ST. PETERSBURG, June 18. /TASS/. The Russian authorities should hold early presidential elections to confirm their mandate for structural reforms in the country, ex-Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday.

Russia should hold early presidential elections similar to what Kazakhstan did earlier this year when President Nursultan Nazarbayev was reelected as the head of state, the ex-finance minister said.

"Structural reforms mean not just writing a good document. What is needed is a political will, a team and the president who shares all these points," Kudrin said.

The former Soviet Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan can be used as an example. Kazakhstan held early presidential elections, after which re-elected President Nazarbayev announced a program of profound economic reforms called "100 Steps," the Russian ex-finance minister said.

"Now that we’re rescheduling the parliamentary elections to an earlier term, I believe we should also hold presidential elections early and announce a new program of reforms, which will be implemented easier with the mandate of confidence," Kudrin said.

The ex-finance minister spoke on many occasions that the Russian president’s record high rating should be used for implementing a program of profound economic and structural reforms, which would enable Russia to raise the competitiveness of its economy and improve the investment climate.