Russian President Vladimir Putin, when appointing Alexei Russkikh interim governor of the Ulyanovsk Region, was taking into account his experience and qualifications, not his party affiliation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday, Tass informed.
“As a head of state, he takes into account efficiency of an official as the main criterion for their selection,” the Kremlin representative said commenting on the appointment of the interim governor of the Ulyanovsk Region. “In this case, the president chose Russkikh and he thinks that it is precisely his experience, his qualifications, his working style that will help the region continue developing quite successfully,” the spokesman noted.
Former Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region Sergei Morozov, whose voluntary resignation was accepted by Putin on Thursday, represented the United Russia Party. Before the appointment as the interim governor, Russkikh was a member of the Federation Council (parliament’s upper house). He is a member of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party. In response to a question on why the president chose a representative of the Communist Party while the United Russia is considered to be the head of state’s mainstay, the spokesman stressed that “the United Russia, being the ruling party, remains the main support of the president.”
