Russia 111215 Basic Political Developments

Medvedev gives up deputy’s mandate

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111215/170260001.html
10:16 15/12/2011

MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who led the United Russia party ticket in the December 4 parliamentary elections, has given up his mandate as deputy, presidential spokeswoman Natalya Timakova has said.

A source in the State Duma said on Monday that Medvedev’s seat in the State Duma may be handed over to Irina Yarovaya, a United Russia representative from the Far Eastern region of Kamchatka, who failed to make it into parliament. However, United Russia party leader Boris Gryzlov, who was the speaker in the previous Duma, later dismissed this.

Medvedev, who has agreed to leave the president post in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after his first term expires in 2010, is widely expected to become prime minister in Russia’s next government.

The United Russia party won almost half of the vote in the December 4 parliamentary vote, which secured it a simple majority in the State Duma with 238 seats out of 450.

Putin's challenger vows to pardon Khodorkovsky

Today at 09:43 | Associated Press

MOSCOW — The Russian billionaire and New Jersey Nets owner who plans to challenge Vladimir Putin in Russia's presidential election says his first move if elected will be to pardon jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Mikhail Prokhorov said Thursday he would also liberalize elections rules and reduce a presidential term if he wins next March's vote.

Khodorkovsky has been in jail since 2003 on tax evasion and fraud charges seen as a punishment for defying Putin's power.

Speaking at a meeting with supporters who nominated him for the race, Prokhorov hailed last weekend's protest in Moscow against vote fraud, which attracted tens of thousands in the largest show of discontent in 20 years.

He said he may join a follow-up protest later this month.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/118982/#ixzz1gaaPxwsg

Russia billionaire Prokhorov: I am ready to marry to become president

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20111215/170261250.html
11:25 15/12/2011

MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti)

Russian nickel magnate Mikhail Prokhorov has said he is “ready” to marry to win the presidency at next March’s election.

“If that is needed for the country and for victory in the presidential elections, then I am ready even for that,” Prokhorov said at a news conference on Thursday.

Prokhorov, a 46-year-old bachelor, Russia’s third richest man and the owner of the U.S. NBA New Jersey Nets basketball team, declared his intention to stand for the Russian presidency earlier this week. He said it was “the most serious decision” of his life.

He headed the pro-business Right Cause party for four months before being ousted in September, something he blamed on Kremlin strategist Vladislav Surkov. Prokhorov then said he would push for Surkov’s dismissal.

Prokhorov is said to have made a pledge as a teenager not to marry before he was 42.

11:49 15/12/2011ALL NEWS

United Russia member elected Chairman of Moscow regional Duma

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/297925.html

MOSCOW, December 15 (Itar-Tass) — Igor Bryntsalov- a representative of the United Russia party, has been elected Chairman of the 5th Duma of the Moscow region at its first session. Igor Bryntsalov received 47 out of 49 votes in his support with two abstentions.

Igor Yuryevich Bryntsalov was born in 1971. In 1997 Bryntsalov was elected deputy of the Moscow regional Duma, Since 2002 Bryntsalov had represented the Moscow regional Duma in the Federation Council ( he Upper House).

Igor Bryntsalov is Secretary of the regional department of the United Russia party.

Bryntsalov replaces ex-chairman of the Moscow regional Duma Valery Aksakov who occupied the post of the regional Duma chairman since 2001.

The 5th Duma of the Moscow region elected on December 4, 2011 numbers 50 deputies. Half of them were elected to the regional parliament on party tickets, the rest were elected from single- member constituencies.

The United Russia party has 29 mandates in the new regional Duma; eleven mandates belong to the Communist party; the Just Russia party and the Liberal Democratic party have six and four mandates, respectively.

The previous regional Duma elected in 2007 numbered 33 representatives from the United Russia party, 12 - from the Communist party and five representatives from the Just Russia party.

December 15, 2011 12:08

Babich replaces Rapota as presidential envoy to Volga Federal District

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=295317
MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree appointing Mikhail Babich to the post of his envoy to the Volga Federal District, the Kremlin press service reported on Thursday.

Envoy to the Volga Federal District Grigory Rapota was relieved of his duties by another presidential decree "due to his transfer to another post".

tm

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12:09 15/12/2011RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW

The opposition will take people to the streets again on December 24

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c142/297953.html

MOSCOW, December 15 (Itar-Tass) The Moscow Mayor’s Office authorized a rally against unfair elections on the Academician Sakharov Avenue on December 24. The rally will be similar to that on the Bolotnaya Square on December 10, when several dozens of thousands of people gathered. Meanwhile, many doubt that a record number of protesters, who were reported last Saturday, can hardly be repeated. Although the organizers of the rally claimed for 50,000 people.

On December 10, the protesters went out from the Bolotnaya Square in a high mood. The protest action turned out to be so massive and peaceful that no one would like to think about bad things, the Kommersant writes. But already on the next day the organizers of the next rally started to make sceptical forecasts. A new rally is scheduled for December 24. For two weeks the number of people wishing to come to a protest action may go down. No one is aware why some many people came on the Bolotnaya Square, and no one is aware how many people will come on the Sakharov Avenue. The rally on the Bolotnaya Square was staged several days after the elections and was evidently dedicated to them. Many people can not want to protest against the election results two weeks after the elections.

However, people disappointed with the election results continue to register for an upcoming rally in Facebook, the Novye Izvestia reports. On Wednesday morning there were more than 17,000 of them. According to the latest reports, the number of people wishing to come for a rally on the Sakharov Avenue already exceeded 20,000 people on Wednesday afternoon. The organizing committee of the rally decided not to make invitations to the political parties for the rally. But most of those, which were elected in the State Duma, evidently were not going to come there initially. In any case at a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov said he is determined “to avert the Orange leprosy, which flourished on the Bolotnaya Square.”

The first meeting of the organising committee of the December 24 rally was surprising with its results, the Komsomolskaya Pravda notes. The oppositionists succeeded to come to terms that a Moscow union of voters should be created, promos should be made involving public personalities so that they appealed to participate in the rally, a contest should be held for the best leaflet and slogan and the white ribbon should be left as the symbol of the rally.

December 15, 2011 10:29