Russia: New Law Allows Governors to Be Appointed, Undoing Reform

 President Vladimir V. Putin signed a law on Tuesday that could roll back a reform pushed by his predecessor allowing the direct election of regional governors. The new law allows regional legislatures to forgo elections and appoint governors from a list of candidates approved by Mr. Putin. He abolished direct elections for governors in 2004, during his second term as president, but President Dmitri A. Medvedev pushed a law through Parliament last year to restore them in what was seen as a major concession to a growing political opposition movement. Mr. Putin, now serving his third term as president, has said that the new law is needed to protect minorities in regions where elections could be combustible. Critics said the law would allow the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party to avoid election defeats by using its control of regional legislatures to bypass popular voting. The law was the latest unwinding of Mr. Medvedev’s initiatives since Mr. Putin returned to the presidency.