How the Federation Council will change after the September elections

On Monday, the Federation Council (FC) will host the first plenary meeting of the autumn session after the September elections, at which the rotation of the senatorial corps will begin based on the results of the gubernatorial and parliamentary campaigns. It will be one of the largest in recent years: according to Kommersant’s estimates, at least 20 new senators will appear in the upper chamber, including the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government and the ex-plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the federal district. However, most representatives of the regions where elections were held will still remain in their places.

By the evening of September 24, 21 of the 26 governors elected to these posts following the results of the autumn campaign of 2023 had taken office. Among them are the leaders of all four new subjects of the Russian Federation, who unanimously got rid of the prefix “acting” on September 23 after voting in local parliaments. Let us remind you that according to the law “On the procedure for forming the Federation Council”, the head of the region must delegate his representative to the upper house no later than the day following the inauguration.

Of the four senators from the executive branch of the new entities, three retained their positions: member of the international committee of the Federation Council Natalya Nikonorova (DPR), member of the social policy committee Daria Lantratova (LPR) and member of the defense and security committee Konstantin Basyuk (Kherson region). Member of the Economic Policy Committee Dmitry Vorona, who previously represented the head of the Zaporozhye region in the Federation Council, will also remain in the upper house, but as a senator from the legislative branch of the region. And in his place, as Kommersant expected, was appointed former Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, ex-head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin.

Previously, Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council Galina Karelova (Voronezh Region), Head of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction Andrey Klishas (Krasnoyarsk Territory), First Deputy Chairman of the Defense Committee Vladimir Kozhin (Moscow), First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Social Policy Olga Zabralova have already received reappointment from the elected leaders (Moscow region), first deputy chairmen of the committee on economic policy Alexey Sinitsyn (Kemerovo region) and Ivan Abramov (Amur region), first deputy chairman of the committee on federal structure and regional policy Vladimir Gorodetsky (Novosibirsk region) and deputy chairman of the same committee Anatoly Shirokov (Magadan region ), member of the Committee on Budget and Financial Markets Pavel Tarakanov (Tyumen region).

The heads of Yakutia and Chukotka Aisen Nikolaev and Vladislav Kuznetsov, who will take office on September 27, have already announced that they will reappoint the current representatives in the Federation Council – deputy chairman of the committee on agrarian and food policy and environmental management Egor Borisov and member of the international committee Anna Otke. And Nizhny Novgorod Governor Gleb Nikitin, after his inauguration on September 26, according to Kommersant, will extend the powers of the deputy chairman of the agrarian committee, Vladimir Lebedev.

Eight elected leaders decided to change their delegates in the upper house. The head of the Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, instead of a member of the rules committee, Nina Kulikovskikh, appointed vice-governor Ruslan Smashnev, and the Oryol leader Andrei Klychkov replaced a member of the same committee, Vladimir Krugly, with vice-governor Vadim Sokolov. The head of the Altai Territory, Viktor Tomenko, replaced the deputy chairman of the constitutional committee of the Federation Council Alexander Karlin with ex-State Duma deputy and his representative in the legislative assembly Natalya Kuvshinova, and the Omsk governor Vitaly Khotsenko replaced a member of the same committee Elena Mizulina with the deputy head of the federal territory “Sirius” Ivan Evstifeev. Primorye Governor Oleg Kozhemyako delegated to the Federation Council the speaker of the regional legislative assembly of the previous convocation, Alexander Rolik, who replaced the first deputy chairman of the regulations committee, Svetlana Goryacheva. The head of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Dmitry Artyukhov, replaced the deputy chairman of the agrarian committee, Elena Zlenko, with the president of the regional climbing federation and deputy of the Tyumen Regional Duma, Vladimir Pushkarev, and the head of Khakassia, Valentin Konovalov, replaced a member of the Defense Committee of the Federation Council, Valery Usatyuk, with lawyer Oleg Zemtsov.

The governor of the Pskov region, Mikhail Vedernikov, whose inauguration will take place on September 27, announced even during his nomination that he would replace the deputy chairman of the Social Committee of the Northern Fleet, Elena Bibikova, with the deputy chief of staff of the Airborne Forces, Alexei Naumts. Of the governor’s appointees, only the fate of the deputy chairman of the international committee, Farit Mukhametshin, remains unknown: he represents the governor of the Samara region, Dmitry Azarov, in the Federation Council, whose inauguration is scheduled for September 25.

Of the senators from regional parliaments, only half have been confirmed so far, since not all new convocations of legislative bodies have time to start work. Let us remind you that according to the law, deputies must delegate their representative to the Federation Council within a month after the first post-election session. They managed to carry it out in the People’s Council of the DPR, replacing member of the federative committee of the Federation Council Alexander Ananchenko with volunteer Alexander Voloshin; in the People’s Council of the LPR, where Olga Bas, a member of the Committee on Science, Education and Culture, was reappointed for a new term; in the Kherson Regional Duma, for the first time delegating ex-State Duma deputy Igor Kastyukevich to the Federation Council. In addition, personnel issues were resolved by deputies of the legislative assemblies of the Rostov and Irkutsk regions, who retained in their posts the first deputy chairman of the constitutional committee, Irina Rukavishnikova, and a member of the regulations committee, Sergei Brilka.

The issue of senators has also already been resolved in the meeting of deputies of the Arkhangelsk region, where instead of member of the agrarian committee Viktor Novozhilov, the head of the United Russia faction Ivan Novikov was approved as a senator, in the legislative assembly of Kuzbass, where the deputy chairman of the federal committee Dmitry Kuzmin was replaced by the head of the committee on housing issues of the Kemerovo administration Nadezhda Ilyin, as well as in the legislative assembly of the Ulyanovsk region, the post of senator from which was retained by the first deputy chairman of the budget committee, Sergei Ryabukhin.

A kind of castling took place in the Legislative Assembly of the Vladimir Region, where Speaker Vladimir Kiselev and member of the Social Committee of the Federation Council Olga Khokhlova swapped places: the first became a senator, and the second became a speaker. The chair of the senator from the Ivanovo Regional Duma was taken by the deputy chairman of the economic committee, Valery Vasiliev, who previously represented Governor Stanislav Voskresensky in the Federation Council and replaced a member of the social committee, Alexander Gusakovsky. And in Mr. Vasiliev’s place, in turn, Mr. Voskresensky appointed Vladimir Bulavin, who until February 2023 headed the Federal Customs Service, and in 2013–2016 was the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy in the Northwestern Federal District.

Finally, in the parliaments of Bashkiria, Buryatia, Kalmykia, Yakutia, Transbaikalia, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), as well as the Smolensk and Yaroslavl regions, the first sessions have not yet taken place. Nevertheless, it is already known that the deputy chairman of the economic committee of the Federation Council Irek Yalalov (Bashkiria), the first deputy chairman of the agrarian committee Alexey Mayorov (Kalmykia), the deputy chairman of the federal committee Alexander Akimov (Yakutia), as well as members Committee on Science, Education and Culture Irina Kozhanova (Smolensk region) and Rimma Galushina (Nenets Autonomous Okrug). The head of the Smolensk executive committee of United Russia, regional Duma deputy Artem Malashchenkov has already been nominated to replace Ms. Kozhanova (the issue of his appointment will be considered by the deputies on September 28). It is not yet known who will fill the other vacancies.

The first deputy chairman of the social committee of the Federation Council Alexander Varfolomeev (Buryatia), the deputy chairman of the committee on science Natalia Kosikhina (Yaroslavl region) and a member of the same committee Sergei Mikhailov (Transbaikalia), and a member of the economic committee Alexander Zhukov (Khakassia) again entered parliament. At the same time, Mr. Zhukov will definitely not be reappointed to the Federation Council, since he has already headed the United Russia faction in the Supreme Council of Khakassia. But Ms. Kosikhina’s powers will most likely be extended, since her candidacy has already been supported by the United Russia faction in the regional Duma and by Governor Mikhail Evraev. According to Kommersant’s sources, Mr. Mikhailov also has a high chance of remaining in the Federation Council, a decision on which will be made on September 27.

Let us add that such a large-scale rotation in the senatorial corps will also lead to a redistribution of positions within the Federation Council. For example, on Friday, RBC reported that the post of vice speaker, instead of Galina Karelova, could be taken by Moscow City Duma senator Inna Svyatenko, who now heads the social policy committee.

Andrey Prah, corset “Kommersant”