Duma may discuss unification of regional leaders` titles in autumn

MOSCOW, August 14 (Itar-Tass) -- The State Duma next autumn may
discuss the possibility of unifying the names of the heads of Russian
regions, but in general this issue is already settled by the Constitution
of Russia, the first deputy chairman of the Duma's committee on
constitutional legislation and statehood (of the United Russia party),
Alexander Moskalets, told Itar-Tass in an interview. He was speaking in
the wake of the August 12 statement by Chechnya's President Ramzan
Kadyrov, who asked the republican parliament to change the title of
Chechnya's number one official.
"In our Constitution there is one presidential office - it is the
president of Russia. There are no other titles there," the legislator
said. "And there are state authorities of Russia's constituent territories
- executive and legislative ones."
"It is a totally different matter that at a certain point the issue
was overlooked and tastes varied from place to place: at some places we
have presidents, and at others, governors. In Khakassia it is the chairman
of government. This list can be continued," he said. "Similarly, there is
great disparity in the law-making sphere: there are Councils of Deputies,
there are parliaments, there are legislative assemblies, the Tyva Republic
has its Hural, everybody called oneself as he pleased," Moskalets said.
According to the first deputy head of the Duma's committee, "it is
time to depart from this."
"We have grown from the standpoint of legal culture, and putting the
emphasis on the attributes of a senior post is inappropriate. In my
opinion this is an indication the person in question has not matured to
take the position, if he pays attention to what sort of office he has and
in what sort of building," he said. "In general, Ramzan Kadyrov's
statement was a very good message, we need to look around at what we are
doing in this regard."
Asked what, in his opinion, the most suitable name for the head a
region would be, Moskalets replied that "everything here is simple."
There is the chairman of the legislative assembly, and there is the
head of the executive power branch of power.
At the same time, he said, even "governor" in this case was not the
most suitable term.
"We have the usual words: manager, boss, chairman," he recalled. He
remarked with regret that in everyday usage "we ourselves often say:
speaker, deputy speaker, prime minister, and deputy prime minister,
although in the Constitution there is no such thing as "speaker" or "prime
premier," let alone "senators."
The first deputy chairman of the Duma's committee did not rule out
that in the autumn the lower house of Parliament might raise this topic
"at the level of recommendations or discussion."
"We have an Assembly (of Russian) legislators (at the State Duma), and
I think this may be considered there," he speculated. At the same time
Moskalets explained that, "even if some straightening of the law is
necessary, then only the slightest one, because, the Constitution resolves
them to the full."
On Thursday Kadyrov told reporters that he had submitted to the
parliament of Chechnya an official letter to ask for "a change to the
title of the highest official of the republic." He stressed that he was
ready to accept any term for the post of the head of a constituent
territory of the Russian Federation, but for the title "President."
Kadyrov explained that "in one state there must be only one president,
and in the individual territories the top officials could be called head
of the republic, chief of administration, or governor or whatever."
In his view, the "parade of regional presidents" must be brought to an
end.
A Kremlin official told Itar-Tass on Friday that the idea of unifying
the titles territorial leaders might be put forward for consideration.
"I do not exclude that with his initiative the Chechen president wants
to set an example for other regions. I do not exclude also that this may
contribute to a start of this process," said the source.