Rashid Nurgaliyev was fulfilling the duties of Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov, while he was on a vacation in connection with the State Duma elections.
On December 24th Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to release Boris Gryzlov from the post of the Russian Interior Minister in connection with his election as a deputy to the Russian State Duma. The decree came into effect on December 29th, when the Parliament's Lower Chamber of the 4th convocation started its work.
Gryzlov was elected as Chairman of the Russian State Duma of the 4th convocation. He also became Head of the State Duma faction United Russia, which gained most of the votes (approximately 37%) among the other three factions represented in the State Duma of the new convocation.
