MOSCOW, July 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that adds 10 percent more senators to the Federation Council, parliament’s upper house. They will be appointed personally by the president, the website of legal information says.
Two representatives from each of Russia’s 83 federal subjects sit on the Federation Council. The new law adds senators who will amount to 10 percent of the total number of senators in the Federation Council and will be appointed by the president. However, a new president will not be able to fire a senator appointed by his predecessor.
The composition of the Federation Council has been changed three times since 1993, but has always followed the rule of including two representatives from each Russian federal subject. Initially, regional governors and the heads of regional parliaments took the seats in the Federation Council; they were later replaced with their representatives. Starting 2013, a law requiring that one senator must be from the regional executive authority and the other be from the region’s legislative assembly came into force.
