Kommersant
Putin reviews elections, explains opposition’s role
Vladimir Putin, leader of United Russia, met with the party’s leadership on Wednesday to discuss the results of the March 13 regional elections. He stated his position on the change of government and on the relationship between the government and the opposition. Putin told his associates not to rail against the opposition, because “criticizing the authorities is its job.” The opposition links his changed rhetoric to United Russia’s poor showing in the elections.
“Opposition political forces are there to criticize the country’s political leadership,” Putin explained. He emphasized that “the authorities resolve problems, while the opposition’s job is to criticize the government and offer other solutions.” “This is a healthy process and there is no need to take offence. We must simply do our jobs well,” he said. “The hallmarks of our election campaign must be concrete achievements,” believes the United Russia leader.
The Russian Communist Party interpreted Putin’s statement as a reaction to unsuccessful elections. Ivan Melnikov, the party’s first deputy chairman, corrected the prime minister by saying that “the opposition does not exist only to criticize and offer other solutions, but also to fight for power to implement its program.”
Vladimir Milov, co-chairman of the Party of People’s Freedom, told Kommersant that the “changed rhetoric” is a sign of weakness for Putin and United Russia. “They are in very poor shape before the Duma elections. On Sunday they got a good thrashing and now have to decide how to deal with the fall in their rating,” he said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Vladimir Putin also spoke about the results of the March 13 elections. He had gathered party activists right after the Central Election Commission released the returns. It was noted in United Russia that this was the first time the leader had decided to review the election campaign so soon after the event. Putin updated his figures. While just one day earlier he said the average support for the party reached 46.2%, yesterday he said it was 49%. He said the returns point to “voter confidence and to United Russia having its own loyal electorate.”
Boris Gryzlov, head of the party’s Supreme Council, noted that United Russia viewed the results of March 13 vote as the start of an election campaign to the lower house of parliament. At the same time, he pointed to some of the party’s “failings” during the election drive in some regions.
According to him, regional political elites “did not always work towards a common goal and some tried to pull separate ways.” “We have failed to carry most of these regions and already realize that we need to look into the situation and raise the matter with the party’s Supreme Council,” he said.
Izvestia
Russian government sells Yeltsin's favorite mansion
Russia’s Office of Presidential Affairs is selling Boris Yeltsin's famous Shuiskaya Chupa estate in Karelia. This is the first time a state residence is being auctioned off and could be just the beginning of a sell-off of elite mansions in protected areas.
The luxurious Shuiskaya Chupa residence, which boasts a wide range of recreation facilities, is located on a 50-hectare land plot in a picturesque spot on the shores of Lake Ukshozero, 20 km from Petrozavodsk, in the Republic of Karelia.
The entire complex is up for sale, including a three-storey hotel-style building, a house, four cottages, a sauna, tennis court, garage, shed, water pumping stations, gate-house and pier.
The estate has an asking price of 285,605,000 rubles. Interested parties must provide a 28 million ruble deposit to participate in the auction, which will be held on April 15. Both foreign individuals and companies are allowed to bid.
“This is the market price as determined by an independent appraiser,” said Viktor Khrekov, spokesperson for the Office of Presidential Affairs. “And the price only covers the immovable and movable assets, not the land, which will be sold separately, after independent valuation.”
Khrekov said that the Office of Presidential Affairs intends to dispose of the property since it is no longer needed by the state.
Experts consulted by Izvestia valued Shuiskaya Chupa at approximately 200 million rubles. The disparity with the auction price is something of a premium based on its famous pedigree.
Shuiskaya Chupa's heyday was in the Yeltsin era. Yeltsin stayed here for two summers, 1997 and 1998, receiving distinguished guests, including heads of state.
Vladimir Putin visited Shuiskaya Chupa once as president, but it seems that the residence was not to his taste. Dmitry Medvedev has never been there.
Nevertheless, considerable funds are reportedly spent on maintaining the property.
“They say it that it is kept in pristine condition – the tennis courts, swimming pools, and everything else,” said Tatiana Skoblikova, acting head of theShuisky rural settlement, where the residence is located. “And there are still staff there, but I don’t even know who they are. We never see them. They don't hire locals to work there. Mere mortals are not allowed in there.”
Officials in the Shuisky rural settlement very much hope that the buyer decides to turn the residence into a hotel, thereby helping the local budget. Tourists already frequent the region, and renting a cottage for eight people on the shore of the nearby lake can fetch 10,000 rubles a day.
“Last summer in central Russia was very hot, so Muscovites came here in droves,” said a local travel agency employee. “It's pleasant here, with cool weather.”
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Think tank issues 120-step modernization strategy
A Russian think tank published a proposed campaign platform for whoever is elected president in 2012, aimed at the country’s modernization.
The booklet, Attaining the Future: Strategy 2012 by the Institute of Contemporary Development (INSOR), offers the next president a roadmap and emphasizes that modernization is the only way forward. Otherwise, the experts believe, Russia will face “slow decline or a new slump.”
“The catastrophe may not hit for some time, but we have reached the time when a decision must be made and are approaching the point of no return,” the booklet reads.
The current stability, according to the experts, has been “bought with petrodollars.” Institutional reform is as good as wound up, while global competition in the modern word is basically a competition of institutions. Russia’s political system should be brought into compliance with the country’s constitution. The experts proposed a list of urgent measures to be taken in the section Institutions and Practices: 120 Steps Toward the Future: drop unconstitutional management practices, restore popular elections at all levels, delineate the executive branch of government from the representative and judicial branches, and establish political and communications freedoms.
“True modernization starts with honesty, conscience and trust,” INSOR head Igor Yurgens, a member of Russia’s Public Chamber and one of Russia’s most influential experts, said quoting what he believes is the booklet’s message.
“The country will not be able to move forward so long as it is plagued by fear, mutual contempt, thieving, bribery, fraud, racketeering and business cynicism. The nation needs a boost to the morale, not brainwashing with PR stunts,” the booklet reads.
Most analysts who commented on the report on Tuesday largely agreed with INSOR experts, and suggested the strategy may become part of a proposed campaign platform for one of the 2012 presidential hopefuls.
Gleb Pavlovsky, a pro-Kremlin analyst who heads the Effective Politics Foundation, argued that the report would be a good platform for any candidate. “Dmitry Medvedev was the one who proposed the modernization strategy, and he is likely to take it to the 2012 elections. But we should all realize that there is no viable alternative to this platform. So any attempt to identify Vladimir Putin with a different group or any authoritarian ideology is bound to fail. I believe the prime minister will make it clear very soon,” he added.
Yurgens, a member of the Right Cause party’s management, believes the report might be of interest to the party. He suggested Right Cause should take a more active stance now and named three politicians who could take the lead: Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov or Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich.
The party’s leadership reacted cautiously to his statement. Georgy Bovt, a co-chairman of Right Cause, said the idea is good, but only hypothetical. “These people do not make such decisions alone. And they should be asked what they think in the first place,” he added.
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