MOSCOW -- In what amounts to a coup d'etat five years after he came to power in August 1999, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a number of measures annihilating the fragile system of checks and balances constructed during President Boris Yeltsin's tenure in the 1990s.
From now on, Putin announced, all 89 regional governors will not be elected by popular vote; the president himself will nominate a candidate and the regional legislature will just confirm the appointment.
District-based elections for Parliament have also been canceled. Duma representatives will now be proportionately elected on the basis of party lists.