Bashkortostan - Politics

Politics

The head of the government of the Republic of Bashkortostan is the President, who is appointed by the President of Russia for a four-year term. According to the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan guarantees rights and liberties of the country's people and citizens, protects economic and political interests of the Republic of Bashkortostan, and secures legitimacy, law and order within its territory.

Rustem Khamitov assumed office as president on July 19, 2010. His predecessor was Murtaza Rakhimov, elected on December 17, 1993. Before the elections, Rakhimov was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic— the highest post at that time. Rakhimov was re-elected in December 2003 in a poll condemned by the OSCE for exhibiting "elements of basic fraud."

The Republic's parliament is the State Assembly—Kurultai, popularly elected every five years. The one-chamber State Assembly has 120 deputies.

The Republic's Constitution was adopted on December 24, 1993. Article 1 of the Constitution stipulates that Bashkortostan is a sovereign state within Russia, it has state power beyond the limits of authority of the Russian Federation and the powers of the Russian Federation concerning the aspect of joint authority of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The Republic of Bashkortostan is a full-fledged subject of the Russian Federation on equal and agreed bases.

The relations of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Russian Federation are at present based on the articles of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Federative Compact (with amendments), and the Agreement on Separation of authorities and powers and mutual delegating of powers among the organs of state power of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The judicial power of the republic is in the hands of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, district Courts, and justices of the peace.

In full accord with universally recognized principles of international law, articles of the European Charter on local self-government and the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Bashkortostan ensures in its Constitution that local self-government is recognized and guaranteed within the republic's territory.

The Republic of Bashkortostan resolves all issues of administrative-territorial structure on its own. The list of districts and towns, municipalities, as well as the order of establishing, amending and changing borders of municipalities and their names are stipulated by the Republic of Bashkortostan law "On administrative-territorial structure of the Republic of Bashkortostan and territory of municipalities".