Diploma thesis Islam in Tatarstan in the nineties of 20th century presents an analysis of Islam and Muslim community in the Republic of Tatarstan at the end of 20th century. During this period Tatarstan not only gained its statehood, but the Islamic revival started thanks to the restoration of religious freedom. This diploma thesis is divided into five chapters. After the short historical excursus, the Islamic revival and its connection with Tatar national movement are presented. Consequently, the relation between Muslim clerics and politics and also the regime's attitude towards Islam is analyzed. This analysis leads to a conclusion that even though Islam was not a good instrument for electors' mobilization and clerics could not influence the politics, we can consider Islam as being unofficial state religion. Next two chapters focus on Tatar Muslim community. First the development of Muslim community in the nineties is analyzed. The influence of the Middle East charitable funds and Islamic education is investigated in more detail. The fifth chapter emphasizes the world-view of Muslims, their perception of religion, their own ethnicity and politics. Different trends of Islam, which appeared in the nineties, are presented too. The analysis demonstrates that Islam in Tatarstan was an important...

Economic development of russian regions is largely asymetric. The high level of economic development of the capital Moscow is in big contrast with the rest of Russia. But the case of the Republic of Tatarstan showes that the potential of some regions is remarkable and with the assistance of foreign capital there is a posibility to rise their economic position. Even the flow of foreign capital is limited by market deformations, Tatarstan represents the perspective destination for a foreign direct invesment, including the czech one.

In the context of nationalism and sovereignty studies emerging since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this thesis provides an economic, rather than political, perspective of Tatarstan’s success in negotiating sovereignty claims with Russia, arguing that what lay behind Tatarstan’s demands for extensive political and economic rights was not mass nationalist mobilization, but the desire for control over natural resources by the Tatarstani elite dominated by former Soviet functionaries of indigenous nationality. In addition, this paper examines the importance of continuity among the local political elites, contrasting Tatarstan’s approach with that of Chechnya’s uncompromising separatist drive and the resulting years of civil conflict. Finally, the most recent page in the history of Russian-Tatarstani relations, the gradual reduction of the republic’s autonomy in connection with President Putin’s centralizing reforms, confirms my principal argument that control over resources is more important to the Tatarstani elites than political power as such.

In the context of nationalism and sovereignty studies emerging since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this thesis provides an economic, rather than political, perspective of Tatarstan’s success in negotiating sovereignty claims with Russia, arguing that what lay behind Tatarstan’s demands for extensive political and economic rights was not mass nationalist mobilization, but the desire for control over natural resources by the Tatarstani elite dominated by former Soviet functionaries of indigenous nationality. In addition, this paper examines the importance of continuity among the local political elites, contrasting Tatarstan’s approach with that of Chechnya’s uncompromising separatist drive and the resulting years of civil conflict. Finally, the most recent page in the history of Russian-Tatarstani relations, the gradual reduction of the republic’s autonomy in connection with President Putin’s centralizing reforms, confirms my principal argument that control over resources is more important to the Tatarstani elites than political power as such.

The Master thesis is dealing with the external policies of the Republic of Tatarstan, a unit of the Russian Federation, and its relations to Turkey, a nation Tatarstan has cultural ties to, in light of the Russo-Turkish conflict following the shooting down of the Russian fighter jet Su-24 by the Turkish army. To answer questions about the influence of national diplomacy over a region's paradiplomacy, and the possibility to conduct independent paradiplomacy in an authoritarian state, speeches given on topics related to Turkey by the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov were analysed against the background of the changing Russian relations to Turkey, using the Critical Discourse Analysis. The analysis revealed that although Tatarstani paradiplomacy reflects the developments of Russian diplomacy - it is not possible not to, since the decisions of the Federal government are binding for its subjects - President Minnikhanov continued to advocate for a long-term (and as close as possible) cooperation with Turkey regardless of Moscow's current stance. In fact, he was lobbying the Kremlin for this end, trying to influence the Federal diplomacy.