FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN (GERMANY)
Poverty makes one rich
During the economic downturn the backward Russian regions fall back on the values that are immune to crisis. The price of orders and medals that regional rulers are giving out is the higher the greater the region's financial dependence on the federal budget. The extremely poor Kalmykia is 90% financed by Moscow while its President decorates foremost individuals with a White Lotus Order made of platinum and adorned with 13 diamonds and 8 rubies...
But the biggest number of decorations are handed out in Chechnya which depends 90% on Moscow subsidies. Mr Kadyrov, a big man in Northern Caucasus, hands out orders "for the development of Chechen parliamentarism" and even "for civic courage"...
Prime Minister Putin seems to be disappointed with the shoots that have sprouted from his vertical power structure. There were icy notes in the Prime Minister's voice when he asked Mr Kadyrov during their recent meeting in Moscow about the gigantic new mosque in Grozny adorned with 36 huge Swarowski chandeliers. Nevertheless the Chechen Government declared that Vladimir Putin was greatly impressed by the pompous mosque.
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BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Russia according to Putin
In order to understand Vladimir Putin's Russia clichés such as "the Russians have never known what democracy is" are not enough... If the Russians reconcile themselves to the Putin regime they are distancing themselves preferring not to be involved in the Kremlin-led political circus....
The main thing... is the revival of fear which prevailed throughout the Soviet period. The people have not only been sidelined out of necessity, but they have been tamed. The Russians have refused to choose a leader out of the multitude of alternatives and turned their backs on any form of political life... they find solace in withdrawing into their personal and professional life..."
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NEW YORK, USA
Government subsidies do harm
For four decades the AvtoVAZ plant in Togliatti has been churning out the same model of Lada, the "people's car" in the former Eastern bloc... It is one of the least profitable car factories in the world: every worker produces an average eight cars a year. By comparison a worker at a General Motors assembly line... produces 36 cars...
The authorities give AvtoVAZ billions of dollars without any conditions. No sackings of directors. No renegotiations of employment contracts with the workers. No demands to produce higher quality cars, not to speak of producing economy cars with hybrid engines. (The first car fitted with a safety bag was produced here in 2005).
Financial assistance... is aimed mainly to secure calm in the streets than to restructure business, much to the disappointment of some critics who believe that stricter demands could yield a better result... The Kremlin, in the opinion of politicians and economists, believes that it can preserve peace and tranquility by giving financial help to the Russian workers.
The Russian production base, unstable at the best of times, is fast contracting in the context of the global crisis. Jobs are being cut everywhere. Output dropped 13% in February alone. Industrial unrest is growing in out-of-the-way Russian industrial towns... When 400 people were fired in Togliatti in December from a joint venture with General Motors, OMON riot police had to be brought in to disperse the angry crowd....
AvtoVAZ does not just produce cars, it performs a social role. It provides jobs. For good or bad, the state must support AvtoVAZ, Vladimir Yagutyan, former Deputy Mayor of Togliatti, said in an interview. The welfare of the city depends on it." Other than the company's role as major employer there is not much point in supporting the ageing giant, economists think.
The plant is a monument to Soviet obsession with giant industries... It employs 104,000 workers many of whom still use primitive spanners. AvtoVAZ and its suppliers provide employment for 2 million people out of the total Russian workforce of 75 million, the plant's management argues. Many of the 75 million work in small and medium towns close to Moscow...
Even those who had to take an involuntary leave do not seem to worry about being redundant. "The plant feeds us, says Denis Makarov. We have nothing else. If it stops the whole city will take to the streets. We all understand it..."
Replying to this newspaper's written questions, the AvtoVAZ management stressed the "indisputable advantages" of the company in the crisis period because of the low cost of its products. A modification of a boxy FIAT 124 acquired by the company in 1974 sells for just $4160...
Even the trade unions, which are used to expecting the worst from the enterprise management, believe that redundancies are unthinkable. "In this city and in this country it would develop into a political problem, the coordinator of the Interregional Car Makers' Union, Andrei Lyapin, said in an interview. So, enough money will be printed to pay all these people."
Nikolai Zubov