The prime minister does
a stint as United Russia leader in Vladimir.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flew to Vladimir yesterday. By looking at a local sports
facility and spending 40 minutes receiving petitioners at the United Russia
Public Reception Office he confirmed his guiding role in the life of United
Russia, giving a much needed boost to the image of the party, which faces a
regional election on October 11, 2009. This is the opinion of our special
correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov.
The sports and health complex
where everyone gathered for Vladimir Putin's arrival had a bubble top. A
two-storey stand-alone building next door looked far more imposing. I thought
the brick building had been intended for trainers, that it was the first to be
built and that whatever money was left over was used for the polyester roof
over an arena measuring 60 by 30
metres.
"Wrestlers, jumpers and
runners work out here," a member of the staff sounded very emotional. "There is
room for all of them."
"Isn't the place overcrowded?"
I asked.
"And how," she laughed. "They
quarrel over space all day. We are afraid it would come to blows."
I imagined a brawl between the
runners and jumpers being waged with feet.
Prior to the prime minister's arrival
in Vladimir,
everybody was running around. I thought that after his departure the city might
be renamed Vladimir Vladimorovich (after Putin).
Meanwhile, the top brass of
United Russia had gathered at the sports centre: Boris Gryzlov, Vyacheslav
Volodin, Sergey Shoigu... The only vacant seat was intended for the party's leader,
who at that moment was dedicating a bridge in Murom
(having missed the opening of a bridge at Yuribei [on Yamal Peninsula]
a week earlier.)
In his absence, questions were
fielded by Vyacheslav Volodin, a party leader. He explained the connection
between United Russia and the sports complex project.
"Was it built with United Russia's
money?" he was asked.
"That's not the way to put the
question," he sounded distressed.
"Has United Russia ever spent
its money on anything but elections?" I pressed on.
"It's the same all over the
world," Vyacheslav Volodin looked more cheerful now. "The party initiates a
project, which is then financed by federal and local budgets. Later, the
facility may become a political question."
All the signs pointed to the
sports complex having already become such question.
"This is a red-letter day for you,
isn't it?" I asked. "With the regional elections coming up, the party leader
will come to his public reception room in Vladimir,
and this new sports complex. What more can the rank-and-file hope for?"
Vyacheslav Volodin looked as
if he was about to challenge me on that, but then changed his mind.
"Yes, I agree," he replied. "It
is a red-letter day."
"Don't you think that the
event could turn sour?" I asked. "I hear that you have not used any
administrative resources, so, win or lose, it will be your responsibility."
"Yes, Vladimir Putin and
Dmitry Medvedev had agreed to their names being used in the United Russia
election campaign. However, I agree with you there too. The party is eight
years old; it is time for it to become independent."
Meanwhile the "Merry Starts"
competition had begun in the gym. Vladimir Putin was supposed to make his
appearance at the height of the competition whose name was very much in tune
with the nature of the race United Russia would be engaged in through October
11.
"Merry Starts" in Vladimir were indeed
merry. Putin thanked all the participants for their spirit and dedication, two
qualities that are woefully absent in political contests.
On the way from the sports
complex to the public reception office Vladimir Putin saw welcoming banners
which read: "Vladimir
is the heart of United Russia."
At the public reception office
an old pensioner asked the prime minister when and by how much pensions would
be raised and Putin, for the hundredth time in the last two weeks, explained
when and by how much. But then the pensioner, who listened to him as if he were
God Almighty, asked: "How did this basic pension come into being? I used to get
132 roubles and that was fine."
"But since then the pension
has been split into the basic and insurance portions," the prime minister explained.
"Our pensions have been split
into two parts," there were tears in the woman's eyes. Obviously she was not
happy with the result.
I thought that the prime
minister would promise to reintegrate both portions of the pension if only to
calm his visitor. But Putin resisted the temptation and confined himself to
saying that initially the labour contribution of pensioners had not been
properly translated into cash and that now everything will be recalculated to
set things right.
"Can I get the Labour Veteran
title," the woman asked Putin, but her request did not elicit any firm
promises.
Putin had little of substance
to promise the next group of visitors, who asked for a sports complex in the
town of Yuryev-Polsky.
Putin did not acquiesce even when one visitor said
his fellow citizens would not allow him back into Yuryev-Polsky without the
promise of a new sports complex.
Igor Samorukov, a farmer,
accused the biggest dairy producers of colluding to brazenly cut milk prices.
Again, Vladimir Putin hedged,
promising to look into the matter.
Another businessman, Vladimir
Mokhov, complained that city authorities were depriving him of a sauna by
refusing to extend a lease contract.
"Is it some kind of bathhouse
for the elite?" the prime minister asked with a shade of suspicion.
"Oh, no," the businessman
looked worried. "It is a public bathhouse, the only one in Kovrov. They are
going to evict us."
"So they are going to evict
you," the prime minister repeated. "That's in Kovrov?"
"Kovrov," Mr Mokhov confirmed
eagerly.
One might have expected that
the city would get more than its share of attention after this conversation.
Yet Putin remained strangely pensive.
"Unfortunately, this is by no
means the only instance when the authorities break the law," he said. "The
Prosecutor's Office will look into this case. Unfortunately, a court appeal may
fail without robust support," the prime minister observed, admitting the
impotence of the judiciary system. "We will launch a multi-pronged attack. You
must not give up, go to the courthouse first thing in the morning."
The businessman, it appears,
did not even wait for the next morning. He had already arranged for support:
the TV cameras of all the nation's main channels were whirring.
In the course of the latest
regional elections United Russia seemed to have lost its main administrative
resource. Not a single visitor received by Mr Putin that night came away
confident in the next day.
Andrei Kolesnikov
