MOSCOW, 21 Mar. Several Russian governors have turned to the federal authorities with a request to consider the possibility of abandoning direct elections in September this year, Kommersant writes, citing sources. against the backdrop of Russia's military operation on the territory of Ukraine,» the media notes. As Kommersant's interlocutors specified, in the current situation, it becomes more difficult for governors to work with sponsors and conduct election campaigns. In addition, a lot of money will have to be spent on elections, including from the budget. Sources say that two scenarios are being considered. In the first, we are talking about the rejection of direct elections of governors. In this case, the head of the region can be elected by the deputies of legislative assemblies. Nevertheless, in a number of subjects of the federation, where elections are to be held in September, this information was not confirmed: for example, Vladimir Kostin, head of the Legislative Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Kirov Region, said that no such amendments had yet been made. Deputy Chairman of the State Council of Udmurtia Alexander Prozorov expressed the opinion that such changes are inappropriate. As a second option, they consider postponing the elections by decision of the Central Election Commission. To do this, it is necessary that a state of emergency or high alert be introduced in the region, Kommersant writes. As for the second, it has been operating in all regions since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the article summarizes. the beginning of a large-scale restructuring of the Russian economy
