Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (1-3) 794-796

December 28, 2009 - January 17, 2010

Main tendencies of political week

The two festive weeks and the first post-festive one were characterized by a low political activity due to understandable reasons. Nevertheless, actions of major political players allowed reconstructing their strategies and tactics. The appearance of cartoon characters of the president and the premier on Channel One’s political satire program allowed some analysts (mainly from the West) to speak about the beginning of liberalization on TV, although there was nothing new in New Year’s show compared to cartoons in the Realnaya Politika program. Dmitry Medvedev’s meeting with FNPR head Mikhail Shmakov and its content demonstrate that state authorities are still going to focus on social policies. At the same time, Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Alexander Shokhin and allowing RSPP representatives to be present at government meetings balance state authorities’ social trend and demonstrate that they are ready to support large businesses too.

During the New Year holidays a number of liberal camp representatives made statements reflecting contradictory sentiments in this community. In particular, Lilia Shevtsova sharply accused western politicians and intellectuals of “servility to the Russian authoritarian regime”. Nikolay Zlobin kept provoking Dmitry Medvedev drawing parallels between him and powerless chairs of the Supreme Council Presidium in the Soviet time. Andrey Kolesnikov remained among the disappointed who believe that there are no premises for liberalization among elites or in the masses. On this background it is worth mentioning intensified activities of Tatiana Yumasheva, who has launched a campaign of rehabilitating Yeltsin’s heritage aiming possibly at the 2011-2012 election campaign.

Social and economic issues will occupy the main place in the agenda of the State Duma’s spring session that opened last week; yet these issues will have a modernization, not anti-crisis, aspect. In particular, the course of delegating state powers on regulating the economy to self-regulating organizations will continue. Moreover, legislative formulation of initiatives voiced by the head of state in his autumn address will be another dominant question of this session. The intrigue is how efficient the opposition will manage to use the State Duma tribune to promote itself like it was during the autumn session.

There is another wave of HR reshuffle in power agencies caused by various reasons. In particular, the federal prison service is being mopped up of the team of its previous chief Yury Kalinin. The defense ministry’s General Staff Chief Nikolay Makarov keeps promoting people personally loyal to him. There has been HR stability in the interior ministry but changes in the procedure of appointment of the ministry’s investigation committee head provide for the supposition that this situation won’t last long.

Major events December 28, 2009 - January 17, 2010

Volume: 14 pages