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Main page > Products > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts - The weekly bulletin > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (51) 687 Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (51) 687December 10 - 16, 2007 Main political trends of the weekThe key event of the last week and of the entire year was the nomination of Dmitry Medvedev for presidency. Vladimir Putin “backed the choice” of four parties that had nominated Medvedev. Despite that the main intrigue of the upcoming election campaign seems to be solved, there are still many questions. First, Vladimir Putin has not said that he would back only Medvedev. Secondly, there is still no certainty regarding the format of power transition. One of the key questions is the future job of Vladimir Putin. The rumor that was spread last week that he would become prime minister seems dubious. Most likely, this was done to encourage Putin’s voters to back Dmitry Medvedev. This might also have been a request to Medvedev from the power groups that support him. In case Putin really takes the prime minister post, he will need to tweak several Constitution articles to expand PM authority at the expense of presidential powers. Despite that the questions remain, several representatives of the power clans that have been suffering from the stir up of the Kremlin’s “security officials” clique are increasing their energies. In particular, Minister of Finance Aleksey Kudrin for the first time since the arrest of his Deputy Sergei Storchak managed to meet with him. The General Prosecutor’s Office announced plans to probe Investigation Committee – recently, IC has become the main instrument of the “security officials” clan against opponents. In other news, the Federal Supervision Agency for Customer Protection and Human Welfare (or Rospotrebnadzor) said it would audit retail banks. Earlier, the watchdog’s chief Gennady Onischenko had to retreat into the shadow after a row of defeats in the standoff with the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, whose head Igor Artemyev is also affiliated with the “Kremlin’s security officials.” The Kremlin’s “security heads” or siloviki tried to take several countermeasures and improve their image. In particular, deputy head of the presidential administration Igor Sechin met with the widows of the killed FSB officers and promised support to them, which may be interpreted as an attempt to unite the “siloviki corporation” around him. Secondly, the ally of this elite clan - Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov – told Aleksey Kudrin to find the billion rubles that was “lost on the way to the Far East,” which is seen as a hint at minister’s incompetence. Despite that one of the clans that had lobbied for Dmitry Medvedev was the so-called “family group,” its protégés continue leaving the government following the former head of Healthcare and Social Development Minister Mikhail Zurabov. In particular, last week Gennady Batanov – the head of Pension Fund – requested resignation. Earlier, the same was done by the Chairperson of Social Insurance Fund Galina Karelova. Major events Dec 10, 2007 - Dec 16, 2007
Volume: 15 pages If you are interested to obtain please contact » Elena Kim Other issues: |
Special report:Nord Stream 2 and Ukraine: Costs Should DecideShale Revolution: Myths and RealitiesLiquefied Natural Gas Outlook: Expectations and RealityAnalytical series “The Political compass”:Political power in Russia after presidential electionState Corporations in the Russian EconomyPolitical Results of 2007: Russia on the Eve of Power ShufflePolitical Landscape Ahead of the Parliamentary Election 2007«Centers of influence» in the Russian politicsLeading Russian corporations and the executive power: interaction methodsForecast of political developments after the presidential election in 2008 |
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