Governors of oblasts may also perform ceremonial roles, such as greeting dignitaries, conferring state decorations, issuing symbolic proclamations.
On November 30, 1991, Presidential decree of Yeltsin, appointed Boris Nemtsov to the post of governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region in and the first week of work at the new location, Nemtsov then issued a decree according to which he, the head of the regional government, is to be officially called the governor.
From 1995 to 2005, governors were elected by the residents of the Russian Federation in the framework of direct, equal and secret ballot.
From 2005 to 2012, governors were appointed by the legislative (representative) bodies of subjects of the Russian Federation by the recommendation of the President of Russia.
On June 1, 2012, an Act came into force, which returns the direct election of senior officials in the regions.
The longest-serving current governor is Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, in office since 2007.