MOSCOW, November 18 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow...

Speaking live on Russian television late on Monday, Luzhkov said in 2004 he had backed then-president Vladimir Putin's decision to abolish governor elections in favor of presidential nominations, but today he said it would be wise to reinstate them.

"Today the issue should be reviewed. I would support this," Luzhkov said, adding that direct elections where several candidates ran for governor were more legitimate.

Putin's decision fueled Western criticism that Russia was backsliding from democracy. Putin said the move was needed to ensure stability in the country.

In Russia, Mintimer Shaimiyev, president of the vast oil-rich Republic of Tatarstan in the Volga River basin, has advocated the return of direct polls in the regions.

Murtaza Rakhimov, his counterpart in the neighboring south Urals republic of Bashkortostan, another major oil producer in Russia, has also argued that Russia has effectively ceased to exist as a "federative state" since regional

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