Vladimir Putin calls on regions to take their time in the process of party construction

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the Russian regions to slow down and take their time in the process of party construction. Party construction is indeed very important, but introduction of a mixed party system for regional parliaments must be done on "certain conditions and with a certain speed," Putin told the Federation Council, or the upper house of the Russian parliament, on Tuesday. According to the president, the mixed system will only be effective if "regional parties gain in strength." Otherwise, it will be impossible to achieve "a true multi-party system," and voters will keep choosing "between people they like and people they don't like", not between ideas as it should be. The transit towards a mixed system must be "gradual and well thought-out," believes the Russian president.