It is better to elect local deputies rather than mayors - they are closer to the people, say the authors of the reform / Yuri Kadobnov / AFP

Dmitry Badovsky's ISEPI foundation, which is close to the Kremlin, prepared an analytical note at the request of the People's Front, which proposes two possible options for municipal reform, the need for which Vladimir Putin spoke about in his address to the Federal Assembly. The authorities need to manage to carry out the reform before 2015, a year before the federal elections, Badovsky believes.

The first model assumes a transition to a single-level system of local self-government (LSG). Heads of urban districts and municipal areas (the second level of LSG) will become officials appointed by governors. The LSG level will remain in smaller territorial units (the first level of LSG): existing urban and rural settlements (if we are talking about the transformation of municipal areas); recreated settlements (if we are talking about the transformation of an enlarged urban district that previously absorbed several settlements); specially created intra-city municipal entities. Only economic issues will remain within the competence of these municipalities.

To compensate for the loss of direct election, experts propose using the scheme that was in effect during the period when governors were appointed by the president: at the governor's suggestion, first-level local government deputies will vote for or against the candidacy of the head of the city or district administration (possibly also his deputy), will have the right to demand his recall, and listen to his reports. "This will allow us to comply with the spirit of the president's inaugural decree on expanding the list of elective municipal positions," ISEPI believes. City councils and district councils will have to be abolished, but deputies of intracity municipal entities and deputies to regional legislative assemblies will be elected. At the local government level, only deputies should be elected in direct elections, and they will then choose the head of the municipal entity from among themselves.

The second model involves the creation of a new type of municipal entities - "urban agglomerations" - and is suitable, according to one of the authors of the reports, Alexander Pozhalov, for more urbanized territories (for example, not for Yakutia). Agglomerations will be created on the territory of regional capitals and large cities based on the results of a referendum and will be responsible for issues of industrial and scientific-technical policy, health care, and road construction. Local self-government in agglomerations will be preserved at the level of settlements that are included in the agglomeration. In general, the powers of regional authorities will prevail, the head of the agglomeration administration will be appointed by the governor, but the City Duma will be preserved. However, it will not be elected: it will include deputies delegated by municipalities. Thus, residents will elect only the governor, deputies of the legislative assembly, and a deputy of the first-level local self-government. As in the first model, the head of the first-level local self-government administration will be elected by deputies from among themselves.

Electing a “mini-mayor” (at the local government level) is redundant, given that a deputy is being elected, but it will make it clearer to the voter what a municipal deputy is responsible for and what a regional deputy is responsible for, Pozhalov believes.

There may be a transition period, taking into account the retention of powers of recently elected mayors, says Badovsky. In his opinion, in some cases referendums on changing borders will be required, and in others - not, since the process of not changing, but establishing the borders of first-level local governments will take place.

What powers will remain for local government is a matter for discussion; ISEPI is not yet ready to say how to resolve it, but since 2011, a working group of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak has been engaged in the inventory of powers; they can make some proposals, Pozhalov believes.

According to Natalia Zubarevich from the Independent Institute of Social Policy, already now local authorities, having neither money nor powers, are a caricature of local self-government and there are no prerequisites for them to receive more rights and resources. The reform will lead to many negative consequences. Due to the elimination of elections at the local level, there will be even fewer channels for replacing and rejuvenating the elite, the system will become even more ossified. Without checks and balances in the form of strong city elites, elected governors will lead the regions to feudalization. The country will lose growth points - large cities. Finally, the population will finally wean itself off elections.

The reform will create problems for the authorities in the long term, predicts political scientist Alexei Titkov: the cancellation of local direct elections will lead to the blocking of another channel for the release of discontent, resulting in a delayed protest vote that will affect the outcome of the federal elections.

There is no need to elect mayors