RBC Daily: “Gryzlov’s premature statement”
Boos's future to be decided any day now.
The Kremlin has not yet made any decision on the future of Georgy Boos, the governor of the Kaliningrad Region. Two sources in the president's administration confirmed to RBC Daily that statements about United Russia's decision to nominate Boos for a new term are unfounded. One of them added: "Gryzlov made a premature statement."
Boos's term runs out in the middle of September. United Russia officials told RBC Daily that official consultations on the nominees for the position of the exclave's governor have not yet been held. The party is planning to start the process this week so as to compile a list of potential candidates by August 15. By tradition, the party does not release details on the consultations, nor the names of potential nominees.
This is why party boss and Duma Speaker Gryzlov's statement has caused so many questions. He suddenly said in an interview to a Kaliningrad television station a week ago that the party decided to nominate Boos for a new term. "Of course, we will nominate Boos as a candidate and the President will make his choice. The region's development is based on the objective set by Vladimir Putin – to double the GRP in 30 years," he said.
The Kremlin was not too happy about Gryzlov's statement. "Gryzlov spoke prematurely," a source in the presidential administration told RBC Daily. He added that although Boos coped very well with the crisis when anti-government rallies demanding the government and Putin's resignation took to the street last January, it was he who allowed it to break out. "Like many non-politicians who work as governors, Boos fulfilled his duties but did not consider it necessary to explain his policy to the public. This is why massive rallies took place in the exclave," the source explained.
He believes Gryzlov made his statement because of his positive attitude toward Boos and a desire "to push developments in the right direction." "Nevertheless, the party has not yet decided to extend Boos's term," he said. This does not mean that Boos will resign. His chances for reappointment are fifty-fifty.
It seems that Boos himself is not worried about his future. People from his inner circle told RBC Daily that he is easily letting key people go on vacation in August, as if he is not expecting any upheaval. And he is doing this despite several opposition movements' plans to stage a massive rally against him in Kaliningrad on August 21. Participants in the rally want to inform the president "about the opinion of city residents on the real state of affairs in the region."
As a source in the region told RBC Daily, since Boos is obviously undisturbed by such threats, people in his circle believe he is confident in his future and has already received guarantees from the top. The governor's adviser Svetlana Obolentseva assured RBC Daily that Boos will comply with any decision that President Dmitry Medvedev will make in his regard: "If the party and the President tell him to remain for the next term, he will stay. If they make the opposite decision, he will go."
The list of nominees for the governor's position has not yet been finalized. A source close to the situation in the Northwest Federal District told RBC Daily that the planned rally is making Boos's reappointment even more likely. "If the governor is dismissed from his position because of the rally, next day protests will sweep the entire country. So participants in this rally will only play into the governor's hand," he explained.
The source believes that now the potential candidates will start fighting for the benevolence of those who draft the president's decisions – Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Naryshkin and his First Deputy Vladislav Surkov. There are two competing teams – Presidential Envoy in the Northwest Federal District Ilya Klebanov who placed his bets on his Deputy, Alexander Datsyshin, and has long wished to replace Boos, on the one hand, and the supporters of the current governor, on the other.
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Over one-third of Russians predict a ban on government criticism
According to information from the Levada Analytical Center, over a third of all Russians believe that the authorities may soon prohibit any criticism of their policy. Reuters writes that the opposition's apprehensions that the ruling tandem of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev are cracking down have become stronger after the extension of authority of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the tightening of approval procedures for protest rallies that have become more frequent because of growing unemployment.
In the opinion of 33% of respondents, the authorities will use the Law on Countering Extremism to fight political opposition.
By Tatyana Kosobokova
