Moscow: A think-tank set up by President Dmitry Medvedev is proposing radical changes in Russia that would mark a return to political system of the era of ex-president Boris Yeltsin, a report said Wednesday.
The report by The Institute of Contemporary Development (INSOR) proposes elections for regional governors, the dissolution of the interior ministry and the creation of a proper multi-party system, the Vedomosti daily said.
The report is entitled "21st Century Russia: the Image of the Tomorrow We Want" and has been keenly anticipated for disclosing the vision of the modernizing figures close to Medvedev.
INSOR was set up by Medvedev after taking power in 2008 to advise on economic policy and is seen as a key pillar of his vow to modernize Russia's economic and political system.
Medvedev has made moderniztion and innovation his mantras over the last months, although sceptics argue his ambitions carry little weight given the real power in the country is still wielded by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Vedomosti said that changes floated in the report, which is due to be published later on Wednesday, would hark back to the political system that was in place under the Yeltsin presidency and was then changed by Putin.
For example while Russia's powerful regional governors were elected by universal suffrage under Yeltsin, Putin changed the law to presidential appointment followed by approval by the regional parliament.
Helped by high oil prices, Russia enjoyed political and economic stability under Putin's 2000-2008 presidency unprecedented in its post-Soviet history.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, February 03, 2010, 13:55