Head of upper chamber to run for regional elections

The chairman of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper chamber of Parliament, and leader of the Fair Russia party, Sergey Mironov, has announced he is will head his party’s list in the election of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly.

He made the announcement during an online conference summing up the results of the Federation Council’s work in 2010. On January 1, 2011, new rules for the formation of the upper chamber come into effect. They imply that only deputies of regional legislatures can become members of the Federation Council. As for the outcome of the year, Mironov pointed out the most important laws they have adopted have been the federal budget and a law prolonging free privatization for three more years. Strengthening the security of the state and society has been essential in the Federal Council’s work in 2010, he added. Modernization has also been high on the agenda. Sergey Mironov also said that in the coming year the Federation Council will work more closely with the Ministry of Regional Development. “If the Federation Council and the Ministry jointly supervise regional projects, this will be appropriate,” he said, adding that it is “a new, interesting form of co-operation.”