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I don’t know precisely what you are referring to. It is true that Russian governors were appointed rather than elected from 2005 to 2012 and have since been elected. My understanding is that this change was made to deal with areas where corrupt governors held enough sway to get elected. In any case, governors are no longer appointed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_(Russia)

Thanks for your posts. I'm trying to understand Putin, but have always believed that Russia and Russians, not former Soviet Russia and the Soviets, are our (America's) natural friends and allies and would have been were it not for the Soviet speed bump and all that followed.

That was then, this is now and, as it is now, our nation has been eating the same poisoned fruit that killed Russia and made them Soviets.

We are becoming what they were, whereas Russia has been reborn from the Soviet ashes and, if what I've read is correct, is quite possibly following His Holy Plan, and will become a symbol of God's Glory.

This appears to be the case for them, whereas the opposite appears to be true for our leadership and nation.

Hmmm...I've read that God will take away from one and give it to another:

"Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them."
Matthew 13:12

And this also appears to be the changing world dynamic for America and possibly for the Russians.

No wonder the Russians love Putin. Let's all hope and pray he stays the course and that we reverse ours.

In the meantime, assuming Putin behaves, it will take a long time for many of US to forget the past.

It took my dad until 1998 to forgive the Japanese for Pearl Harbor, but from then on he bought nothing but Japanese vehicles.

It took a long time for that big step and I suspect the same is true for our generation's forgiving and forgetting, just as with my dad and his.