more control over the Council by the executive branch, due to laws which stipulate that regional executives have a say in choosing delegates to the Federation council. Since 2000, the Federation Council has largely remained a stable body. However, critics have charged that Putin's tactics in reforming the Council were blatantly undemocratic and anti-federal, arguing that the reforms created a rubber stamp body for the executive branch and the ruling United Russia party, similar to what the Soviet of Nationalities was during the Soviet period. Officers and members As set in Article 101 of the Russian Constitution, the Federation Council “shall elect among its deputies the chairman of the Council.” Some of the Chairman's official duties include presiding over sessions, formulating and introducing draft agendas, issuing orders and consulting with the Council's various committees, acting as the Council's official representative in the Federal Assembly, and signing resolutions to be passed forth to the president or the State Duma. The current chairman is Valentina Matviyenko. Senators are able to retain membership in their respective parties, however they are asked not to bring party factionalism to the floor itself. Since the reforms of 2000, the Council has enjoyed a significantly close relationship with the Kremlin, helping easy passage of key legislation the Kremlin desires. According to Article 98, all the members of the Council enjoy immunity from arrest, detainment, and searches. In 2007 the law on the Federation Council was amended, and now a senator must have resided for at least ten years in the territory he is representing. The status of members of the Federation Council is defined by the Federal Law: "On Status of Members of the Council of Federation and Status of Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation". Presidium The presidium consists in a chairman, four deputy chairmen and a general secretary. Political affiliation Unlike the State Duma, with its division of parties and leaders, in 2002 parliamentary groups were forbidden following Mironov's election to the chairmanship and the parliamentary procedures to disband all political factions though the members are affiliated with some major Russian political parties. Elections Unlike the State Duma and the provincial legislatures throughout Russia, the Council is not directly elected, but instead chosen by territorial politicians, resembling in some respects the structure of the U.S. Senate prior to the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The only exclusion was the