On February 26 local time, Pavel Krasheninnikov, chairman of Russia ’s State Duma State Construction and Legislative Council, told reporters that a referendum on constitutional amendments would be held on April 22. The date was set by Russian President Putin during a working meeting with the Constitutional Revision Working Group. Prior to this, Putin had agreed to a holiday in Russia on the day of the poll.
On January 15, in his State of the Union address, Russian President Putin proposed that all Russian citizens vote on changes to the Russian Federation's constitution. If the constitutional amendment is passed, then some of the constitutional powers held by the current head of state will be transferred to the State Duma (Lower House) and the Federal Council (Upper House). (Main Station reporter Wang Bin Zhu Jing)