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Main page > Products > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts - The weekly bulletin > Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (66) 754
Politics in Russia: power, lobby, conflicts. Issue No (66) 754
March 23 - March 29, 2009
Main tendencies of political week
Last week developments demonstrated that the Russian elite was returning to the pre-crisis model of behavior based entirely on struggle for resources, which is happening amid the declining struggle for the agenda. At the same time, it is necessary to point out frontal assault at business positions of the Family group, which is not limited to Aeroflot only. In particular, Oleg Deripaska is still having problems being chased by Alfa Group; Norilsk Nickel is also experiencing difficulties, although until recently it successfully beat off takeover attempts by companies affiliated with Sergey Chemezov and Alisher Usmanov.
Local administrative clashes continued in the government. There has been a tendency of the division of functionaries into optimists and pessimists. The first group supports Igor Shuvalov believing that the crisis bottom is over and restoration will soon start. Such sentiments may be specially maintained on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s report to the State Duma about the government’s work. The second group with informal leader Alexey Kudrin insists that the crisis bottom has not been reached and Russia will face the second, even tougher phase of the crisis. Such polarization will continue growing, just like clashes between Igor Shuvalov and Alexey Kudrin.
Major events March 23, 2009 - March 29, 2009
| Event | Winning side | Defeated side | Development Outlooks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dmitry Medvedev chairs a national security council meeting |
|
| National security concept will be approved by early summer |
| Finance minister Alexey Kudrin says he expects another phase of crisis in Russia |
| Igor Shuvalov | Officials will continue public polemics |
| Meeting of the presidential council for physical culture and sports |
| Dmitry Kozak | Criticism of officials responsible for the Olympics by the tandem members will not affect Kozak’s positions |
| Joint meeting of the supreme and general councils of United Russia |
|
| UR will intensify propaganda to support the government’s anti-crisis plan |
| Ilya Lomakin-Rumyantsev is appointed head of the presidential experts’ directorate | Arkady Dvorkovich |
| The new head will manage to establish operative control over the directorate |
| Finance minister Alexey Kudrin introduces candidature of Alexander Koval for the post of Rosstrakhnadzor chief |
|
| The new chief will continue policy of his predecessor aimed at lobbying interests of major insurance companies |
| Russian Venture Company head Alexey Korobov resigns | Yury Chaika | Elvira Nabiullina, Alexander Bastrykin | RVC is likely to be liquidated |
| Vitaly Savelyev is elected Aeroflot general director | Igor Levitin | Valery Okulov, Alexander Voloshin | Family group’s protégés will leave the airline |
| Constitutional Court’s ruling that bans qualification panels of judges to disqualify judges without describing motivation | Lyudmila Maikova |
| Chances that Maikova will return to her post increase |
| Pravoe Delo co-chair Boris Titov proposes to legalize buying out of compulsory conscription |
|
| The party’s co-chairs will keep making populist statements |
| Plenum of the central committee of the communist party | Gennady Zyuganov |
| CPRF leaders won’t be able to simultaneously organize protest actions and preserve constructive relations with state authorities |
Volume: 13 pages
Other issues:
Special report:
Nord Stream 2 and Ukraine: Costs Should Decide
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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