No return

"United Russia" does not support the proposal to return direct elections of governors, this was stated by the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the party, Speaker of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov. “The system was proposed by Vladimir Putin, our deputies adopted the necessary laws. This is a conscious decision, and we will not deviate from it,” Gryzlov said. The argument is impressive: Putin said that means elections of governors are not needed. But honestly.

The issue of electing regional heads was raised by Tatarstan President Mentimer Shaimiev. During the X World Congress of the Russian Press on June 14, he spoke out against the appointment of governors by the president. “We must be elected,” he emphasized. The President of Tatarstan also stated that he considers the provision of the law incorrect, according to which the President of Russia has the right to dissolve local parliaments if they do not approve the candidacy of the head of the region proposed by him within the prescribed period. The Legislative Assembly, he recalled, is “a body elected by the people.”