MOSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti) Medvedev disgruntled by attempts to weaken his anti-corruption package / Russia's Interior Ministry puts off troop cuts / Production slump reaches alarming scale / Global crisis kills off Russian Winter Festival in London /
Gazeta.ru, Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Medvedev disgruntled by attempts to weaken his anti-corruption package
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said ahead of the second hearing of his anti-corruption package in parliament that the bill must be adopted in its initial form.
He has only accepted a proposal to postpone the enforcement of the clause on the declaration of property by officials' relatives.
Analysts feel a certain amount of sympathy for Medvedev.
Olga Kryshtanovskaya, head of the elite studies department at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Sociology, said: "This is not the first time Dmitry Medvedev's instructions have got bogged down. Nobody seems to be in a hurry to act on his orders. We must admit that Russia's current system is based on fear. Unfortunately, it is the most effective system for the country right now."
The deputies claim the anti-corruption measures would destabilize the work of the authorities, she said.
"The State Duma regards corruption as a stabilizing factor," Kryshtanovskaya said. "To them, corruption is normal, part of the system, whereas punishment for it would disrupt the process."
Gleb Pavlovsky, head of the Effective Policy Foundation, said the president's initiative would "affect the interests of officials and the deputies connected with them."
"In principle," he said, "Medvedev expected the implementation of his proposal to be hampered. But the [financial] crisis has provided a new impetus. The Russian banking sector is riddled with holes, and the state is spending surplus revenues to clear up the consequences of the crisis. This is like a pot of gold to some officials."
According to Pavlovsky, the crisis also has a political component, as it gives officials and the regional elites a chance to recover their losses.
"They have waited long [for their chance], and now they think they can put the federal center in its place by blackmailing it with possible destabilization," the analyst said.
RBC Daily, Vedomosti
Russia's Interior Ministry puts off troop cuts
Although the Russian government is now moving to reduce the national armed forces, the Interior Ministry's military units will remain intact, Interior Troops Commander Army General Nikolai Rogozhkin said, citing a top-level decision.
Analysts said security agency chiefs seriously feared unrest among jobless people, motorists, discharged military personnel, those opposing higher housing/municipal utilities rates and other strata of society affected by the crisis and/or official decisions.
"The national leadership has decided not to reduce our force because it probably thinks that the domestic political situation is not very stable," an interior troop source said.
A source at the Interior Ministry's central administration said nobody would openly admit that interior troops were needed to crush unrest.
Valery Rashkin, a member of the Russian Communist Party's Central Committee, said interior troop cuts had been put off due to the current crisis and the need to react to civil unrest.
People are already taking to the streets in the wake of the crisis and unpopular official decisions. Several thousand motorists protested higher used-car import duties in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.
The protesters also discussed high food and fuel prices and housing/municipal utilities rates, unemployment, the crisis and social stratification.
On December 15, people protested rising housing/municipal utilities rates in Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia.
Motorists are expected to stage new protests December 21 in the Khabarovsk Territory in Russia's Far East.
Security agency chiefs reacted to protesters' slogans and created regional anti-crisis groups comprising Interior Ministry officers. Territorial division chiefs of the Federal Security Service (FSB) also expect protests.
The situation is also aggravated by snowballing wage arrears. The Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said back wages had soared by 93% this November to reach 7.76 billion rubles ($281.1 million).
Political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky said the Kremlin could either provide selective financial aid, or it could use force to disperse protesters. He said popular discontent would peak in January-March 2009 after people who had lost their mortgaged apartments swelled the ranks of protesters.
Kommersant, Vedomosti
Production slump reaches alarming scale
Russia's state statistics service, Rosstat, has published official data confirming that November saw a fall in production of 8.7% year on year, and of 10.8% from October 2008. Economists do not think Russia's industry will hit bottom before March or April 2009.
The slump has hit nearly all industries, as manufacturing declined by 10.3%, and power, gas and water distribution by 9.3%. Mining output remained almost unchanged however, down a mere 1.6%.
The only sectors that are managing to keep afloat are those working to state orders. Even the food industry is declining, although food is usually the last thing to see demand fall.
Metals and chemicals output began dropping in September, the decline reaching over 30% as of today. "The fall in the two sectors is nearing the bottom. However, both are heavily dependent on external demand, which is unlikely to go up soon. In fact, forecasts suggest a further decline," said Sergei Ulatov, an economist with the World Bank.
Only those producers who have contracts with state monopolies have shown some growth lately.
"The government bailout plan doesn't work for small and medium-sized businesses. It has become clear that government aid never reaches its addressees. The fall will probably be deeper than in 1998," said Yulia Tseplyayeva from Merrill Lynch.
Economists are being cautious in their estimates. The only thing they are relatively certain of is the 19% drop in industrial production the Economics Ministry has predicted for December.
Kommersant
Global crisis kills off Russian Winter Festival in London
London's Trafalgar Square won't see the Russian Winter Festival this year, an event traditionally held for the past four years on January 13, the day known in Russia as the "old" (Orthodox Church) New Year.
The event, which used to gather an assortment of officials, business leaders and socialites attracted by the prospect of enjoying a full day of fun, free entertainment and a taste of Russian delights, has been cancelled because of the global financial crisis.
"This is due to the repercussions of the crisis, a shortage of sponsor funds," said Yury Fedotov, Russian ambassador to Britain.
The first Russian Winter Festival took place in 2005, and was hosted by Eventica, an international provider of a broad range of services encompassing marketing, corporate branding, event production, publishing and media communications. The event was supported by the Russian British Cultural Association, and the Moscow and London city halls.
Trafalgar Square hosted kiosks offering Russian arts and crafts and others selling vodka, pancakes and caviar. Russian and British guests enjoyed live pop and rock music while eating and drinking.
"The festival was a powerful tool in improving Russia's image in Britain, which became crucial after the death of [former intelligence agent Alexander] Litvinenko [in London in November 2006] and similar adverse factors in Russian-British relations," said Eventica chairman Sergei Kolushev.
"RWF is an expensive event," he admitted citing such costs as leasing the area, cleaning up, paying actors, arranging visas, hotels, and flights, adding up to $500,000 every year.
He said Russian LUKoil, Gazprom and several major banks had been among the sponsors, but they have their own plates too full to bother with foreign cultural fests. "I am not keen on paying my own money, not when I cannot be sure I will get my money back from other projects," he added.
Mr. Fedotov suggested moving the event to a later date - for example, to March 1, the last day of the Russian Pancake Week, and maybe "setting a new tradition."
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