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The 2025 Republic of Tatarstan head election took place on 14 September 2025, on common election day, to elect the head (rais) of Tatarstan. Incumbent head Rustam Minnikhanov was re-elected to a fourth term in office.
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The 2025 Republic of Tatarstan head election took place on 14 September 2025, on common election day, to elect the head (rais) of Tatarstan. Incumbent head Rustam Minnikhanov was re-elected to a fourth term in office.
Then-Prime Minister of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov was elected President of Tatarstan by the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan in March 2010 after incumbent Mintimer Shaimiev declined to seek a fifth term. [1] Minnikhanov won the subsequent direct presidential elections in 2015 and 2020 with 94.40% and 83.27% of the vote respectively. [2] [3] In February 2023 State Council of Tatarstan renamed the position of "President of the Republic of Tatarstan" as "Head (Rais) of the Republic of Tatarstan", in accordance with the federal law after initial reluctance of the Tatar authorities. [4]
Initially the Head of the Republic of Tatarstan was limited for just two consecutive terms so Minnikhanov would have been term-limited in 2025 (as his 2015–2020 would have been counted as first since the re-introduction of direct gubernatorial elections). However, in December 2021 "On Common Principles of Organisation of Public Authority in the Subjects of the Russian Federation" law was enacted (coincidentally, the same law prevented the head of Tatarstan to be named "President"), which lifted term limits for Russian governors. [5] Tatarstan followed suit and lifted the restrictions, which allowed Minnikhanov to seek another term in 2025. As of 2025, Minnikhanov is the second-longest serving Russian governor only behind Ramzan Kadyrov, who has served as Head of the Chechen Republic since 2007. [6]
In April 2025 A Just Russia – For Truth leader Sergey Mironov announced that the party would not field its candidate, supporting Rustam Minnikhanov in the upcoming head election, despite Minnikhanov not stating his intentions yet. [7] In June 2025 Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Vladislav Davankov also said that New People would not compete in the election. [8]
In Tatarstan candidates for head of the Republic of Tatarstan can be nominated only by registered political parties. Candidate for Head of Tatarstan should be a Russian citizen and at least 30 years old. Candidates for head of the Republic of Tatarstan should not have a foreign citizenship or residence permit. Each candidate in order to be registered is required to collect at least 5% of signatures of members and heads of municipalities. [9] Also head candidates present 3 candidacies to the Federation Council and election winner later appoints one of the presented candidates.
| Candidate name, political party | Occupation | Status | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rustam Minnikhanov United Russia |  | Incumbent Head of Tatarstan (2010–present) | Registered | [10] [11] [12] [13] | |
| Khafiz Mirgalimov Communist Party |  | Member of State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan (2004–present) 2015 presidential candidate | Registered | [14] [15] | |
| Vitaly Smirnov Party of Pensioners |  | Member of Bolshiye Yaki Council (2020–present) Retired businessman | Registered | [16] | |
| Ruslan Yusupov Liberal Democratic Party |  | Member of State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan (2014–2019, 2024–present) Businessman 2015 presidential candidate | Registered | [17] | |
| Head candidate, political party | Candidates for Federation Council | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rustam Minnikhanov United Russia | * Nail Magdeyev, Mayor of Naberezhnye Chelny (2015–present) * Timur Nagumanov, former Mayor of Almetyevsk and Almetyevsky District (2019–2024) * Aleksandr Terentyev, incumbent Senator (2022–present) | Registered | |
| Fieldwork date | Polling firm | Minnikhanov | Mirgalimov | Yusupov | Smirnov | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September 2025 | 2025 election | 88.1 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 1.9 | 83.1 |
| March – August 2025 | CSRI | 84 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 78 |
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rustam Minnikhanov (incumbent) | United Russia | 1,963,583 | 88.09 | ||
| Khafiz Mirgalimov | Communist Party | 110,734 | 4.97 | ||
| Ruslan Yusupov | Liberal Democratic Party | 93,536 | 4.20 | ||
| Vitaly Smirnov | Party of Pensioners | 42,292 | 1.90 | ||
| Valid votes | 2,210,145 | 99.15 | |||
| Blank ballots | 18,944 | 0.85 | |||
| Total | 2,229,089 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 2,229,089 | 75.81 | |||
| Registered voters | 2,940,212 | 100.00 | |||
| Source: | [18] | ||||
Head Minnikhanov appointed former Almetyevsk mayor Timur Nagumanov (United Russia) to the Federation Council, replacing incumbent Senator Aleksandr Terentyev (United Russia). [19]
| Head (Rais) elections | |
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| Parliamentary elections | |
| Referendums | |
