Putin Bans Heads of Russian Autonomous Regions from Calling Themselves Presidents

President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a new law that determines public authority in the subjects of the Russian Federation. The document prohibits local governors from calling themselves presidents while allowing them to run for governor elections more than two times, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

The law prohibits using the word «president» in the official title of any head of the federation’s subject.

According to the new legislation, the president can remove from the office any governor either due to loss of confidence or by decision of the local legislative body. The law stipulates that the president can dismiss a governor from work whenever he considers the move necessary.

Another novelty is changing the electing rules. Now heads of the subject of the Russian Federation can run for governor elections more than two times. The old legislation used to prohibit this practice.

The new law shifts the responsibility for regulating the number of terms a governor can rule a region to local legislative bodies. Moreover, these regional parliaments can now operate remotely.