Duma Gives Putin Power Over Regional Leaders, Legislatures

Russia’s lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to give President Vladimir V. Putin the right to disband local legislatures and fire regional governors who break the law, overriding an upper house veto of the bill.

The bill--part of a package of Putin legislation aimed at increasing central control over Russia’s far-flung regions--had been rejected by the upper house, or Federation Council. The council is made up of regional leaders, many of whom see the Putin package as an attack on the autonomy that former President Boris N. Yeltsin gave regional leaders as an incentive to support the Kremlin.

On Wednesday, the lower house, or Duma, voted 363 to 35 to overrule the Federation Council’s veto. Eight legislators abstained.

The Duma also voted to accept a compromise version of another bill from the Putin package--one providing for the elected regional leaders in the Federation Council to be removed from the council. They would be replaced by legislators appointed by the governors with approval from local lawmakers.

In recent years, Russia’s governors have been increasing their powers, while the federal government weakened. Wealthier regions often refuse to share revenue with the central government, and some governors have turned into authoritarian rulers of their territories.

Putin argues that Russia’s economic problems cannot be fixed until the provinces are reined in.

But some opponents of Putin’s package continued to speak out against the bills. Liberal lawmaker Sergei Yushenkov said the bill on the upper house “transforms the Federation Council into a chamber of puppets.”

Putin’s plan also allows the president to suspend governors if the prosecutor-general charges them with a serious crime. Critics say that provision clears the way for summary suspension of regional leaders who fall out of government favor.