 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Main page > Products > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts - The weekly bulletin > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (47) 735
Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (47) 735
November 10 - 16, 2008
Main tendencies of political week
The President’s Address and the pace of its implementation remained the main topic of domestic politics. Some observers, having failed to initiate an intrigue around the fact of prolongation of the president’s and State Duma’s terms, tried to shift debates to the area of possible beneficiaries of this decision. Meanwhile, the pace of implementation of Dmitry Medvedev’s proposals was quite fast: last Tuesday he submitted the bills to the State Duma and last Friday they were already passed in the first reading. It should be noted that at first the president submitted the term prolongation bills that are considered anti-liberal, not the proposals on reforming the party system that can be conditionally called liberal.
Consolidation process on the right wing continued: SPS, DPR and Civil Force declared about their liquidation and a new right party was formed on their basis. Attempts of opponents to hinder unification process failed, despite Boris Nemtsov’s statement that he had found sponsors ready to pay off SPS debts to prevent the party’s liquidation. The voting results showed that loyalist sentiments in the SPS were stronger than the irreconcilables’ leaders had expected.
On the background of political and ideological discussions administrative confrontation became more active, especially in the defense and security agencies. Judging by indirect facts, reforms of law enforcement agencies are delayed and their heads are more optimistic about their future. In particular, the Investigation Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office launched offensive at all directions declaring about completion or/and soon solving of high-profile crimes concerning federal drug control service general Bulbov, general Chechevatov and Social Initiative Company. At the same time the heads of many entities are lobbying transformation of their bodies fully or partially into power agencies expecting sharpening of struggle for resources amid the deteriorating economic situation.
Major events November 10 - November 16, 2008
| Event | Winning side | Defeated side | Development Outlooks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dmitry Medvedev meets with representatives of the parliamentary parties | Dmitry Medvedev |
| The president will intensify a direct dialogue with parliamentary parties, including United Russia |
| Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Le Figaro is published |
|
| Rumors about Dmitry Medvedev’s soon resignation and return of Vladimir Putin to the presidential post will not be confirmed |
| Dmitry Medvedev meets with representatives of heads of Russia’s supreme courts | Valery Zorkin, Anton Ivanov, Vyacheslav Lebedev |
| The role of the judicial branch of power will keep growing |
| Vladimir Putin holds a meeting devoted to issues of financial support to banks | Vladimir Putin |
| Control over expenditure of state funds by banks will toughen, which will result in discontent of many elite groups |
| Deputy PM Igor Sechin demands that the copies of documents on bringing two deputies of Rosprirodnadzor head, Alexey Akulov and Vladimir Smolin, to responsibility must be submitted to him by 25 November | Oleg Mitvol | Vladimir Kirillov | Mitvol’s positions will strengthen on the eve of qualifying evaluation of deputies of Rosprirodnadzor head |
| Oleg Mitvol files an appeal to court requesting carrying out qualification assessment to find out who out of four deputies of the service head should be dismissed | Oleg Mitvol | Vladimir Kirillov | Mitvol is likely to leave Rosprirodnadzor but he will head the service’s public council |
| Audit Chamber approves priority directions of its activities in 2009 to 2011 | Sergey Stepashin |
| Stepashin may request additional authority for his entity |
| Information is posted that a new right party will include Anatoly Chubais, Marietta Chudakova and Alexey Volin | Pravoe Delo |
| The new party will be financed mainly through Anatoly Chubais |
| Constitutional Court instructs Supreme Court to cancel its ruling made three years ago | Constitutional Court | Supreme Court | Struggle for leadership will sharpen among highest courts |
| General Staff chief Nikolay Makarov delivers a speech at an enlarged meeting of the State Duma defense committee |
|
| Reforms in the armed forces will be carried out with minimal concessions to the generals’ lobby |
Volume: 15 pages
Other issues:
Special report:
Nord Stream 2 and Ukraine: Costs Should Decide
There has been much discussion about how Russia – Europe’s biggest gas supplier – can continue to supply gas to Europe over the coming decades in the most secure and cost efficient way. Gazprom and its European partners have decided that building two additional pipelines through the Baltic Sea (Nord Stream 2) is the best commercial solution to secure future gas supplies for the EU, where gas production continues to decline and demand is expected to grow.Shale Revolution: Myths and Realities
The boom in shale gas production in the US and its wide-ranging influence on markets rocked the gas world. Liquefied gas deliveries were redirected, altering the already fragile balance of demand and supply in traditional markets for pipeline gas in Europe.Liquefied Natural Gas Outlook: Expectations and Reality
World market has shown interest to liquefied gas. Russia has so far been aside of it. However, producers have announced several large LNG projects. The new study will help investigate this delicate subject and understand what is in store for LNG production and export in the nearest years.Analytical series “The Political compass”:
Political power in Russia after presidential election
The new report analyzes the situation which followed «reformatting» of the political system in Russia within the «Successor» operation. Currently the new management structure and inter-elite situation have been formed aggressively in view of the existing model of «Putin-Medvedev» duumvirate.State Corporations in the Russian Economy
The new study analyses state corporations that many consider a new long-term direction of Russian economy development. Currently, these corporations are becoming nearly the main mechanism for Russian elite to convert and cash out political power. Therefore it is important to understand affiliation of different state corporations with dominating political players, their role in the 2008 election campaign and place in the next executive power configuration that we will see completed by spring-summer 2008. It is also interesting to analyze possible ways the state corporations may transform into other forms of property in the nearest and medium-term future.Political Results of 2007: Russia on the Eve of Power Shuffle
The new study analyzes political and socio-economic state of Russia after Duma election on December 2 2007 and possible consequences of power shuffle in March-May 2008.Political Landscape Ahead of the Parliamentary Election 2007
The research studies the strategies of the main players racing for parliament, assesses their potential, and gives a prediction of how events will be developing.«Centers of influence» in the Russian politics
The study attempts to list the main centers of influence and show their hierarchy from the standpoint of availability of resources. Special attention is drawn to formal and informal channels of interaction between elite clans, the “conflict zones,” and the clans’ methods of promoting their interests. The study also attempts to predict developments in the short- and medium-term future.Leading Russian corporations and the executive power: interaction methods
The new study analyzes the methods of interaction between the executive power and the leading Russian businesses both when they carry out «pinpoint» projects and implement strategic partnership.Forecast of political developments after the presidential election in 2008
The new study contains thorough analysis of the possible scenarios of power succession in 2008 and a forecast of how events may develop.
National Energy Security Fund © 2007