Vladimir Putin demands that all problems be settled overnight
Yesterday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Presidium of the Council for the Preparation for the 2014 Olympics. Kommersant special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov reported that the unresolved problems surrounding the preparation for the Olympics made the Prime Minister blow his top. Mr Putin gave an ultimatum to the members of the Presidium demanding that they resolve matters by the next morning - not before and not after.
The members of the Council gathered at the Rus holiday hotel while Chairman of the Council Presidium Putin met with Chairman of Nord Stream's Shareholders Committee Gerhard Schröder and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller at his Riviera residence.
The businessmen at the Presidium could hardly be bothered with the Sochi Olympics problems. "The crucial thing is that people shouldn't withdraw their money from banks," Interros President Vladimir Potanin said.
Apparently, businessmen are truly concerned about a panic, which typically has no grounds and can be prompted by anything, even by this sentence.
However, Mr Potanin believes there is no reason for panic - businesses that had something to lose have already done so. On the other hand, investors can buy what's left for little money (still, one cannot rule out that tomorrow it will cost much less).
Vyacheslav Fetisov reported that in the second and third reading, the State Duma adopted an amendment abolishing residential qualification for members of the Russian Parliament's Upper Chamber (it seems likely that residential qualification will cease to exist to let Vyacheslav Fetisov become a member of the Federation Council), and that in a few days the Federation Council will pass this amendment. ("What did you say?" Mr Fetisov asked replying to my question, "There was no quorum in the Maritime Territory Legislative Assembly, which is why I haven't been appointed? Balderdash. They gather once a month, and I was nominated only two weeks ago.")
A former NHL player and coach, he was offered a monthly pension of 40,000 - dollars, as it turned out later ("When I turn 55, it will double," Mr Fetisov made no secret of it) - so, he must have been the only person here with nothing to worry about. Someone immediately suggested that he should invest a part of that sum in a Russian bank, VTB for example. I presume Mr Fetisov gave it a thought, although his face remained inscrutable.
LUKoil head, Vagit Alekperov, said LUKoil capitalisation volume had fallen and that "the Finance Ministry should secure the Russian banking system's liquidity" (did he mean that the Finance Ministry is now concerned with something else?).
"Yes," Mr Alekperov confessed, "foreign shareholders are partly withdrawing funds from our company to invest in other projects. But I see no tragedy: the remaining money is of a strategic character."
Meanwhile, it gives the impression that several participants of the meeting should consider staying at the Rus holiday hotel for more time after the meeting ends: they may need treatment or therapy at any moment.
Only Transport Minister Igor Levitin radiated absolute composure and confidence in tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and any day of the week. He presented a project of a two-level interchange in front of Adler airport, which is to be completed by 2013, but, according to Igor Levitin, it must be built as soon as possible: average traffic speed here is now 10-12 kilometers per hour, whereas it is planned to be increased to 50-60 kilometres per hour. One can only guess (actually I don't even want to imagine) how fast cars will drive here while the interchange is being constructed.
Opening the meeting, Vladimir Putin appeared moderately optimistic, if "moderately", and not "optimistic", is the key word. He stated that "the process is gathering momentum", and "there is even construction" at 19 sites.
In reality, Mr Putin is likely to be getting more concerned over the real state of affairs. The Prime Minister is in a tricky position: he cannot openly criticise the preparation for the Olympics in his well-known approach which results in leaves wilting on trees, pine trees dropping their needles, and storms breaking out in the Black Sea: his words will be echoed at the International Olympic Committee. On the other hand, he can't remain silent any longer.
That is why the Prime Minister rather tactfully noted that there are problems in building management, in moving people from the zone of future Olympic sites to other territories...
These problems are obvious, but, as Igor Levitin said before the meeting, "If we appoint a new person, it will take him or her two years to learn what is going on here, and then he or she will propose doing everything the other way round."
While Mr Putin delivered his opening address, "Public Hearings on the Engineering Defence of the Lower Imeretinsk Lowland" were ending in the centre of Sochi. The plan is to lay out the main Olympic park there. So far, the problem of moving people from that territory hasn't been resolved either, but Olympstroi's smartest officials are already thinking about developing the site they gained through so much suffering.
To begin with, the soil there is silt, and there is peat in many places. Something will need to be done about this surface. For instance, you could try to remove it. But Olympstroi came up with a completely different solution: cover the territory with a two-and-a-half metre layer of gravel and sand, rather than remove the silt and peat. Experts have already calculated that 4.5 million cubic metres, or nine million tons, of gravel and sand mixture will be required. The local port, which is now under construction, will be able to process five million tons of cargo annually, at best.
Environmentalists have been shocked by this project: if it is realised, it will mean the death of all living creatures in the Imeretinsk Valley, which has been rich in flora and fauna.
Environmentalists suggested that the hearings should be regarded as not having taken place at all due to the project's absurdity. Olympstroi didn't even protest: they will take their time to think it over again, offer another proposal, prepare a project, and hold public hearings.
In any case, you could not regard the meeting at the Rus holiday hotel as "not having taken place." It was held. And, according to reports in Kommersant, it proceeded in a romantic atmosphere.
"Property and liberty! This has always been the core, and nothing has changed!" one of the participants of the meeting exclaimed as he stepped outdoors.
Inside, Mr Putin came to the realisation that many projects have not even begun, that the problem of relocating residents hasn't been addressed - and finally he burst out. He demanded that by the next morning they report to him a coordinated plan concerning all disputed matters, which have gone unsettled for months.
One undefined project is what the Adler - Krasnaya Polyana highway will look like: whether it will be combined with a railway line, or be independent. The Transport Ministry has plans for both variants and is ready to build, but it doesn't know on which concept to proceed.
By the next morning many other issues had to be coordinated. The members of the Presidium had every reason to stay on in Sochi.
Mr Putin's irritation was natural, given that he was to meet with the IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Killy the next day.
This is why the participants of the meeting didn't rush out the door immediately. They sought to settle matters right then and there. But, as far as I could see, after a brief and passionate debate, they bogged down even further.
They may have understood that the situation had really deteriorated and something had to be done. Dmitry Kozak, for example, even told the press that all Olympic sites will be ready by 2012 (except for the notorious highway).
Nevertheless, there was one truly happy Presidium member - Vladimir Potanin, "It's like my second birthday! They have returned 540 hectares to me! They have given me land! And then I asked for another 100 hectares - and they gave that to me! Can you believe it? And I had doubts about attending this meeting at all! Do you know why they gave me this land? Because I am a reliable investor!"
Potanin explained later that he will get 100 hectares "in accordance with the 310th resolution, via Olympstroi". Mr Potanin took on building the Olympic Village as well as the construction of a site for freestyle and snowboard competitions. To this end, he was given 100 hectares of land.
As for the 540 hectares, that is the tract at Roza Hutor, which is now contested by Rosimushchestvo. The plan is to construct a downhill slalom slope there.
"Earlier," Mr Potanin explained, "the Sochi National Park allocated land for this venue, and now Rosimushchestvo is responsible for it. During the process of transferring the land we encountered problems. And today they have been resolved in one fell swoop!"
So, I should say you can benefit from being a reliable investor after all.
