Artur Chilingarov wins by-elections in Russia’s Tula, may become senator

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian presidential envoy for cooperation in the Arctic and the Antarctic, ethnic Armenian Artur Chilingarov won in the by-elections in the municipal entity Solopenskoye in the Aleksinsky district of the Tula Region on Sunday, October 30, a source in the regional government’s office in Moscow said, Itar-Tass reported.

“Artur Chilingarov gained 99.7% with the turnout of 97.6%,” the source said. “He will become a representative of the Tula regional government in the Federation Council, if Governor of the Tula Region Vladimir Gruzdev appoints him on the post,” he added.

In this case Chilingarov will replace Anatoly Vaskov in the upper house of parliament. The previous governor Vyacheslav Dudka delegated Vaskov in the Federation Council. Gruzdev terminated Vaskov’s powers ahead of time in early October.

In early October the chairman of the United Russia Supreme Council and State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov told reporters that United Russia supports Chilingarov’s designation for a senator from the Tula Region. He recalled that Chilingarov and Gruzdev, who was appointed as the governor of the foresaid federation constituent in August, “plunged on the Arctic Ocean bottom near the North Pole.” “Therefore, I believe that their friendship is tested not in many years, but in deeds,” Gryzlov added.

“The fact that Gruzdev considers it possible to offer Chilingarov to become a senator from the Tula executive authorities is a justified decision,” the speaker of the lower house of parliament said.