Dmitry Medvedev on the issue. Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy head of the Duma’s CIS Committee, will be demoted to a rank-and-file committee member, senior United Russia official Oleg Morozov said Monday.
He will likely be replaced by fellow member Alexander Kozlovsky, said Morozov, who attributed the decision to “interfaction rotation,” Interfax reported.
Zatulin said the Kremlin might be behind his dismissal, telling Gazeta.ru that it was linked to “rising tensions” ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Zatulin sided with Putin in criticizing the Libya operation last month, which Putin compared to “medieval crusades.” Medvedev, sticking to Russia’s official stance on Libya, condemned the comparison.
But at a Duma session in late March, Zatulin said Putin had…