By the way, no independent television news organizations exist in Russia anymore.
maybe we were just in Halftime of the Cold War.CNN.com wrote:Curiously, however, the Russian leader's proposals focused largely on electoral changes. Putin said he would propose legislation abolishing the election of local governors by popular vote. Instead they would be nominated by the president and confirmed by local legislatures. (Reforms in full)
He said the change was needed to streamline and strengthen the executive branch to better combat terror.
Putin also asked for a revision of the method by which Russians elect their parliament. The entire 450 seats would be chosen from candidates on party lists.
At present about half are chosen that way, meaning many candidates can win seats while representing no party. The current rules also allowed a candidate to win a place in the legislature even if representing a party that garnered too few seats as an organization to win representation.