Russian ruling party elects Vasilyev State Duma leader
The ruling United Russia party's faction in the State Duma has
elected Vladimir Vasilyev as its leader.
Vasilyev, a member of the parliament's Security and Anticorruption
Committee, won the most votes in a secret ballot at a meeting of
the parliamentary faction on November 10.
The position became vacant after President Vladimir Putin appointed
previous United Russia faction leader Andrei Vorobyov as acting
governor of the Moscow region on November 8.
Meanwhile, the speaker of the State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin, said
November 10 he was joining the United Russia party.
He told the meeting of the parliamentary faction, "Until today, I
have been an unaffiliated member of the faction, and I have made a
decision to join the United Russia party."
He said he hoped a decision on his application would be made in
November.