Moscow, June 27: President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday said it was time to rethink the Russian system, with a view to making it freer and less centralised.
“It is completely obvious the centralisation of power in any state and even in such a complex federal state like Russia could not continue forever,” Medvedev told billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, a strong opponent of the dominance of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling faction.
“Now it’s time to think how our whole system … could become less bureaucratic, freer and considerably less centralised,” Medvedev told the tycoon at the Gorky presidential residence outside Moscow.
“I hope Pravoe Delo (Right Cause) will take part in it,” said Medvedev as he endorsed some of the businessman’s ideas while calling others “revolutionary,” in remarks released by the Kremlin.
Ranked Russia’s second richest man with a reported fortune of USD 22.7 billion, Prokhorov over the weekend won the leadership of the pro-reform party, pledging to help it win enough votes to gain entry to parliament in December polls and whittle down the influence of Putin’s United Russia.
Prokhorov has publicly savaged Russia’s top-down power structure, calling the country an “empire.” In a meeting with Medvedev, he reiterated that sentiment, saying Russia should elect rather than nominate prosecutors and police chiefs.
Speaking in an interview with business daily Vedomosti released earlier today, Prokhorov also said one of the top three state television channels should be privatised to make news media more diverse and competitive.
–Agencies