Everything and the opposite of everything

Now that Luzhkov is gone, analysts have started doing what they are meant to be good at: analysing. Unfortunately, as I have already said, to analyse the Russian political situation great divination skills are recquired. You can see it by yourself. This is what the Moscow Times says:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/news-analysis-medvedev-shows-hes-his-own-man/417584.html

In other words, this would be another bold move by the Medvedev to take distance from Putin.

But this is what the New York Times believes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/world/europe/29moscow.html?ref=world

Meaning that Medvedev hasn't acquired independence from Putin at all, and the evidence would be in the fact that he took him so long to fire him (that would mean that he had to take time to seek for Putin's approval)

So, what is the truth? I am siding with the New York Times, since if Medvedev did not trust Luzhkov (as he said to justify his dismissal) and was free to do whatever I wanted he would have probably fired him much earlier.

The beekeeper Part 4

http://rian.ru/photolents/20100928/280046720.html

A real showman.

At the end of the day this is not much worse:

http://malarablog.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/berlusconi_corna.jpg?w=264&h=200

The beekeeper Part 3

Crisis averted for Putin & co. Medvedev has just fired the Luzhkov aka the beekeeper.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/28/russian-president-sacks-moscow-mayor

The move is due, according to the Kremlin, to the loss of trust towards the mayor of Moscow by the President.

The beekeeper Part 2

OK, I was expecting him to announce his resignation and what does he do instead? Mr Luzhkov leaves the UNESCO conference taking place in Moscow to avoid the press:

http://rian.ru/politics/20100927/279681398.html

The beekeeper

Strange things are happening. Those rumours about a split between president Medvedev and prime minister Putin, about a rivalry between the holders of the two most influential political positions of Russia, seem to be acquiring some foundation. And this is all due to Yuri Luzhkov, mayor of Moscow. He is quite a controversial figure, and anything that concerns him can’t help but being a controversy. Quick facts to know about him: he has been mayor of Moscow since 1992, is married to Russia’s richest woman Elena Baturina, his birthday is on the 21st of September and he is a passionate beekeeper.

All these facts (yes, even his beekeeping activity) are at centre of the wide debate that is inflaming the Russian political scene quite recently.

It all started when Medvedev decided to stop the building of a motorway that would have cut across the forest of Khimki (see below). Luzhkov didn’t like the move and wrote an article published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, in which he criticised the way the president was handling the question and called for Putin to return to the presidency. The events that followed are the ‘strange things that are happening’. First, Putin, who has always been quite close to Luzhkov, has been surprisingly silent about the entire issue. Second, soon after the article was published, government-controlled television channels started airing materials that were highly critical of the mayor of Moscow. The criticism, in particular, was directed towards Luzhkov’s role in building his wife’s empire (by many seen as the results of corruption and illegal activities) and towards the way in which he handled the crisis that hit the whole of Russia this summer, when fires spread across the forests of the country and a wide cloud of smog covered Moscow. Apparently the mayor refused to return from his holiday and denied the existence of a ‘crisis’. Finally Luzhkov returned to Moscow but, according to ‘The Cap Affair’, a film broadcast by NTV TV channel, it was only because it was very concerned about his hives. Meanwhile people from inside and outside the Kremlin started talking about a possible dismissal of Luzhkov as mayor of Moscow (Medvedev has the power to do that since Putin’s introduced a reform according to which regional governors are not elected but appointed by the president). People gathered on the streets calling for Luzhkov’s resignation before the end of his mandate, to expire in June 2011.

Now, in Russia it is quite common to expect the government-controlled TV channels to broadcast programmes that support the government and its decisions. It is also true that according to Western observers the real power is still in Putin’s hands. We know that Putin supports Luzhkov and Medvedev doesn’t. Yet, the same government-controlled TV channels that should obsequiously support Putin seem to be backing Medvedev. The possibilities are two: either Putin has decided to stop supporting Luzhkov, whose shady behaviour and background are now very difficult to justify, or the split between Medvedev and Putin is something real, and it is expanding its effect, with people taking sides for one or the other in parliament as well as on TV channels. It is very difficult to say which one is closer to the truth, but this is a clear example of how much is unknown about Russian politics abroad.

People usually tend to imagine Russia as an authoritarian regime ruled by a single person, namely Putin, master of the house and able puppeteer, manoeuvring all the political system. Forbes’s writer Dmitry Sidorov, however, reminds us that the picture is much more complicated. In his article ‘The Russia Holding, Inc.’ Sidorov compares the system that rules Russia today to a holding company, of which the ‘Medvedev Limited’ and ‘Luzhkov Limited Liability Partners’ are parts involved in a business dispute. You can find the article here:

http://blogs.forbes.com/dmitrysidorov/2010/09/22/the-russia-holding-inc/

The question is: who has the power in Russia today? Sidorov seems to side with those that believe Putin is in full control. Others claim that Putin and Medvedev are just the face of a group of former K.G.B. and military officers, the Siloviki, that have being clinging to power since 2000. Others see Medvedev as the creature escaping from his master’s control. The problem is that they don’t have much evidence. Russian politics is a murky business, after all. But maybe tomorrow will give us a new piece to complete this puzzle. According to Russian newspaper Kommersant Luzhkov is expected to resign by the end of next week. Will he?

Medvedev super rock star

Following the wide support received by the campaign to save Khimki forest, Mr Medvedev has decided to intervene freezing the building of the motorway that would have destroyed a major part of the forest. Here you can find a video posted on the president's blog, in which he explains his decision:

http://blog.kremlin.ru/post/101

The funniest part is that the decision was taken during the visit of U2 leader Bono in Russia. It seems that the rock star played a very important role in pushing Medveded towards the freezing of the plans of destruction of Khimki. It is funny, and it is sad. It seems to me that the government is not pro or against the destruction of the forest (although probably single members are), but is simply unable to take quick and effective decisions to the benefit of the population.Too difficult and too risky, when you are likely to go against the big business's interest. It is easier to wait for the next rock star to come. Maybe Medvedev can help. Apparently he is a big Deep Purple fan.

A little story that shouldn't be so little

When I was in Moscow I spent many days in the area of Khimki, a green spot in the north of town. I would go there to study, because of  their newspapers' archive, and more than once ended up being completely mesmerised by the beauty of the place. What I did not know is that Khimki forest was destined to be destroyed in the process of building a motorway that would join Moscow and St. Petersburg. This is all very sad. On the (mildly) bright side many people have started their own personal fight against the destruction of the forest, and started a ecologist movement in its defense. This makes me believe that maybe the Russian society is not as alienated as it seems. Certainly this will not change things, since bureaucracy, militia and shady business interests are all still strong obstacles to change. Just today I got in touch with a representative of the Ekooborona, the group in defense of Khimki forest, and found out that the leader of the group, Evgenia Chirikova, is currently held by the police. He sent me the video of her (illegal) arrest and it is simply terrifying.
Russian TV seems to be completely ignoring the issue, and the mainstream newspapers do not make a much bigger effort. The story has hardly reached countries outside of Russia. I personally support the cause of the people involved in the fight for the protection of an area endowed with a special and irreplaceable natural patrimony.
This is the link to the Ekooborona website (in Russian):
http://www.ecmo.ru/

And here is an article in English written by Evgenia Chirikova:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/yevgenia-chirikova/battle-for-khimki-forest