leader who is even somewhat on an equal footing with Russia's current president, Vladimir Putin. So, where exactly is this Republic of Tatarstan, which enjoys a high degree of autonomy, in Russia?
The Republic of Tatarstan is located in the eastern part of the Eastern European Plain of Russia, in the middle reaches of the Volga River. With a total area of 68,000 square kilometers and a territory of 290 kilometers from north to south and 460 kilometers from east to west, the Republic of Tatarstan is not a large republic or union state in Russia.
However, if we look at the geographical location of the Republic of Tatarstan, we will find that the Republic of Tatarstan is well connected to the Republic of Chuvash to the west to Siberia and the Republic of Bashkortostan to the east, echoing Russia's neighbor Ukraine.
In the northern part of the Republic of Tatarstan, there are the Republic of Mariel, the Republic of Demurt and the Kirov Oblast, which is one of the most economically and industrially developed regions of the Republic of the Russian Federation. The southern part of the Republic of Tatarstan is bordered by the Orenburg, Samara and Ulyanovsk regions of Russia.
Because the Republic of Tatarstan is adjacent to several important member states or states in Russia, and the mother river of Russia: the Volga River runs through the entire territory of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Republic of Tatarstan has become an important water transport hub in Russia, and is a link between the economy and trade of the southern and northern regions of Russia.
According to the statistics of the Russian Geography Department, almost 90% of the territory of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan is covered by plains. The flat terrain provides good topographic conditions for developed water transportation in the Republic of Tatarstan.
At the same time, the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan is also quite rich in forest resources, according to statistics, the coverage of forests in the Tatarstan region reaches one sixth of the territory of the whole Republic, and the water area occupies 6.4% of the entire Republic of Tatarstan.
With abundant water resources and forest resources, the Republic of Tatarstan not only has rich natural ecological resources, but also lays the foundation for the development and prosperity of local tourism. Looking at the several member states and states of the European region of Russia, the Republic of Tatarstan is second to none in terms of overall strength in the entire eastern region of Russia.
Why Russia gave the Republic of Tatarstan a high degree of autonomy
The Republic of Tatarstan is one of the most developed republics and member states in the eastern part of Russia, with abundant water and forest resources, and also occupies an important waterway in the eastern part of the Russian Federation.
So, what is the reason that the Russian Federation has granted the Republic of Tatarstan such a high degree of autonomy that the Republic of Tatarstan can be on a diplomatic equal footing with the Russian Federation?
This requires us to understand the history of the founding of the Russian state as a whole. The earliest origins of the Russian state can be traced back to the Grand Duchy of Kievan Rus' in the Kiev region of present-day Ukraine.
Today's Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are all descendants of the Grand Duchy of Kievan Rus'. However, with the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, the once-prosperous principality of Kievan Rus was destroyed, and most of Russia, including the principality of Kievan Rus, fell under the iron feet of the Mongols.
However, with the fall of Mongol leader Genghis Khan, the vast Mongol Empire began to fall apart. Genghis Khan's four sons divided up all the territories of the Mongol Empire at its peak, and Europe, including Russia, was placed under the rule of the Golden Horde, one of the four Mongol khanates.
The Mongols living in Europe embraced Turkic culture and integrated with local European cultures, forming a new European people: the Tatars.
In the 15th century, with the decline of the Mongol Empire, the Grand Duchy of Moscow in Russia rose rapidly and began to gradually conquer other tribes previously ruled by the Mongols, forming the Russian state in today's modern sense, while the Tatars, who had previously ruled Russia, became a minority in Russia under the expulsion and slaughter of the Russians.
Although the Tatars were no longer the main rulers of the Russian regions after Russia's victory over the Golden Horde and the unification of most of Russia's territorial regions, the Tatars were still the second most populous ethnic group in Russia because the Mongol Empire had worked hard here for decades. Therefore, successive Russian authorities attached great importance to the question of the rule of the Tatars.
There have always been two different voices in Russia about how to rule the Tatars in the empire: one of them advocates the annihilation and assimilation of all Tatars, while the other advocates giving the Tatars a high degree of autonomy and making them part of the Russian nation.
Eventually, Catherine the Great and other rulers of the Russian Empire resorted to the second option, which was to give the Tatar nation a certain autonomy and submit it to Russia.
In addition to the number of national populations, what other reason did the Russian Empire give autonomy to the Tatar nation?
As mentioned earlier, the Tatar people in Russia are themselves descendants of the Mongols, and many of the Mongol traditions of riding horses and archery and being able to fight well have been preserved by the Tatar people.
The Russian rulers admired the Tatar nation for their military skills, so the Russian rulers gathered the Tatar nation as their own mercenaries and incorporated them into the army to maintain their rule over other peoples.
However, even the powerful Tatar cavalry could not sustain the reactionary and decadent feudal rule of Tsarist Russia for long. In 1917, Russia suffered heavy losses in World War I, and a severe economic crisis brought the Russian Empire to the brink of collapse.
In that year, the Russian people launched the February Revolution to overthrow the reactionary rule of Tsarist Russia. This was followed by the October Revolution in Russia, which established the people's Soviet power.
After the birth of the nascent Soviet power, in order to realize the restoration of the feudal dynasty, some remnants of Tsarist Russia began to actively win over the Tatars in Tatarstan and let them work for Tsarist Russia. But with the strong support of the people, the Tatar cavalry, which had joined the Russian royal family, was finally defeated by the Red Army.
After the defeat of the Tatar cavalry, the newly formed Soviet Russia was faced with a new dilemma: many people proposed to the Russian authorities that the autonomy of the Tatars should be abolished, which was a punishment for those Tatars who defected to Tsarist Russia. However, Lenin, the leader of Soviet Russia at the time, defied public opinion and not only insisted on autonomy for the Tatars, but also gave them greater autonomy.
This is because, in Lenin's view, the Tatar cavalry bought by the Tsarist royal family is still a minority, and the vast majority of the Tatar people at the bottom have always been oppressed by the feudal royal family of Tsarist Russia. If these Tatars could be given greater autonomy, they would not only be grateful to the Russian government, but would also become a revolutionary force capable of effective mobilization in the future.
With Lenin's support, the Tatarstan Soviet Republic was formally established in 1920 and became an important member of the Soviet Union.
Lenin's foresight proved that in the Soviet-German war that broke out in 1941, those Tatars who were grateful for the autonomy granted by the Russian government went to the front one after another, paying with their lives and blood for the defense of the Soviet Union in the Soviet-German war.
Tatarstan, where does the future go?
Because of the Tatar people's status as the second largest ethnic group in Russia, the Republic of Tatarstan was once granted the status of equal to the Russian Federation, especially during the Soviet period, Lenin's affirmation of the autonomous status of the Republic of Tatarstan made the Republic of Tatarstan enjoy a high degree of autonomy and became a political tradition of the Russian Federation. So, what is the future of the Republic of Tatarstan?
In the 80s of the 20th century, the Soviet Union fell into an unprecedented economic crisis due to the repeated use of troops against Afghanistan and the failure of domestic reforms. At the same time, the problem of national contradictions in the Soviet Union became increasingly apparent, and some people in Tatarstan even chanted the slogan of "Tatar independent statehood."
In 1991, with the signing of the Almaty Treaty, the Soviet Union officially collapsed and ceased to exist, and the former member states of the Soviet Union: Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc., formed their own states.
Since Tatarstan had been under Russian rule for many years, the Tatarstan region was eventually annexed to Russia and became part of Russia at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
However, this did not stop the trend towards independence in the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan. At the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the independence movement of the Republic of Tatarstan was also in full swing, according to statistics: the independence of the Republic of Tatarstan in 1991 exceeded 60% in the referendum.
For Russia, which was just experiencing the crisis of disintegration, the 60% referendum independence rate of the Republic of Tatarstan was a very dangerous signal, and if not handled carefully, the Republic of Tatarstan could secede from Russia.
Then it is very likely to lead to a "domino effect" in Russia, and a large number of member states and states in Russia may also follow in the footsteps of the Republic of Tatarstan and abandon Russia.
Therefore, for the authorities of Yeltsin and Putin, who were in charge of the Russian regime at that time, the Republic of Tatarstan must not be allowed to become independent, no matter what the cost.
In order to do everything possible to retain the Republic of Tatarstan, the Yeltsin and Putin regimes in Russia offered high prices for this, and even did not hesitate to grant the Republic of Tatarstan a high degree of autonomy, including the right to negotiate with other countries, which laid the foundation for today's situation of a high degree of autonomy in the Republic of Tatarstan.
To this day, the Republic of Tatarstan remains an inherent territory of Russia. But in the future, it is not known whether the Republic of Tatarstan will completely become independent from Russia.
But what is certain is that for the Republic of Tatarstan today, remaining on the territory of Russia will undoubtedly bring greater economic dividends to its own people, and is a rational choice for the benefit of the people.