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Main page > Products > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts - The weekly bulletin > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (14) 702
Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (14) 702
March 24 - 30, 2008
Infighting gets chaotic
The last week say abrupt splash of political infighting. During the time period between the presidential election and the inauguration of the new head of state top government players are trying to revise the heritage of the retreating president. If under Vladimir Putin the disavowing of the Yeltsin’s heritage happened during the second presidential tenure mainly for the purpose of encouraging voters, current opponents to the Putin’s course want to use every effort. In particular, in February at least two documents emerged that reflected on the Putin’s “heritage” and in March this comparison of the Putin’s and Yeltsin’s epochs continued with a new force. Most likely, this campaign will reach another peak by Yeltsin’s death anniversary in late April 2008.
Fierce competition is on between senior security officials. The tendency is that the services that used to stay neutral are now joining the turf war. The replacement of the first deputy minister of interior shows that the competition for the minister office is escalating. Besides, the erstwhile fight between the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigations Committee seems to be progressing: the investigation in regards to several high-ranked IC officers reveal that the head of this service Alexander Bastrykin is not confident in his own strength and is willing to forestall his opponents. Besides, the conflict inside the Ministry of Defense, which has been predicted by the CPKR experts – between the civil officials led by Anatoly Serdyukov and the generals led by the HQ Chief Yuri Baluyevsky has finally spilled in the mass media.
A similar situation is in the economic and social blocks of the government. The fight is on between the Minister of Agriculture Aleksey Gordeyev, Minister Aleksey Kudrin and Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina. As a result, the second and third levels of the government are being reshuffled. It seems that such status quo will remain until early May if the top government floor is not reshuffled before that time.
Major events March 24 - March 30, 2008
| Event | To whose benefit | To whose disadvantage | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
Dmitry Medvedev gives an interview to Financial Times | Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin | Dmitry Medvedev will continue positioning himself as an adherent to the Vladimir Putin’s course | |
Dmitry Medvedev chairs State Council in Tobolsk | Dmitry Medvedev | Until inauguration, the successor will focus exclusively on economic problems | |
Minister of Finances Aleksey Kudrin says VAT cannot be cut earlier than 2010-2011 | Aleksey Kudrin | If such independent play is left without negative consequences, Kudrin’s administrative weight will improve | |
Mikhail Sukhodolsky is named the first deputy minister of interior | It is possible that Rashid Nurgaliyev will stop trying to distance from the Kremlin’s siloviki group | ||
Senior officials of the Investigations Committee are fired and charged with graft | Yuri Chaika | Alexander Bastrykin | Possibly, investigation will be just an imitation and will be canceled after the results of GPO probe into IC are announced |
IC Head Bastrykin says a unified investigating agency should not be established | Alexander Bastrykin | This statement will have no effect on the plans to make such agency | |
Ministry of Defense denies that HQ Chief Yuri Baluyevsky resigns | Yuri Baluyevsky | Anatoly Serdyukov | Baluyevsky will stay in the cross hairs |
Sergei Kalashnikov appointed head of the Social Insurance Fund | Maksim Kalashnikov, Alexandra Levitskaya | Levtskaya’s chances to become the head of the Pension Fund have increased | |
A First Vice PM Sergei Ivanov gives an interview to Izvestiya | Sergei Ivanov | Sergei Ivanov will continue grabbing headlines to keep high status after government reshuffle | |
Russia’s representatives in OSCE Aleksey Borodavkin is appointed deputy minister of foreign affairs | Sergei Lavrov | The stronghold of the adherents to strict course towards the West inside the ministry will be fortified | |
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Anatoly Temkin resigns | Yuri Trutnev | Possibly, this is a sign that Yuri Trutnev will leave the ministry in May | |
Federal Education and Science Supervision Agency Head Viktor Bolotov resigns. | Andrei Fursenko | Possibly, investigation in the service will resume | |
FGUP NTC Atlas is transferred from the Federal Industry Agency to the Ministry of Information and Communication. | Leonid Reiman, Mikhail Mokretsov | The both services will be happy with the “division” | |
Deputy General Prosecutor Alexander Gutsan says his service plans to destroy imported counterfeit goods not depending on their state and suitability for use, except for the goods representing cultural value. | Yuri Petrov | If this proposal is enacted, RFFI will lose a significant share of income | |
Boris Nemtsov says that the new “united democratic opposition is not going the Limonov’s way.” | The collapse of the Kremlin-critical opposition into “leftists” and “rightists” will continue intensifying | ||
Federation Council members propose a special anti-corruption service | This proposal will not be carried out |
Valume: 17 pages
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