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Main page > Products > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts - The weekly bulletin > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (42) 730
Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (42) 730
October 6 - 12, 2008
Main tendencies of political week
Last week the power tandem members once again demonstrated their interchangeability and ability to act in a coordinated manner in a crisis situation. Vladimir Putin temporarily ceded his role of the main anti-crisis manager to Dmitry Medvedev and later approved economic decisions made by his successor. The PM paid special attention to a dialogue with mass media. At the same time he made an important statement regarding inadmissibility of direct administrative influence on journalists, which provides for the supposition that authorities will focus on the ‘carrot’ policy in the form of government contracts.
There were activities in the party segment of public policy. The agrarian party officially confirmed its intention to join United Russia. This is a mutually beneficial decision: agrarians will have an opportunity to return to federal politics while United Russia at the next regional elections may increase the level of its support in some regions where the agrarian party has been traditionally strong. At the same time attempts of Just Russia to make a symmetric response to UR look futile, because on the party field there are no really attractive assets for acquisition, except the communist party. It should be pointed out that the party politics occupies more and more space in the mainstream, which is testified to by meetings of the power tandem members with party leaders and State Duma deputies. This is likely to be the way state authorities are trying to secure support of all Duma factions amid the crisis.
Inside-elite struggle again became latent, though it does not mean it is declining. As expected Yevgeny Bachurin, chief of the federal air transportation service, resigned, which additionally weakens positions of his patron, federal drug control service head Viktor Ivanov. Yet, this was not a really considerable blow for the latter, as the official has lost interest in the aviation industry lately.
Radical siloviki headed by Igor Sechin continued strengthening their positions in the electrical energy sector, which can be attributed to several reasons. Finally, representatives of this elite group assumed the offensive on some high-profile cases including the Storchak, Bulbov and Khodorkovsky cases.
Major events October 6 - October 13, 2008
| Event | Winning side | Defeated side | Development Outlooks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dmitry Medvedev participates in Stability-2008 war games | Dmitry Medvedev |
| President will continue getting used to the image of supreme commander-in-chief |
| Vladimir Putin says mass media should be influenced through government contracts, not by direct state regulation | Vladimir Putin |
| Previously observed attempts of direct administrative pressure on mass media will cease |
| Congress of the Agrarian Party of Russia | United Russia | Just Russia | Merger with the agrarian party will help UR improve its results in some regions at the next elections |
| The leader of the Just Russia faction in the State Duma, Nikolay Levichev, says that the greens will soon join his party |
|
| This will not be equivalent to the agrarian party joining UR |
| Dmitry Medvedev nominates Sergey Knyazev, head of the Primorsky Region election commission, to the post of Constitutional Court judge | Dmitry Medvedev | Valery Zorkin | It is possible that later Knyazev will replace Zorkin as Constitutional Court Chairperson |
| Igor Sechin is nominated to Inter RAO UES board of directors | Igor Sechin |
| The deputy PM is very likely to head the board of directors |
| Dmitry Medvedev signs decree dissolving the Federal Agency for Physical Culture and Sports |
|
| Given Vyacheslav Fetisov’s resignation this decision is logical and will not lead to real redistribution of spheres of influence in the sports ministry |
| Information is posted that Yevgeny Bachurin, head of the Federal Air Transportation Agency, has resigned |
| Viktor Ivanov | Bachurin’s resignation will not seriously affect Viktor Ivanov’s positions |
| Final charges are filed against deputy finance minister Sergey Storchak | Alexander Bastrykin | Sergey Storchak, Alexey Kudrin | Storchak’s defense may try to protract the case |
| Maria Kovaleva, secretary of federal drug control service general Alexander Bulbov, is charged |
| Alexander Bulbov | Bulbov may start cooperating with investigators |
| Mikhail Khodorkovsky is placed in a punishment cell |
| Mikhail Khodorkovsky | The former tycoon’s defense is very unlikely to win parole for him |
Volume: 15 pages
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National Energy Security Fund © 2007