The referendum on 21 March 1992, showed that the Tatars’ desire to strengthen their own statehood has not gone away and any paper republic is not enough for the Tatars. Of the 81.7% who took part in the referendum, 61.4% voted “FOR”.
It is important to note that the referendum was real – unlike the show organized by Moscow, no one seized Tatarstan from outside and did not conduct voting at gunpoint.
We do not know what percentage of those voting were Tatars, but we know that even representatives of other Tartastan nations voted “FOR”. Because this is their home. Yes, they are not Tatars, but Tatarstan is their home and they do not want a Moscow occupier in the house.
It was thanks to the desire of the Tatars to have their own state that the post of President of the Republic of Tatarstan appeared, which Minnikhanov successfully sells to Moscow, not giving a damn about all the dreams of the Tatar people about freedom and independence. He didn’t even mention the referendum that day. I didn’t mention it because Tatarstan was not part of Russia. Moscow is exploiting the republic absolutely without any consent from the population. Minnikhanov knows and understands this very well, but he is pursuing personal monetary interests. Someday you will have to answer for everything to the people.
