Speaking today at an extended session of the Russian government, the president proposed a plan of reforming the country's political system, which envisages that governors will now be elected by legislative assemblies on presentation of the head of state. RIA Novosti asked a number of Russian political scientists to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement on the change of the procedure to elect Federation members' heads.
In the opinion of the director of the Russian Public-Political Center foundation, Aleksei Salmin, as regards "elections of governors, there exists a certain problem. The case is that according to the Constitution members of the Russian Federation establish a system of state power bodies on their own. That is why either the regions will accept the president's request voluntarily, or the necessity to change the Constitution will appear," stressed the expert.
Russian Strategic Studies Institute Director Yevgeny Kozhokin believes that "in present conditions, the actual refusal to hold direct elections of governors may contribute to the fight against corruption, for now any person running for governorship has to collect large funds. In different Russian regions, the sum varies from $4 million to $30 million and more. So after the elections, the candidate's sponsors want to not only return the money spent on the election campaign but to receive profit, as they regard the election campaign as a business project. Finally, the head of the region, for the four years given to him is to not only resolve the issue of the region's development and ensure the citizens' security, but also to think about how to return money to his sponsors. Or create conditions for it to return. Besides, it's necessary to accumulate funds for the next election campaign," Mr. Kozhokin said.
On the other hand, in the director's opinion, "if Russia had not experienced such powerful attacks by terrorists, other ways to fight corruption and create a more efficient power system locally could be sought. Today, the combination of terrorism and a high level of state apparatus corruptness makes us deviate from the norms that were initially laid when the post-Soviet political system was created," concluded Yevgeny Kozhokin.
At the same time, the key element of reforming the Russian political system is to strengthen "the vertical of power." In this connection, the Russian president's statement was not a sensation, says general director of the Political Situation Center Konstantin Simonov. "The idea to cancel the appointment of governors by election has been discussed in Russia for a long time and is not a sensation." The expert recalls that "in his time Putin came to power under the motto of strengthening the vertical of power." "Now," he notes, "we see that this vertical of power was not built to the end - many governors are still separate political players and in this connection, the center's idea to give up direct elections of governors means an attempt of the center to more actively interfere with what's going on in the regions," said Mr. Simonov.
The political scientist focuses attention on the fact that "the fight against terrorism and ensuring security is one of the main parts of the issues facing our state today. We shouldn't forget about the program of the country's radical modernization that was voiced by the president when he was reelected. It is clear here that without support at the regional level, no programs of the federal center can be realized, especially as regards such large-scale and serious ones. What Putin has done is logical. The center concentrates in its hands the maximum number of authorities. Governors will from now on fail to sabotage reforms proposed by the federal center," concluded the expert.
