MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed the candidacy of Anatoly Lisitsyn, the governor of the Yaroslavl Region, 170 miles northeast of Moscow, for re-election to the post, the Kremlin press service said Tuesday.
Lisitsyn was appointed the head of the regional administration in 1992. He was elected regional governor in December 1995, re-elected in December 1999 with 64% of the votes, and re-elected again in December 2003.
More than 50% of the members of the local legislature must approve the nominee for the candidate to become regional leader under the Putin-proposed 2004 law that abolished gubernatorial elections and gave the president the right to nominate candidates.
Rights groups in Russia and abroad have criticized the law as undemocratic.
Some regional leaders turn to the Russian president even before the end of their terms, asking him to recommend them to local parliaments in line with the new scheme, which is what apparently happened in this case.
