The President sent a message of greetings to Mintimer Shaimiyev on his 85th birthday.
The message reads, in part:
“Your activities and life have been closely linked to your native Tatarstan. Everyone who has worked with you or met you invariably mention your exceptional professional and human qualities, your wisdom and humbleness, friendliness and ability to communicate.
Standing at the helm in the republic at a time of change, you did not shy away from difficulties while firmly adhering to your principles and setting an example with a balanced and constructive approach to very complicated, pressing problems. Your enormous constructive contribution to the socioeconomic development of the region and to the preservation of its cultural and spiritual traditions has won you high public prestige and recognition throughout our vast country. Your projects, aimed at reviving Christian and Muslim landmarks, have undeniably become tangible symbols of the increased value of peace and accord, which Tatarstan is famous for.”
Mintimer Shaimiyev is State Counsellor of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Republican Foundation for the Revival of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the first President of Tatarstan (1991–2010).