The Russian Government will draft bills introducing direct gubernatorial elections and a revised system of parliamentary representation by mid-February, according to the Russian President's orders.

      The new system would split the country into 225 electoral districts, which would eliminate the current situation where some of the 83 regions have no representatives in the lower chamber. The each region will likely elect two deputies to the State Duma.

      It's important to remind that both the direct gubernatorial elections and proportional representation system were abolished during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's presidential tenure between 2000 and 2008. In the end of 2011, Dmitry Medvedev in his traditional state-of-the-nation address promised to roll back Putin's reforms. In particular, the President called for the reinstatement of gubernatorial elections, an easing of political party registration rules and entertained the possibility of loosening the Kremlin's grip on television. He also said the number of signatures required to run for president from a party represented in parliament – 2m – should be reduced to 300,000, while the number of signatures to endorse a presidential nomination from non-parliamentary parties should be reduced to 100,000.

      Vladimir Putin supported the possibility of returning the direct vote, but repeatedly said that the process would be controlled by a "presidential filter", meaning the Kremlin would still have right to approve candidates.

      Medvedev also ordered ew anti-corruption measures, including control over large expenses of officials and obliging more state employees to disclose their income declarations. Deadlines for the orders range from mid-February to July.

Source: Gazeta.ru Vedomosti The Moscow Times Image: progressivestates.org