* Parliament ponders over new regional election law
* Medvedev appoints governors to key regions
* Opposition cries foul over appointments
By Gleb Bryanski
MOSCOW, April 4 (Reuters) – Russia’s president picked a
popular minister known for his loyalty to the ruling camp as
head of a major region surrounding Moscow on Wednesday, in an
apparent bid to bolster the Kremlin’s control before a new law
on local elections goes into force.
Emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu, 56, has held his post
since 1994 and is one of Russia’s most popular ministers. He is
also one of the founders of the ruling United Russia party.
In his new role as governor of the Moscow region which
surrounds but does not include the capital city itself, Shoigu
replaces Boris Gromov – a general who led the Soviet military
withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989.
The region, home to 6.8 million people, accounts for 5
percent of gross domestic product. It is also heavily indebted,
standing for one-fifth of the total regional domestic debt.
“The region is big and interesting. I will not be bored,”
Shoigu was quoted as saying after being nominated for the post
by the United Russia party.
Medvedev has appointed several heads of major regions while
parliament ponders over new legislation re-introducing direct
gubernatorial polls – one of the few concessions the Kremlin
agreed to make following a wave of opposition protests.
The newly appointed governors are now expected to serve
through their five-year terms, effectively cutting off the
opposition from running for office in some of Russia’s richest
and most populous regions any time soon.
“They are offering us a dead cat instead of a more
interesting animal,” Gennady Gudkov, a member of Just Russia
party and one of the organisers of recent anti-Kremlin protests
in Moscow over alleged election fraud.
MOSCOW REGION
Gromov is stepping down amid widespread allegations of
corruption in the region which hosts luxury country homes of the
Russian elite. It is the biggest, and the fastest growing, real
estate market in Russia.
Gromov had run the province since 2000, the year Vladimir
Putin became Russian president after winning an election over a
Communist rival by a narrow margin.
Opposition activist Evgeniya Chirikova, who has spearheaded
a relentless campaign against construction of a highway through
a Moscow region forest, called on her supporters to demand
direct elections at a protest near the Kremlin on April 8.
“People should elect their governor themselves,” Chirikova
told Reuters.
Putin has long been alarmed by the growing independence of
regional governors, some of whom have turned their provinces
into personal fiefdoms and openly snubbed Moscow.
He abolished direct elections in 2004, arguing the move
would help prevent criminals from penetrating the executive
branch. But, faced with opposition pressure following a disputed
parliamentary vote in December 2011, Putin agreed to restore
direction polls in the hope that would help take the steam off
the protest movement.
(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski Editing by Maria Golovnina)
