... “one of the leaders in Russia,” if he was appointed for a full term. “I have my own views, and I have been dealing with the regional infrastructure for a long time,” he told Interfax. Lyudmila Berlina, speaker of the regional legislature, called Yeroshchenko “an experienced manager who lives and works in the Irkutsk region and knows the region's problems well,” according to a statement on the legislature's website. Sergei Levchenko, a State Duma deputy with the...

... cost of 1 billion rubles ($33 million), the city's Mayor Georgy Poltavchenko said Tuesday. Last year, half that amount of money was spent to move a greater number of communal flat residents to new quarters, Poltavchenko said at a meeting of the city legislature, Interfax reported. "If this trend continues, communal apartments could stick around until the 22nd century," Poltavchenko said. As for the slow pace of relocating residents of the flats — holdovers from the Soviet period — Poltavchenko...

... cost of 1 billion rubles ($33 million), the city's governor Georgy Poltavchenko said Tuesday. Last year, half that amount of money was spent to move a greater number of communal flat residents to new quarters, Poltavchenko said at a meeting of the city legislature, Interfax reported. "If this trend continues, communal apartments could stick around until the 22nd century," Poltavchenko said. As explanation for the slow pace of relocating residents of the flats — holdovers from the Soviet...

... governor Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn. Outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday promoted Leningrad region deputy head Alexander Drozdenko to the post of governor of the region, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website. If approved by the regional legislature, Drozdenko will replace his current boss Valery Serdyukov, who has been head of the region since 1998 and whose term is scheduled to be up in July, RIA-Novosti reported. Medvedev on Saturday also reappointed Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn head of the...

... Ambassador John Beyrle. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had promised that it would enter into effect by Dec. 25. Under U.S. law, the agreement can go into force by a mere exchange of notes, but Russian law demands ratification in both houses of the legislature. Lawmakers from United Russia have hinted that they would not consider the bill before the U.S. presidential election in November. 179742

... attention to investment projects that will develop the region," Basargin said Monday, stressing that he was most interested in projects involving transportation and the supply system. Basargin, whose appointment needs to be confirmed by the regional legislature, will replace Oleg Chirkunov, who had governed Perm since December 2005 and whose current term was to expire in 2015. He and Yaroslavl Governor Sergei Vakhrukov both left their posts voluntarily, according to statements posted Saturday on...

... Democratic deputies showed up and adhered to earlier promises to throw their weight behind the former president. Communist and Just Russia deputies said the Kremlin pushed for the 450-seat Duma to give Medvedev more than 300 votes, or two-thirds of the legislature. Medvedev took pains to stress before and after the vote that he would take suggestions from all political forces as prime minister. "We all want Russia to flourish," he said in remarks immediately following his confirmation. "And...

... vouch for the mayor with their signatures," she said Calls to Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin, who headed the liberal opposition in the City Duma until October 2009, went unanswered. The amendments would also lower the bar for a party to enter the legislature from 7 percent to 5 percent of the total vote and increase the number of deputies from 35 to 45. United Russia holds 32 seats in the current City Duma, with the remaining three belonging to the Communist Party. 171293 179742

... speculation that his Omsk candidacy was a Kremlin ploy to discredit the opposition or split the opposition electorate ahead of the June 17 vote, assuring a victory for the ruling United Russia party. United Russia has nominated the speaker of the city legislature, Vyacheslav Dvorakovsky, as its mayoral candidate. The Communist Party, which beat United Russia to win the Omsk vote in the Dec. 4 State Duma elections, is expected to nominate its own candidate or back an independent candidate at a party...