Mintimer Shaimiev opens an exhibition dedicated to 70th birthday of Timur Akulov

On 10 April Tatarstan State Counselor Mintimer Shaimiev, the Head of the Office of the Rais of the republic Asgat Safarov, Deputy Chairman of the regional State Council Yuriy Kamaltynov and the Chairman of the Association of the Municipalities  Council Ekzam Gubaydullin  took part in a ceremony of opening an exhibition dedicated to 70th birthday of Timur Akulov, who in 1995-2011 was the Counselor of the Tatarstan President in International Affairs, in 1995-2011 – the Director of the International Affairs Department and in 2012-2016 – a member of the Russian State Duma.

The exhibition was initiated by the Administration of the Rais of the republic in 2022 and exhibits photos from the Archive of the Rais Administration, documents and personal awards, gifts from foreign delegations and video films and interviews of Timur Akulov, who was the bright representative of the team of the First Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev.

Speaking at the ceremony Mintimer Shaimiev said: “In the beginning of the 90-es when Tatarstan took the path of independent development, it was necessary to create new system of management of the republic so for the first time we created the institute of presidency. This was a difficult but necessary process during which we managed to find descent managers and one of them was Timur (Yuryevich) Akulov, who had a rich experience of diplomatic work. He plaid one of the key roles in development of foreign relations of Tatarstan and due to his active work we could gracefully represent the republic to the whole world. Representative offices of Tatarstan established in those years still work successfully in different countries of the world. Timur occurred to be a well-prepared person. A specialist in Asian studies, a leaned diplomat with deep knowledge not only of the Arabic language but also the character and traditions of Eastern people he managed to find the common language with everyone. Due to him we have very well-established relations with Islamic countries. I think the KazanSummit which is held yearly - and this year it has reached the federal level - is also the great merit of Timur Akulov. His active participation in freeing Tatarstan pilots caught up in Kandahar in 1996 is the bright example of his diplomatic mastery. But most important he left the wonderful imprint on the history of our republic.”

The Head of the Office of the Rais of the republic Asgat Safarov also shared his memories of joint work with Timur Akulov and thanked organizers of the exhibition about Timur Akuov and work of the International Affairs Department.