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Main page > Products > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts - The weekly bulletin > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (46) 734
Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (46) 734
November 3 - 9, 2008
Main tendencies of political week
Dmitry Medvedev’s Address to the Federal Assembly became the priority topic last week. Despite previously voiced suppositions, the Address contained a sizeable range of domestic policy issues. The document’s peculiarity, compared to previous addresses, was a noticeable appeal to moral values that the president suggested as the basis of informal pact between the elites and the public. The analysis of the values mentioned and their order in the president’s speech provide for the supposition that in the light of the Address the president acts as advocate of a socially oriented and paternalist system with elements of new liberalism that has little in common with dogmas of the Anglo-Saxon origin.
In addition to ideological component, the document contains a substantial number of concrete instructions to modernize the political system. The statement regarding prolongation of the president’s term in office to six years and of the State Duma’s to five years came as almost complete surprise. On the whole, this is aimed at stabilizing Russia’s political system and avoiding holding the presidential and parliamentary elections close to each other, which should decrease the agitation pressure on voters. These initiatives resulted in a new wave of rumors that the president has allegedly “worked off his contract with Vladimir Putin” and is not bound by anything; however, such speculations are likely to be the desire of thaw apologists to put a brave face on a sorry business.
Another important range of issues in the Address is devoted to reforms of the party system. On the whole, they are aimed at intensifying the party life by encouraging the so-called small parties. In particular, the president’s proposal to allocate one or two seats to political parties that collect 5% and 7% of the vote can be considered an attempt to encourage emerging parties that are not yet able to satisfy all necessary conditions to qualify to the State Duma.
Growing economic problems seem to have promoted consolidation of the elites and resulted in postponing some structural reforms for an indefinite period. In particular, Investigation Committee head Alexander Bastrykin’s statement that there has not been a political decision made regarding the creation of the single investigation body can be considered as evident sign of the refusal to carry out this reform.
Major events November 3 - November 9, 2008
| Event | Winning side | Defeated side | Development Outlooks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dmitry Medvedev’s Address to the Federal Assembly is promulgated | Dmitry Medvedev |
| The country will pursue the course of conservative modernization |
| Vladimir Putin commissions United Russia leaders to support all initiatives voiced by the president in the Address | Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin |
| Amendments to the Constitution will not be made earlier than next year due to a long procedure |
| Dmitry Medvedev instructs law enforcement agencies to toughly react to attempts to spread panic and use the negative situation in the economy to one’s advantage | Rashid Nurgaliyev, Alexander Bastrykin, Alexander Bortnikov |
| The role of law enforcement agencies will rise |
| Investigation committee head Alexander Bastrykin says a political decision to establish the single investigation body is not made | Alexander Bastrykin | Yury Chaika | Reforms of the law enforcement agencies are postponed for an indefinite period |
| Rashid Nurgaliyev reports about the results of the interior ministry’s activities | Rashid Nurgaliyev |
| This will not influence the minister’s positions in general |
| Deputy defense minister Nikolay Pankov says there will be no reduction of military schools | Anatoly Serdyukov |
| In the process of enlarging military schools there will be reduction in the teaching staff without prior arrangement |
| State Duma passes the package of presidential anti-graft bills in the first reading |
|
| The bills will be approved in the shortest time possible |
| Vladimir Zubrin is appointed deputy justice minister | Yury Chaika, Viktor Cherkesov | Alexander Bastrykin | The new appointee will represent the interests of Yury Chaika and Viktor Cherkesov |
| Actions of nationalists on Day of People’s Unity |
|
| Without real control of migration flows it will be hard for state authorities to cope with xenophobia of the Russian public |
| Federal bailiff service head Nikolay Vinnichenko says that in 2009 the number of officers in the service will increase by one third | Nikolay Vinnichenko |
| Vinnichenko will keep lobbying the idea of broadening authority of his service and its gradual transformation into a power body. |
Volume: 15 pages
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