Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed naming the new strategic Tu-160M missile carrier after the first president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, the national portal "Adyrna" reported.
Putin said this on February 21 during a visit to the Kazan Aviation Plant.
"He is a person who has done a lot of work not only for Tatarstan, but for the whole country, for the whole of Russia," Putin said about Shaimiev.
Mintimer Shaimiev, the first president of Tatarstan, now the state adviser of the republic, will be Vladimir Putin's confidant during the presidential elections in Russia.
"They offered me to act as a representative of Russia. They agreed that I will work for the interests of my country, Tatarstan," said Shaimiev.
