Self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic elects head, passes constitution
The self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LNR) elected its head and passed its own constitution on Sunday. This comes after the region held a referendum on May 11 and proclaimed itself independent from Kiev.
LNR’s state council – which acts as a temporary legislative body – has chosen Valery Bolotov as the head of the republic. The council also elected its speaker, Aleksey Karyakin, and Prime Minister - Vasily Nikitin.
Bolotov was born in Russia’s southern port city of Taganrog in 1974. He has two university degrees. He also worked his way up from a manager to the director at a meat factory. Before being elected as the head of the self-proclaimed republic, he was serving as the “people’s governor” of Lugansk region.
Deputies of the council who where elected earlier on Sunday on also adopted a temporary constitution of the Lugansk People’s Republic.
The newly elected prime minister already identified what his
first steps in the office will be. “As the prime minister I
will form a new government. I will announce the specific
candidates later. The members of the new cabinet will be
determined in the second part of the day [tomorrow],”
Itar-Tass quoted Nikitin as saying.
Last weekend, Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions held
referendums in which the majority of voters supported self-rule.
In Lugansk region 96.2 percent of voters supported the region’s self-rule, according to final figures announced by the local election commission. Almost 90 percent of voters in Donetsk region have endorsed political independence from Kiev.
