Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reiterated on Friday his longstanding view that there is no need to return to direct elections of regional governors in Russia, which were abolished in 2004.
"In the current historical perspective, I think it is essential to safeguard the unity of managing the state when everyone is within a single executive vertical: president, government and heads of territories," Medvedev said during an end-of-year interview broadcast live on Russia's three main TV channels.
Currently, the heads of Russia's 83 regions are nominated by the president and approved by the regional legislature.
The 2004 decision made by the then-President Vladimir Putin to abolish direct elections for regional leaders in favor of presidential nominations fueled Western criticism that Russia was backsliding from democracy. Putin said the move was needed to ensure stability in the country.
Referring to the issue, Medvedev said he did not consider elections of governors as a sign of democracy.
"The issue is that not all democratic methods work well. That's why I believe the system of appointing governors in the current situation in this country is absolutely justified, because the country is very difficult and is a federation," he said.
When asked if the return to direct popular elections of governors was necessary Medvedev joked that it would be like "returning to natural selection and watching who will eat each other."
"Looking is always more interesting. The issue is whether this is a natural selection or not a completely natural selection," he said.
MOSCOW, December 24 (RIA Novosti)
