Kremlin's Man in the Islamic World: The Rise of Tatarstan's Leader

Hello and welcome to Regions Calling, your guide to developments beyond the Russian capital from The Moscow Times. At a first glance, Russia’s regional politics and the latest turmoil in the Middle East may seem to have little, if anything, in common. Yet it is none other than the head of Tatarstan who has been one of the main drivers of the Kremlin’s growing engagement in the region over the past decade. This week, our special correspondent Leyla Latypova takes a closer look at the personality and prospects of the Kremlin’s man in the Islamic world. But first, here is the latest news from the regions: