Print version of the radio programme from March 20, 2009
Main Topic: Driving a wedge into everywhere?
A scandal along the corridors of the Kremlin continues for more than a week now. The uproar was provoked by one of President Medvedev's unofficial advisors, Yevgeny Gontmakher, who publicly described Vladislav Surkov as "the Mikhail Suslov of our time" [Suslov was a prominent figure in the Communist Party, a key political ideologist during the Stalin years and beyond]. Gontmakher explained that Surkov is defending the current political system because discussions about reforms that have not been staged in advance in the Cabinet threaten Surkov's own position of the nation's main ideologist rather that public tranquillity.
Political emotions have been running high. They even reached a point where Alexander Budberg, a commentator for Moskovsky Komsomolets, tried to prove that on the one hand the Putin-Medvedev tandem is stronger than ever, and that on the other the tussle between the two is ongoing. "Political games with the aim of staying in power forever," "concentration of all of the nation's resources exclusively in the hands of friends and confidants," and "an attempt to exchange the resource of public trust in the President and the Prime Minister for the brutal rattling of two bombers that reached Venezuela" - all these passages are obviously intended for Igor Sechin. The words about "replacement of serious discussion on current events with unfeasible programmes supposedly scheduled for decades ahead" are about the Strategy-2020 forum, where Surkov made a speech in defence of the current political system.
Well-known political pundit Mikhail Leontyev described the attitude of the opposite camp to these invectives. He called liberalisation supporters "conmen who are selling their homeland by trying to drive a wedge in relations between Putin and Medvedev."
There are many more examples to illustrate; but in essence, the louder the supporters of both camps declare that the tandem is stronger than ever, the less credible this assertion becomes.
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Secret service men and conmen
Victories and defeats
First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has taken up yet another role. Medvedev has appointed him coordinator on CIS affairs. Many have seen this as a sign of the Kremlin's interest in the CIS, and consolidation of Shuvalov's own positions. He is expected to take up the job as prime minister if Putin decides to end his career in the Government.
Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov is feeling the strain. His region is on the verge of default: it cannot fulfil its commitments on securities and pay back loans. What's more, it has no money to pay its public sector employees. Gromov explains the situation by his enemy's intrigues, but this excuse does not sound convincing.
Former Governor of the Oryol Region Yegor Stroyev became a Federal Assembly Senator for the region. This appointment has proven to be genuine luck. Recently he was interrogated over corruption in the Oryol Region, his daughter resigned from her duties in the Federation Council before her term expired, while his son-in-law in the rank of FSB Major-General was shot dead.
Gennady Zyuganov's party has been subjected to criticism and decided not to protest, as it seems. Communists do not show much enthusiasm in supporting acts of protest. True, in exchange they do receive signs of attention. It transpired the other day that Zyuganov's office in the Duma has been fitted out with special communication equipment - a direct phone line to higher government officials.
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Chat with an Expert
In several months' time, the Government's ratings will begin to drop
Today, we are talking with one of the leaders of the Solidarnost movement Vladimir Milov.
Question: You are taking an active part in Boris Nemtsov's election campaign. What is happening in Sochi now?
Answer: The election campaign has not yet started. Officially, it begins on March 27. So far, mostly lesser known candidates have announced their intention to run for the position of Sochi Mayor, and submitted the relevant documents. Alexander Lebedev, Andrei Lugovoi, and Anastasia Volochkova have not yet turned in any documents, and it is not clear when they are going to do this because time is running out. Nemtsov has complied with all the official requirements, and if he is registered, he can start campaigning next Friday.
Q: Is Nemtsov likely to be refused registration?
A: For the time being, we have not met any obstacles. More than that, when Nemtsov submitted his documents and opened an election deposit account, employees of the election committee were impeccably polite to him. Everything was done according to the law.
Q: How will Nemtsov build his election campaign? What can this man offer to Sochi, a man who has not lived there for many years?
A: I cannot disclose the details of his campaign. Many things will become clear when it starts in a week. At one time, Nemtsov headed a Government Commission on Sochi. Incidentally, we saw that many problems, which the Government discussed in 1997 and 1998, remain unresolved. Nemtsov has an idea of resolving municipal projects linked with the engineering infrastructure, transportation, and energy supplies. He understands the budget situation (in 2001, the city transferred control over its finances to the Krasnodar Territory's administration).
Q: In a sense, this is external management of the city.
A: Yes, it is. Sochi cannot control its finances. Boris Nemtsov is well aware of this. The city's residents consider him a member of the opposition; there is a certain risk in this but they are so desperate that they have themselves asked him to represent their interests.
Q: Today, Sochi's life revolves around the Olympics. This is a federal project. What influence can the Sochi Mayor exert on this process?
A: I think this is how the situation looks from Moscow. Sochi has a great deal of other problems, for instance, barbarous cramming of buildings into small spaces. Now the city is covered with idle construction sites - everything came to a halt because of the crisis. The city has no general development plan; its trees and bushes are being uprooted. All this is linked to corruption and non-transparent distribution of plots of land. Small business has been crushed. The forthcoming Olympics may turn Sochi into a huge construction site for several years, and this will scare tourists off. The Games will subject the city to excessive construction, engineering works, as well as environmental and migration pressure. For this reason, it is vital to refine our plan for the Olympics. Nemtsov suggested transferring some competitions to other regions - this is permitted by the Olympic Charter.
Q: How will you account for the fact that the crisis does not reflect on the Prime Minister and the President's reputation?
A: Only half a year has passed since the active stage of the crisis. Few people have felt its full effect, and few realise that the authorities could have worked better. People are subjected to massive propaganda, and the government-controlled media are telling them that Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev are doing a huge amount to overcome economic difficulties brought to us by the United States. When people are subjected to all this, they think they have their saviours. They need time to understand that the Government's measures fail to produce the desired effect. Life will continue going from bad to worse. Several months are required for the ratings to start diving.
Q: How effective are the anti-crisis measures of the Russian authorities?
A: Absolutely ineffective. The authorities are in the main propping up the financial system but do not give loans to the real economy. Because of this, industry is collapsing. The Central Bank is introducing high interest rates and restricting the amount of cash, which could stimulate economic activity. The Government has saved some major corporations from default but failed to prevent their bankruptcy. Now RusAl's bankruptcy is being discussed. There are other companies that may go bankrupt.
In recent years, major corporations have been reaching out without thinking about the effectiveness of their investment. They were buying everything around them. Oleg Deripaska was busy purchasing construction companies, [engineering corporation] Transstroy, as well as real estate. Now he has no money to repay huge debts because global prices on raw materials have dropped. His companies are insolvent. Why we taxpayers should pay for his debts? It is quite possible to bankrupt RusAl in a civilised manner, change its ownership, and protect its employees with federal funds rather than give them to Deripaska to keep afloat his ineffective empire.
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Listen live to the programme Vlast at 8 pm Moscow time every Friday on Ekho Moskvy radio station.
