MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) - The State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, approved Wednesday a treaty on the separation of powers between the federal government and the Volga Republic of Tatarstan.
The previous version of the treaty was passed by the State Duma in late 2006, but the Federal Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, rejected it in February. Sergei Mironov, the Federation Council speaker, said the document violated the principle of equality among constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
On June 27, the Russian president submitted a new version of the treaty with Tatarstan to the State Duma.
Under the document, which lasts for a ten-year term, the federal government and Tatarstan's Cabinet of Ministers will reach agreements on joint decisions involving economic, environmental, cultural, and other regional issues.
In accordance with the treaty, the Tatarstan authorities will issue Russian passports to residents of the republic containing inserts in the Tatar language and with the region's emblem. And the leader of Tatarstan, whose candidacy is proposed by the Russian president, must be able to speak the Tatar language in addition to Russian.
