06 April 2004 00:08
Russian paper views candidates for deputy finance minister posts
April
Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin's subordinates responded promptly to his promise to substantially cut his staff.
The fact that the current five first deputy ministers and seven ordinary deputy ministers will be replaced by only two -
and even they will be pretty technical figures - forced Kudrin's current deputies to look for new jobs. The first
candidate for the post of new deputy finance minister emerged the other day - Tatyana Golikova. Russian Federation Prime
Minister Mikhail Fradkov spoke approvingly of her last Friday [2 April]. "So far no proposals concerning candidates
to become deputy finance minister have been submitted to me," the government head said, "but I regard current
First Deputy Minister Tatyana Alekseyevna Golikova as a first-rate specialist. So I will sign (the nomination) without
thinking about it, if Kudrin makes such a proposal." In effect, Fradkov used the same trick as the finance minister
himself and Economic Development Minister German Gref used a couple of weeks ago. They presented the new leaders of
several services and agencies before the edict confirming their appointments had been signed. Now the prime minister has
mentioned Golikova before Aleksey Kudrin himself has chosen his two deputies. In her current post, Tatyana Golikova has
worked on federal budget revenue and expenditure.
The second deputy is expected to be Sergey Shatalov or Sergey Vyazalov. They are both currently Kudrin's first
deputies (Shatalov is also state secretary) and have roughly even chances of securing the post of deputy in the revamped
Finance Ministry. Incidentally, Golikova and Vyazalov became first deputy ministers simultaneously, in August 2002. Let
us recall that Sergey Shatalov was deputy finance minister from 1995 through 1998 and found himself back in the same
post in January 2000. Sergey Vyazalov began his career in St Petersburg City Hall, then became head of Goznak [Main
Administration for Production of State Bank Notes, Coins and Medals].
Another first deputy finance minister, Aleksey Ulyukayev, intends to change his job. He is expected to take the
Central Bank first deputy chairman post vacated by Oleg Vyugin. True, for the time being the White House regards this as
a rumour. Aleksey Ulyukayev could be joined in moving to the Central Bank by Dmitriy Tulin, senior adviser at the
Russian office of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Tulin could replace Vladimir Goryunov as
Central Bank deputy chairman.
"Ulyukayev's departure is not a rumour but a given," a source in the Russian Union of Industrialists
and Entrepreneurs told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "Two options regarding the deputy ministers are currently under
discussion: either Golikova and Shatalov, or Golikova and Vyazalov. Their chances are roughly 50-50." In the
opinion of Nezavisimaya Gazeta's source, the first option is preferable, because if Sergey Shatalov leaves, there
will be virtually nobody at the Finance Ministry to deal with taxes. The Finance Ministry itself declined to comment on
the report about personnel reshuffles. It is assumed that ministers will present candidate deputies to the prime
minister for approval this week.
[Nezavisimaya Gazeta] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
