Press Release, 23.03.2017

On 23 March, the Legislative Assembly of Karelia rejected the draft federal laws submitted by Emilia Slabunova, MP of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia and leader of the YABLOKO party, on the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the abolition of the “municipal filter” in the gubernatorial elections.

The law on the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences was supported by 11 deputies of the Karelian parliament, however 12 MPs voted against it and nine deputies abstained. The bill of the YABLOKO leader envisaged independence of the Russian Academy of Sciences from the Federal Agency for Science and Research Organisations (FANO) and the government. The bill also provided that the government of Russia should be deprived of the authority to approve and dismiss the President of the Academy of Sciences.

The bill also aimed at providing the Russian Academy of Sciences the right to approve priority directions for the development of fundamental sciences and research, as well as government assignments for carrying out these studies by research organizations subordinate to FANO. The Academy could have go the right, on the agreement with FANO, to approve programmes for the development of scientific organisations, as well as develop a research plan.

The law on the abolition of the “municipal filter” was supported by six MPs, 17 voted against it and nine abstained.

The bill provided for the nomination of candidates to run in gubernatorial elections from parties having factions in the State Duma or the legislative assembly of the region in which elections would take place, without collecting signatures of municipal deputies approving the candidate and allowing him/her to register in the campaign.

If the Legislative Assembly had approved the initiatives of Emilia Slabunova, both the bills would have been submitted to the State Duma for consideration.