President Vladimir Putin's attempt to abolish regional elections hit a first snag when Tatarstan defied the Kremlin's plans and urged that they be revised, news reports said Tuesday.

Oil-rich Tatarstan has enjoyed the broadest autonomy of the country's regions, and fears that it may try to secede, following Chechnya's example, have haunted the Kremlin.

When the republic's legislature, the State Council, discussed Putin's bill ending the election of regional governors on Monday, many deputies harshly criticized the measure as infringing on Tatarstan's autonomy. The legislature eventually supported the bill after Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiyev sought to assuage fears and said the republic would push for major changes in Putin's plan.

Shaimiyev said Tatarstan would not agree to a provision in Putin's bill that envisages the Kremlin's right to disband a regional parliament if it rejects a presidential appointee for a local governor.

"We mustn't agree to disbanding the State Council under any circumstances," Shaimiyev said, the Tatar-Inform news agency reported.

Shaimiyev said Monday that Putin's plan was a "forced and painful measure," and added that it needs to be amended to prevent harm to democracy. Interfax quoted him as saying that regional parliaments must have the right to have their own opinions on candidates for governor.

Source: The Moscow Times