30 October 2003 13:50
Voloshin`s Departure
 President Vladimir Putin made what promises to be the biggest staff decision of his entire career. By asking Alexander Voloshin, the director of his administration, to step down, Putin has created a watershed between his first presidential term and his second, for which he will most likely be reelected next March. The president will decide who will replace Voloshin—someone from the “law enforcement” or “careerist” factions—any day now.
That Putin had signed a request for Voloshin to stepp down was reported by two separate independent sources close to the Kremlin yesterday evening. Two more sources said that the president had decided to dismiss Voloshin and was about to announce this decision.
Alexander Voloshin was born on March 3, 1956 in Moscow. In 1978, he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Transportation Engineers and in 1986 from the Academy of Foreign Trade. From 1978 to 1986 he worked at the Moscow Freight Yard as a machinist assistant. From 1986 to 1992 he worked at the Russian Research Institute for the State of the Economy at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Ties (now the Ministry of Economic Development). In 1992-1993, he became Vice-President at AK&M, and then became President of the company, AK&M, Inc. in 1995-1997. He also served as president of FFK, Inc. from 1995 to 1997. In 1997-1998, he was an assistant to the head of the presidential administration, becoming a deputy head in 1998-1999. Since 1999, Voloshin has served as head of the administration, and since 2000 he has been chair of the board of directors at RAO EES Rossiya.
Voloshin came to the head of the administration in spring 1999, when the lower house of parliament, with the tacit agreement of Evgeni Primakov’s left-centrist government, was preparing to impeach Boris Yeltsin. Voloshin, an unknown official with a soft voice and high forehead, somehow managed to block the impeachment and get political heavyweight Primakov dismissed. Another of Voloshin’s political victories was the December 1999 success of the Edinstvo Movement in parliamentary elections, which created a pro-president majority in the Duma.
Not all of Voloshin’s undertakings have been successful, however. In spring 1999, he simply couldn’t convince the Federation Council to remove Yuri Skuratov from his post, and in 2001, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov blocked Voloshin’s attempts to radically restructure the government. Many also believe that Voloshin came up with the plan to bring peace to Chechnya by electing Ahmad Kadyrov president of the Chechen Republic.
The administration of the president of Russia is in essence a shadow government. The cabinet of ministers does not make important decisions without its approval, and sometimes—in the case of energy reforms or deposit insurance, for instance—the administration acts as arbiter between the government and outside interests. There is a fleeting reference to the administration in Article 83 of Russia’s Constitution, but its sweeping powers were created by presidential decree in 1996. In accordance with this document, the administration is charged with preparing presidential bills and draft decrees, executive orders, instructions, and addresses. The administration also controls and monitors how decrees and laws are implemented, coordinates activities with parties, public organizations, and foreign politicians, and analyzes Russia’s position in the world.
The rumors about Voloshin’s dismissal had already appeared on Sunday after the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the top executive and major co-owner of YUKOS. Experts on Vedomosti saw this gesture as a protest from Voloshin against the heavy-handed law enforcement approach to solving the so-called “YUKOS problem.” In support this solution, according to sources close to Voloshin, were deputy heads of the administration Viktor Ivanov and Igor Sechin, who also served with Putin in the KGB. Liberal politicians are saddened by Voloshin’s dismissal. “His departure will mean a political reorientation in favor of the omnipotence of the secret services,” says Boris Nemtsov, leader of the Union of Rightist Forces fraction. The deputy chair of the Yabloko fraction Sergei Mitrokhin believes that that “with Voloshin, more balanced politics are also departing the administration.”
Political émigré Boris Berezovsky believes that Voloshin is leaving on his own after seeing that the situation in Russia is developing “along law-enforcement clique lines.”
One member of the “Voloshin team” in the Kremlin said that “we will only be able to evaluate Voloshin’s departure after we find out who will replace him. That is the whole issue. Everything is really horribly tense. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
According to all our sources, the question of Voloshin’s replacement remained undecided when this issue went to press. The majority of sources think the head of the administration will be a “temporary” figure. Two candidates have been mentioned: the deputy head in charge of the December Duma elections, Vladislav Surkov, and the first vice- president of the Russian Railway Company, Vladimir Yakunin, who also hails from Putin’s hometown, St. Petersburg.
According to ex-chair of the State Property Committee, Sergei Beleyav, Yakunin is “one of the president’s most ardent supporters who entirely has his trust. He has been a good acquaintance of Putin’s since he worked at the St. Petersburg mayor’s office.” Beleyav believes that by appointing Yakunin head of his administration, Putin “will strengthen his political position thanks to people he trusts.” “I cannot comment on Yakunin, as I was his direct subordinate for a year and a half,” says Anna Belova, Vice-President of Russian Railways. “I can only say that he seemed a very pragmatic and strategic manager.”
A source in the presidential administration believes that Surkov is more likely to be named as Voloshin’s replacement. According to this source, “Voloshin’s fatigue was visible and he was asked to make way for Surkov.”
[Vedomosti web site] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
