Second Female Governor Appointed

Fifty-four percent of Russians would like a return to direct gubernatorial elections, according to a survey released Monday by the respected Levada Center pollster. Twenty-two percent said they were against restoring such elections, according to the Levada Center, which polled 1,600 people nationwide. The poll had a margin of error of 3.4 percent.

Earlier this month, the Institute of Contemporary Development - a think tank close to Medvedev - published a report called "21st-Century Russia: Reflections on an Attractive Tomorrow," which called for a return to direct elections of governors.

Kremlin Spin Doctor Defends 'Authoritarian Modernization'

The Institute of Contemporary Development, headed by Medvedev, published a report this month saying economic modernization depends on political reforms that will turn Russia into a U.S.-style democracy.

While Surkov allowed that centralization has reached its limits, he said Russia is already a democracy.

“If they criticize democracy in Russia, that means it exists,” he said. “If there are protests, that’s democracy. In totalitarian states there aren’t any demonstrations.”

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That lends force to the assertion in the report recently issued by the Institute of Contemporary Development titled "21st-Century Russia: Reflections on an Attractive Tomorrow" that modernization will require resolute political will - and possibly even overt pressure tactics against opponents - to succeed.