 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
CDI Library > Johnson's
Russia List |
|
|
May
18, 2000
Johnson's Russia List
#4310
18 May 2000
davidjohnson@erols.com
[Note from David Johnson:
1. Reuters: Putin gives warm welcome to top U.S.
official.
4. BBC MONITORING: PUTIN PROPOSES CHANGES TO
PARLIAMENT, CALLS FOR STRONGER STATE.
5. Reuters: Russian top ministers reappointed.
6. Mikhail Kazachkov: MOST Security.
7. Jerry Hough: Regional decree.
9. Parlamentskaya Gazeta: RUSSIAN PRISONS. Collapse
of a System.
11. gazeta.ru: Gorbachov And NTV Join Forces.
12. MSNBC: Dana Lewis, In Moscow, a Cold War
symbol rises. Bugged-embassy scandal still embarrasses the U.S.
******
Putin gives warm welcome to top U.S. official
By Elizabeth Piper
MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin gave U.S.
National Security Adviser Samuel Berger a warm welcome to the Kremlin on
Thursday and the two managed to steer their short round of talks away
from
thorny issues. Putin, inaugurated as president on May 7, told Berger he
remembered the ``warm, friendly, personal and business relations'' the
two
established when the former KGB spy was still secretary of Russia's
advisory
Security Council.
``(Then) we quickly established a good working relationship and gave a
good
impetus to cooperation between Russia and the United States,'' Putin
told
Berger as they sat around a large oval table in an ornately decorated,
gold
and pale green room.
Berger, who passed on U.S. President Bill Clinton's best wishes, joked
that
Putin had provided ``a model for all national security advisers.'' He
said
Clinton was looking forward to his visit to Moscow set for next month.
Sergei
Ivanov, a Putin ally who replaced him as secretary of the Security
Council
last year, told reporters after the talks, described as ``successful,''
that
Clinton's visit would now take place on June 2-5. It had previously been
set
for June 4-5. Ivanov said the two had also discussed the 1972
Anti-Ballistic
Missile treaty, an agreement which Washington and Moscow have been at
loggerheads over since the United States signalled it hoped to deploy a
new
missile defence system.
Russia has opposed changes to the treaty, but Putin hinted at a possible
compromise during a visit to London last month.
It is not clear what form the compromise will take, although it looks as
though it may hinge on what is defined as a legitimate defence system
against
missile strikes by so-called rogue states such as Iraq and North Korea.
ABM A CORNERSTONE
``Both sides consider the ABM treaty the cornerstone of strategic
stability.
This theme will be discussed in more detail during Clinton's visit to
Moscow,'' Ivanov said.
Ivanov also said the discussions on the ABM treaty could open the way
for a
new round of talks on the START-3 nuclear arms reduction treaty, which
would
include further cuts to nuclear arsenals.
Putin won one of his first victories in the lower house of parliament
last
month when he secured the passage of START-2, a treaty under which the
two
sides agree to slash the number of warheads from 6,000 to no more than
3,500
each by 2007.
The Clinton administration wants to cut back to 2,000-2,500 warheads
each.
Putin has said Russia, faced with scarce funds, was ready to go even
lower,
to 1,500 each.
The two avoided another collision over the recent visit to Moscow by
Yugoslavia's Defence Minister Dragoljub Ojdanic, who was indicted in May
1999
for war crimes in Kosovo.
Washington has criticised Moscow for not arresting the minister during
the
secret but official five-day visit last week. Russian military sources
were
quoted as saying on Wednesday that Moscow did not recognise his
indictment.
``(In the talks) there was nothing about Yugoslavia,'' Ivanov said.
``The
talks were successful, especially as Putin knows Berger very well.''
******
Regional chiefs condemn Putin's "Soviet-era" moves against
provinces
MOSCOW, May 18 (AFP) -
Leading Russian regional leaders on Thursday fiercely attacked President
Vladimir Putin's "Soviet-era" plan to grab sweeping new powers
over the
provinces and radically shake up parliament.
In a dramatic television broadcast Putin late Wednesday said he would
ask
parliament to give him the right to sack regional governors and exclude
them
from the Federation Council.
Instead the upper house of parliament would be staffed by unspecified
regional representatives. In addition Putin wants to give governors the
right
to sack their subordinates.
But Ruslan Aushev, president of the southern Russian republic of
Ingushetia
which borders war-torn Chechnya, slammed the proposals.
"This is an attempt to control everything from Moscow, a return to
the
doubtful practices of the (Soviet) Communist Party Central
Committee," he
told
"The Ingush constitution clearly states in which case the
republic's
president can be dismissed, and there is no need to create some new
laws," he
added.
"These laws would demonstrate a mistrust in a people who had
elected their
president. No one has the right to dismiss a president who was elected
by the
public," he said.
Aman Tuleyev, the governor of the Siberian province of Kemerovo who
unsuccessfully ran against Putin in March presidential polls, said the
proposed legislation was "an attempt to put governors in their
place.
"The danger is that the new laws can turn into an instrument of
political
reprisal against dissidents, and become a means of sorting out
disobedient
governors," he said.
Meanwhile Farid Mukhamedshin, head of Tatarstan regional government,
predicted Putin would face strong opposition to his plans.
"The debate will be very difficult. This is an infringement of the
rights of
Russia's regions and could lead relations between Moscow and the regions
into
a dead end."
However, Tula governor Vasily Starodubtsev, said Putin was right to seek
to
sort out the country's unruly regions.
"I support the president. The current situation can lead to the
disintegration of Russia," he said.
The Sevodnya daily, a frequent critic of the new president, said the
plan was
revolutionary, adding that "crushed by pressure from Putin the
governors have
barely resisted" the plans.
"All the political forces, from the governors to the military, have
stood to
attention, but they did not expect to have to march so quickly,"
wrote the
Izvestia daily, underscoring Putin's burst of activity less than two
weeks
after officially taking office.
*******
Russia press says Putin makes bold, combative start
By Michael Steen
MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - Russian newspapers said on Thursday President
Vladimir Putin's outline of a sweeping constitutional shake-up showed
the
gloves were off and he was ready for a fight.
``Vladimir Putin has declared the start of the revolution,'' liberal
daily
Vremya Novostei commented. Putin's plans to cut the power of regional
bosses,
announced on Wednesday, could herald a sea change in the way Russia is
governed, it said.
Putin used a prime time television address to outline plans to give him
the
power to sack heads of Russia's 89 regions and end their right to
automatic
seats in parliament's upper house, in line with his vision of a strong
central state.
Putin's announcement came hours after he secured easy parliamentary
confirmation for his candidate for prime minister, liberal economist and
former finance minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
The Izvestia daily welcomed the move against regional bosses, many of
whom
wield near-dictatorial control over taxes, police, the media and the
exploitation of natural resources in their fiefs.
``The changes, though they do not sound too entangled or complicated, in
fact
crucially affect every Russian citizen,'' the paper said, pointing out
that
irregular tax collection and systems of personal patronage often
diverted
funds away from doctors and teachers.
Papers said the television address, Putin's first since his inauguration
last
week, was designed to show he would not be cowed by regional bosses.
NO COINCIDENCE
``It is no coincidence the president deemed it necessary to announce his
plans for changing the makeup of the state on live television. He's
reckoning
on opposition,'' Vremya Novostei said.
The business daily Kommersant agreed. ``The president decided to play in
the
open and show he was ready for opposition from the regional elite. He
turned
to the people for support,'' it said.
Vedomosti, another business paper, saw the move as momentous, headlining
its
story ``The Commandant's steps'' -- a reference to the earth-shaking
approach
of the fearsome stone guest at the end of Pushkin's version of the Don
Juan
legend.
``Putin has everything he needs to work actively: huge constitutional
powers,
a seemingly faithful premier, a loyal parliament and the love of the
whole
people,'' Vedomosti said.
But it added that Putin's first detailed policy announcement had been
slow in
coming. He has been effectively running the country since Boris Yeltsin
resigned on December 31 and has yet to unveil the details of his
economic
programme, the paper said.
Most papers praised Putin for sticking by his pledge to inform the
people
about his plans, but Vedomosti said he had yet to show what he would do
to
reduce the influence of powerful businessmen or introduce legal reforms,
as
he promised.
The liberal daily Sevodnya said Putin, a former KGB spy popular with
Russia's
military, was acting logically, but warned against concentrating too
much
power in his hands.
``It's important that in eradicating one extreme, the Kremlin does not
strike
another. Russia should not be turned from a limited company with 89
shareholders into a single state enterprise, or worse still, into an
army
unit,'' it said.
*******
BBC MONITORING
PUTIN PROPOSES CHANGES TO PARLIAMENT, CALLS FOR STRONGER STATE
Source: Russian Public TV, Moscow, in Russian 1700 gmt 17 May 00
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the draft laws he has just
submitted to parliament envisage strengthening statehood and ensuring
functional authorities. "I believe these measures to be vitally
important
for the country's future," he said in a recorded address to the
nation.
Putin in particular suggested reforming the Federation Council. He also
said he expected the nation to back his proposals. The following is the
text of the address, broadcast by Russian Public TV on 17th May.
Subheadings have been inserted editorially:
Esteemed citizens of Russia, dear friends! For the first time since my
assuming the presidential post, I am submitting to the State Duma a
package
of draft laws. On the one hand, this is a regular practice for the head
of
state. On the other hand, the purpose of these laws is to consolidate
and
strengthen Russia's statehood. I believe these measures to be vitally
important for the country's future.
I promised you there would be open government, with policy aims and
specific steps clearly explained to the citizens. The draft laws
submitted
to the Duma continue the policy which started with the decree of 13th
May
regarding the introduction of federal districts. This is a policy aimed
at
strengthening the unity of the state. It is supported by governors as
well
as deputies and all Russia's citizens. One can say this is the first
time
we have no disagreement in the country on such an important matter.
The general aim of these draft laws is to make both the executive and
legislative power really work, bring a true meaning to the
constitutional
principle of division between the two branches of power and consolidate
the
vertical structure of executive power.
Heads of regional administrations should not sit in Federation Council
So, what is the essence of these draft laws? Strictly speaking, it all
boils down to three principal elements. Firstly, it is proposed to
change
the principles behind the formation of the Federation Council, the upper
house of parliament. The Russian constitution says that the State Duma
shall be elected, but the Federation Council formed from representatives
of
the executive and legislative branches of power. However, the
constitution
does not stipulate that these must necessarily be heads of the
territories
- governors, presidents of the republics or chairmen of the regional
legislative bodies. This is the way things are at present. I believe
that
the heads of the regions should concentrate on the specific problems
facing
their territories. This is the purpose for which they are elected by the
population. It is their representatives who should be engaged in
legislative activity. But they should be doing this professionally and
on a
permanent basis, not the way they [the governors] do it at present, once
a
month.
It is true that it will be more difficult for the president to work with
a
professional upper house of parliament. However, this is what the cause
requires. I am certain that the quality of laws is bound to improve
beyond
doubt. Apart from this, we shall thus remove the obvious tilt in the way
authority is structured in Russia. At present, governors and heads of
the
republics themselves represent executive power institutions. By being
members of the Federation Council, they also act as parliamentarians at
the
same time, that is, they are effectively co-authors of the laws which
they
are supposed to implement. This is not just a nonsense, this is in fact
a
violation of the principle of division of powers.
President must have the right to dismiss regional leaders
The second significant proposal is to introduce a procedure for the
dismissal of heads of regions and dissolution of legislative assemblies
which adopt legislative acts in contravention of the federal laws. As is
known, nowadays even the president of the country could be impeached for
violating the constitution. The same rule must be extended to the heads
of
territories and local authorities.
And finally, the third proposal, which to my mind follows logically from
the second one. If the head of a territory can be dismissed by the
country's president under certain circumstances, he should have a
similar
right in regard to authorities subordinate to him. Today, this is not
just
a right thing to do, but simply necessary in order to restore the
functional vertical structure of executive power in the country. For a
long
time now the federal parliament, the government and even the president
have
not been able to achieve even simple but absolutely necessary things
because they lacked such tools: to observe the citizens' rights and
implement Russian state legislation with equal precision throughout
Russia,
in its most remote parts as well as in Moscow. This is what the
dictatorship of law means. It would mean we are living in one strong
country, one single state called Russia.
I should stress specifically that all the proposed draft laws fully
comply
with the present Russian constitution.
Kremlin ready for additional discussion on proposed changes
I would like to address the deputies of the State Duma and the members
of
the Federation Council. Actually, we held a rather lengthy debate on
these
issues with a rather large number of the members of the Federation
Council
here, in the Kremlin.
Perhaps, the draft laws submitted [to parliament] will cause mixed
reaction
and provoke additional discussion. We are ready for it. And I am certain
that we will have to plan and carry out these difficult decisions
together.
It's time the party and selfish ambitions were separated from the
pressing
need to solidify statehood and strengthen the authorities. This is what
the
citizens of Russia have been expecting for a long time. We must live up
to
these expectations.
I am firmly convinced that the authorities must be functional. Everyone
should do their share of the job. The lawmakers in both the upper and
lower
chambers [of parliament] must adopt laws. The governors - and they bear
immense responsibility for the social wellbeing of people and the
successful economic performance of their regions - must do their job.
This
is the part where no-one could stand in for them. At present, they are
also
concerned about the issue of the strengthening of the authorities, just
like we - the federal centre - are [concerned].
Regional leaders should still be elected by popular vote
Some people have even suggested taking more radical measures than the
ones
proposed by the draft laws, going as far as introducing procedures under
which the governors would be appointed directly by the president of
Russia.
However, I have thought and still think that the heads of the
constituent
members of the federation must be elected by popular vote. This practice
is
already in place. It has become a part of our democratic state system.
I also consider it important to stress that the proposed [draft] laws
are
not aimed against the regional leaders. Quite the opposite. I am certain
that the heads of the regions provide and will continue to provide the
president with crucial support in his task of strengthening our state.
The state is more than just the land we live and work on, more than a
territory with set geographic boundaries. Above everything else, the
state
is the law. It stands for constitutional law and order and discipline.
If
these tools are weak, the state is also weak or simply nonexistent.
Slackness of leadership hurts ordinary people, leads to separatism
It is outrageous that - think about this figure - one-fifth of the legal
regulations adopted by the regions contradict the country's fundamental
law, that the constitutions of the republics and the charters of the
Regions run counter to Russia's constitution, that trade barriers or,
even
worse, border posts are set up to separate Russia's Territories and
Regions. Such things do happen. Practice shows that such irregularities
spawn disastrous consequences. What may seem to be a private matter step
by
step leads to separatism, which sometimes gives rise to even more
dangerous
evil - international terrorism.
I am addressing the lawmakers once again. Once again I would like to
stress
that the period of forced compromises leading to instability is over.
And I
very much hope that you will support the policy aimed at strengthening
Russian statehood. Esteemed citizens, you know as well as I do that
millions of ordinary people are the ones who suffer from the slackness
of
the authorities more than anyone else. The lack of discipline in the
state
undermines the security of the individual, inviolability of property and
the place of abode, and in the end our own wellbeing and the future of
our
children.
This is what we need strong and responsible authorities for. Therefore,
I
expect you to understand the steps that are currently being taken. These
are the ideas with which I was elected Russia's president. This is the
policy that I intend to continue to pursue responsibly and consistently,
precisely as we are doing this now.
Thank you for your attention.
******
#5
PENPIX-Russian top ministers reappointed
MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signed a series of
decrees on Thursday reappointing senior Russian government ministers and
officials, one day after parliament approved Mikhail Kasyanov as prime
minister.
Kasyanov told Russian agencies the entire cabinet would be named by next
week. The following reappointments were announced:
DEFENCE MINISTER - Igor Sergeyev, 62. Defence minister since 1997 and
former
head of Soviet rocket forces, which he considers the backbone of
Russia's
defence. Mild-mannered, white-haired Sergeyev is a major opponent of
U.S.
aims to amend the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
FOREIGN MINISTER - Igor Ivanov, 54. A career diplomat and foreign
minister
since 1998. Balding, urbane Ivanov has helped rebuild cordial working
relations with West despite using harsh rhetoric in past during spats
over
Kosovo and Chechnya.
INTERIOR MINISTER - Vladimir Rushailo, 46. Minister for a year, he was
previously head of Moscow city's organised crime police force. Has
played a
prominent role during military campaign in rebel Chechnya, where
Interior
Ministry troops also deployed alongside soldiers.
EMERGENCIES MINISTER - Sergei Shoigu, 44. Minister since 1994, Shoigu
developed a reputation as a can-do man who personally swept in and
cleaned up
disaster zones.
Shoigu last year formed the Unity political bloc, which became second
biggest
party in parliament after December election thanks to its platform of
unswerving loyalty to popular Putin, then prime minister.
FSB DOMESTIC SECURITY SERVICE HEAD - Nikolai Patrushev, 48. A career
spy,
Patrushev has headed the FSB, one of the successors of the KGB, since
last
August. He replaced Putin in post after Putin was promoted to prime
minister
by then-president Boris Yeltsin. Regarded as close to Putin.
JUSTICE MINISTER - Yuri Chaika, 48. Minister since last August. Another
Putin
loyalist, he has defended the propriety of Russia's conduct in Chechnya
and
vowed to fight political extremists. Born and raised in Siberia and the
Far
East.
******
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000
From: Mikhail Kazachkov <mkazach@gist.net>
Subject: MOST Security
Dear David:
Your remarkable list is abuzz lately over a search at MOST Bank Security
Service in Moscow. So I thought a reference could be useful.
To the best of my knowledge since its very first days and to this day
MOST
Security Service is directed by Four Star KGB General Philip Bobkov.
General Bobkov was First Deputy to at least three last chairmen of the
KGB.
For many years he was Top Secret Policemen of the USSR, heading the
so-called Fifth Chief Directorate which dealt with dissidents and
political
prisoners.
General Bobkov occasionally summoned some of my GULAG friends who later
shared their impressions of the man. According to them he was full
of
unabashed hatred and deliberate cruelty, more so than any other KGB
officer
any of us ever met.
In the summer of 1987 General Bobkov came to the Mordovian political
prison
camp and wanted to meet with me. I refused. When Deputy Head
of Mordovian
KGB asked me why, I told him "because I don't need personal enemies
where I
already have institutional ones."
The fact that MOST chose that particularly notorious Soviet secret
policemen to take care of their security is more than telling.
They chose
General Bobkov as early as in 1991/92, about when the Russian parliament
was considering the late Galina Starovoitova’s bill intended to limit
former KGB officers’ civil rights. MOST had no reason to be
afraid of the
KGB old boy network then they deliberately chose to use it.
The present “crisis” is not about the freedom of the press.
Even
conspiracy theorists among your readers really shouldn't ask for more
than
a “First Chief Directorate [President Putin, foreign intelligence
against
the Fifth [General Bobkov, head of the Soviet gestapo]” explanation.
In
fact, it’s about rule of law and reigning in of the private ex-KGB
operations.
The story tells something about Mr. Gussinsky as well. He is
presenting
himself as a champion of freedom in general and Jewish cultural freedoms
in
particular. I believe Mr. Gussinsky holds both Russian and Israeli
passports. Nathan Scharansky is now Minister of the Interior of
Israel.
I wonder if Mr. Gussinsky ever asked General Bobkov, MOST Chief Security
Executive about Nathan Scharansky’s months of solitary confinement in
Chistopol prison. In the fall of 1978 my friends and I stopped
that
particular outrage with a collective hunger strike. I vouch that
Nathan
Scharansky’s solitary confinement could not have been approved without
General Bobkov's personal authorization...
Mikhail Kazachkov
15 years (short of 20 days) in the GULAG,
the last Soviet political prisoner;
after my release in November 1990
the last Soviet political prison in Chistopol was closed.
******
#7
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000
From: "Jerry F. Hough" <jhough@duke.edu>
Subject: Regional decree
If I had to bet, I would say that Putin's regional decree probably
has little meaning other than he is looking for an excuse to change
presidential representatives, who had and probably will have no power.
What has disturbed me is that when the Russian propagandists say
nothing--e.g., on agriculture--we say nothing and never even advocate
real market reform after 10 years. That would discredit our czar.
But
when the Russian propagandists say oligarchs and regions have power,
neither
of which does in my opinion, they are creating scapegoats to justify the
power of the czar, and we buy it hook, line, and sinker. We
have lost all
our old skepticism about Kremlin propaganda now that it supports a
right-wing dictator instead of a left-wing one. My main
point was
that IF the super-district idea is serious, it is a bad, dangerous idea
and that we should not support it on the ground that it brings the
regional governors, who are powerless, under control.
******
#8
120,000 in Russia May Get Amnesty
May 17, 2000
MOSCOW (AP) - Lawmakers on Wednesday gave initial approval to an amnesty
for 120,000 inmates in an effort to improve conditions in Russia's
overcrowded and disease-ridden prisons.
The lower house of parliament, or State Duma, voted 390-6 in favor of
the
amnesty bill that would free prisoners infected with tuberculosis -
about
one-tenth of the prison population - as well as war veterans, invalids,
elderly people, pregnant women and minor offenders.
The amnesty requires two more votes in the State Duma before it can come
into effect.
Russia has a strict penal code and one of the highest per capita prison
and
jail populations in the world. There are currently 1,084,000 people in
jail. Suspects sometimes spend years in jail awaiting trial.
Jails and prisons currently house up to five times the number of inmates
they were designed to hold, forcing prisoners to share bunks and often
sleep in shifts.
The Justice Ministry says more than 4,000 inmates have HIV, the virus
that
causes AIDS, while TB afflicts about 100,000 prisoners, including
thousands
with a drug-resistant, often fatal strain. Up to 10,000 inmates are
estimated to die of TB every year.
The amnesty is intended to mark the 55th anniversary of the defeat of
Nazi
Germany, which was celebrated in Russia on May 9. Parliament has passed
blanket amnesties before, but the number of inmates quickly rose again.
The head of the Duma's legal affairs committee, Pavel Krasheninnikov,
promised to quickly introduce amendments to liberalize Russia's penal
code.
They would envisage fines, bail and house arrest for many offenses now
punished by prison terms.
******
Parlamentskaya Gazeta
May 17, 2000
[translation from RIA Novosti for personal use only]
RUSSIAN PRISONS
Collapse of a System
Natalya DOLGUSHINA,
the Duma's Press Service, exclusively for Parlamentskaya Gazeta
A popular action has been going on in Russia at
the
initiative of the Public Centre for Penal Reform since November
1999 under the slogan Stop Prison Chernobyl. The aim is to
press for improvements in the Russian state policy and for laws
that would cut the Russian prison population down to sensible
levels.
The country is leading the world: there are 750
prison
inmates per 100,000 population. Every eighth prisoner in the
world serves in a Russian colony or prison, yet Russians make
up only a 40th part of humankind.
"Russian prisoners are kept in conditions
which can be
literally described as barbarian," the centre's director Valery
Abrashkin points out. "Over 10,000 inmates die every year and
2,000 of them never hear their sentence. Hundreds of thousands
become physically and mentally incapacitated.
"A new horrible disease has been born in
penitentiaries -
the medicine resistant tuberculosis - which is being spread
worldwide. Western foundations and organisations could have
collected close to 500 million dollars to combat the TB
epidemic in Russia, but their main demand is better conditions
for the prison population."
As of today, 90% of Russian penitentiaries are
rundown. To
build new facilities, modernise whatever could be modernised,
increase spending for the upkeep of inmates and improve the
working conditions of wardens, the Russian justice ministry's
system of penitentiaries needs 22 billion dollars. Other
agencies need 3 billion dollars more - 25 billion dollars in
all, or 88% of the country's annual federal budget.
Time is not on our side: the effort would take
five years.
Unless a war on TB is started immediately, more than 2 million
Russian citizens will have contaminated terminal TB before the
end of the decade.
The majority of the countries of the world know
that
keeping inmates in a pen as a means of combating crime is a
costly affair. The specific weight of the prison population
there is therefore 7-15 times less than in Russia.
The Russian justice ministry has devised a
programme of
gradually reducing the country's prison population, treat TB
cases and prevent the spread of incurable TB. The basics of the
programme have been set forth in a concept of reforming the
penitentiary system that has been proposed by the ministry's
department of penitentiaries and approved by the president.
The first step aimed to reduce the prison
population is
adopting a federal law on amendments and additions to the
Russian penal legislation drafted way back in 1998. When in
force, it could help reduce the prison population by a third
and thus release some funds to be used to improve the life of
inmates.
Russian territorial administrators are all for,
and the
interior ministry, the Prosecutor General's office and the
Supreme Court are all against it. These agencies are especially
irritated by the legislative initiative to cut down the number
of arrests and to reduce the term of detention for the duration
of investigation and court hearing.
But Yuri Kalinin, a key reformer and a deputy
to the
justice minister who has worked for the department of
penitentiaries for a quarter-century, holds that only 12-16% of
the prison population present realistic threat, while over a
half of inmates are inert.
"We are effectively recruiting them to the
criminal
community which we then fight," he stresses.
******
Russia Wants Fair Oil Competition
May 17, 2000
By HARRY DUNPHY
WASHINGTON (AP ) - Russia will be more assertive in the Caspian Sea
basin and
wants fair competition over pipelines that are being built or planned to
transport growing volumes of oil from the region to markets in Europe, a
senior official said Wednesday.
Ambassador Andrei Urnov, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Caspian
Working Group, said ``certain outside forces are trying to weaken
Russia's
position in the Caspian Basin by driving a wedge'' between Moscow and
three
nations in the region that were once part of the Soviet Union.
They are Turkmenistan, Kazakstan and Azerbaijan.
Urnov did not name the outside forces he said were involved but he
clearly
was alluding to the United States.
The Clinton administration has been promoting the building of a $2.4
billion,
1,080 mile pipeline running from Baku, on the western side of the
Caspian
through Georgia to the Turkish port on of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
U.S. officials want to prevent any Caspian pipelines from running south
through Iran and keep Russia from dominating other routes. The Caspian
is a
California-size body of salt water that may sit on oil reserves of more
than
100 billion barrels.
Urnov said under new President Vladimir Putin Russia ``will resist
attempts
to reduce its role'' in the region. ``But there will be no Monroe
Doctrine
for the region, no dominating role, no confrontation,'' he told a forum
at
Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.
In 1823 President James Monroe told European nations to keep out of the
American continents.
As a sign of Russia's increased interest in the Caspian, Urnov said
Putin
would make one of his first foreign trips as president to Turkmenistan
next
week.
Russia also has been pressing Kazakstan to ship the bulk of its oil
through
pipelines crossing Russia to its own ports on the Black Sea. It has
offered
to expand one of its pipelines to accommodate Kazak exports.
Urnov said Russia was not seeking a monopoly on transport of oil and gas
resources from the Caspian and did not oppose a multiplicity of
pipelines.
But he said existing pipelines that go north through Russia were
underused
and could be upgraded for less cost than building new lines.
Urnov also said Russia had completed a bypass pipeline to take oil from
Baku
around the breakaway republic of Chechnya where Russia forces have been
fighting rebel groups.
He said Russia opposed building any pipelines under the Caspian until
all
environmental issues were settled, including any effect on the sea's
sturgeon
fish that produce caviar.
*******
gazeta.ru
May 17, 2000
Gorbachov And NTV Join Forces
The management of NTV has made an official statement in which the
company
announced its plans to form a social council under the auspices of the
Media-Most holding, headed by Mikhail Gorbachev. Mikhail Gorbachev
has
maintained warm friendly relations with many of them prominent public
figures
in the West and can expect assistance from them.
NTV spokeswoman Tatiana Blinova told Gazeta.Ru that the idea to
establish a council had emerged not by accident. As far back as a year
ago,
Chairman of Media-Most’s board of directors of Vladimir Gusinsky and
NTV ‘s
General Director Yevgeniy Kisilyov sent Mikhail Gorbachev a letter
inviting
him to head “the social organization”.
However, said Ms.Blinova: “Mikhail Sergeyevich (Gorbachev) was going
through a difficult period and had other important business to take care
of.”
Therefore, he replied to the letter almost a year later, to be precise,
on
May 16th. Tatiana Blinova confirmed that the recent events involving
Media
Most Holding had prompted Gorbachev to accept the invitation.
The ex-President [of the Soviet Union] was indeed one of the first
prominent public figures to openly condemn the government actions and
expressed concern about the pressure being exerted on the independent
press.
The growing influence of the mass media has led to the struggle for
control over them, emphasized the official press release. NTV television
company considers the creation of a social council as an urgent needed
measure. The members of the council would be renowned politicians,
public
figures, scientists and artists, people who are deeply concerned with
the
concept of freedom and glasnost. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev will form
the
council himself. In Blinova’s words, it will consist of 20-50 people.
It is no surprise that initially the staff of Gobachev’s Fund did not
answer our questions concerning the foundation of the new social
organization. In principle, the Fund has nothing to do with the newly
founded
council. The Fund’s spokesman Pavel Palashchenko asserted that he had
indeed
heard something about the creation of the council, but “that was
Mikhail
Sergeyevich’s initiative, not ours.” The Media-Most spokeswoman also
informed
the journalists that all issues concerning the project are being
dealt with
by NTV management and Gorbachev.
Chief spokesman for Media Most Dmitry Ostalsky, said that Most must
now solve its internal problem. The council’s goals have already been
determined: the newly formed organ will aim to assist the development of
non
state-owned mass media and protection thereof. In the near future
Gorbachev
intends to establish close contacts “with prominent and influential
representatives of wide public circles in Russia and abroad in view of
the
formation of NTV’s social council.”
Tatyana Blinova also noted that the council would be a voluntary
social organization. When asked where the council would meet she
answered the
new premises owned by Gorbachev’s Fund on Leningradsky Prospekt,
Moscow could
not being ruled out. “The council could also convene at our place, or
we will
rent special premises.”
NTV’s spokeswoman said that henceforth it would not be so easy to
exert pressure on NTV and other mass media, they would be backed by the
powerful structure, and, should any pressure be apllied, not only
Russian but
also the western community would help.
Mila Kuzina
******
MSNBC
May 17, 2000
In Moscow, a Cold War symbol rises
Bugged-embassy scandal still embarrasses the U.S.
By Dana Lewis
NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT
MOSCOW, May 17 — At the U.S. Embassy in Moscow last week, a
handful of
Marines came to attention on a square crowded with staff members of the
U.S.
mission to Russia. There was a crisp salute, then the national anthem
played
while the American flag was hoisted high. But what would have been a
proud
moment in any other embassy compound was in Moscow a very different
affair.
THE OPENING of the new embassy was shrouded in
secrecy and even
regret.
Ambassador James Collins, sources told NBC News,
ordered that Russian
media not be invited. He also refused repeated requests to speak to
American
reporters.
At the flag raising ceremony, Collins seemed ill at
ease with the
whole affair, keeping his appearance as brief as possible. Television
crews
were barred from entering the new building — the most expensive
American
Embassy ever built.
Why? Even Collins had to admit that “this facility
has been a long
time coming” and “one of the most challenging construction projects
ever
undertaken by the Department of State.”
He could say that again. Workers broke ground on the
building in 1979.
But back then — in the dying days of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev —
almost
all the construction workers were Russians hired to build a secure
facility
for America in the middle of the Cold War.
BUGGED THROUGH AND THROUGH
The inevitable happened. The KGB practically
supervised the
construction, installing so many listening devices that the embassy was
dubbed “the giant eight-story microphone.”
Even former KGB chief Vadim Bakatin couldn’t count
the bugs.
“How on earth could I know? I didn’t count them
sufficiently,” Bakatin
said. “I think very many, but I don’t know the exact quantity.”
Bakatin said the CIA knew the embassy was bugged as
far back as 1982,
but construction continued until 1985, when the workers were finally
locked
out of the site. By then it was too late. The Soviets had poured bugs
right
into the concrete, leaving devices that couldn’t even be seen with
x-rays.
The bugs were wired into a KGB observation post — reportedly an
abandoned
church across the road dubbed “Our Lady of Perpetual Observation.”
Bakatin said the American’s were doing
the same, bugging the Soviet
Embassy in Washington.
“There was a cold war on,” he said. “You
couldn’t expect it to be any
other way. We spied and eavesdropped on each other. We traced the bugs
in
Washington and dismantled them.”
The Moscow embassy, however, was a different problem.
It had bugs
imbedded in its foundation. The debate over how to fix it went on for 12
year
as the structure stood decaying.
In 1991, in gesture of openness, Bakatin said he
handed over the KGB
plans of the embassy wiring to U.S. Ambassador Robert Strauss. Bakatin
asked
for reciprocity: the details of bugging of the Soviet Embassy in
Washington.
“What I remember is he was very upset and worried,
so he sent a
request to the State Department and, on getting permission from them,
the
experts of both sides exchanged relevant documentation.”
BUILDING STILL AN OPEN WOUND
Last week’s muted building-opening ceremony more
than 15 years after
the bugging scandal broke underscores the enormity of Washington’s
embarrassment. At the time, the scandal also threatened to derail
important
arms talks taking place between Moscow and Washington.
In the end, the U.S. was forced to take the embassy
apart, slicing
away the top two floors. After the building was cut down, four new
floors
were added — a so-called “top-hat solution,” making the final
structure 10
stories tall.
But even towering over the embassy compound on
Moscow’s busy Garden
Ring road, the building is still shrouded in secrecy. This was the
embassy
spokesman’s answer to the final cost of the project: “I don’t have
the
figures handy, but I can tell you the completion part was $240
million.” Add
in the original $170 million to construct the first bug ridden eight
floors
and the cost tops $400 million.
It was a big price tag and a hard lesson for
the American intelligence
community. This time the embassy was constructed by American workers.
Ambassador Collins stayed far enough away from the
cameras to avoid
unsavory questions about the possibility of bugs in the shiny new
building.
But with spy games between Russia and the U.S. heating up in recent
months,
the new building is still a target — just as it was when construction
began
21 years ago.
NBC’s Dana Lewis is based in Moscow.
******
#13
wps.ru
Issue No. 06, 16 May 2000
READING THE PAPERS LIKE TEA LEAVES
"Vladimir Putin has shown in the Media Most saga how his policy
will differ
from that of Boris Yeltsin," according to Vremya MN's appraisal of
the main
event of the past week. The new president has started creating his own
pyramid of power, and many observers fear that this Putin pyramid will
completely suppress freedom of speech in Russia, for one thing.
But Vremya MN asserts that President Putin is setting himself an
entirely
different goal: it is not the public which stands to lose freedom of
speech,
but the oligarchs, "who have been using this freedom exclusively
for their
own benefit".
If we follow this logic, the next in line after Media Most would be the
ORT
network, to be removed from the control of tycoon Boris Berezovsky.
The immediate pretext for imposing order, says the paper, will be the
financial collapse of the companies rather than the political
unorthodoxy of
their owners: "Indeed, strictly speaking, both Media Most and ORT
have found
themselves in this difficult situation because they have borrowed money
they
will never be able to repay... If, in fact, the state owns and supports
both
TV networks, then they both should work in the interests of the
state."
On the other hand, the paper continues, the main issue remains unclear:
"If
the oligarchs are deprived of freedom of speech, then who will continue
to
enjoy that freedom?" And what exactly is freedom of speech in a
country with
an "ultra-presidential regime"?
In another article Vremya MN emphasizes that there is little sense in
considering the action against Media Most as an attack against the
opposition
media. Thus, the NTV network which is part of the Media Most holding
"is, in
principle, a very convenient opposition, it is fairly liberal and
intelligent". In other words, NTV does not prevent the
powers-that-be from
attaining their goals. The paper states that the affair with Media Most
should be perceived as a warning to the corporation's owner, Vladimir
Gusinsky. President Putin is only fulfilling his pre-election promise to
"keep all the oligarchs equally far from the Kremlin".
Especially since the
majority of the oligarchs have already accepted the new rules of the
game,
and prefer to keep a low profile. The only two oligarchs left who still
"claim the right to influence the president's decision-making
process" are
Berezovsky and Gusinsky.
Vremya MN maintains that "Kremlin insiders speak quite
categorically about
the fate of these two oligarchs: 'We will exile them both.'"
Therefore,
Vremya MN has no doubt that the police searches at Media Most are only
the
beginning of "a campaign to neutralize the unruly oligarchs".
This viewpoint is shared by Vedomosti: "The public wanted Putin to
counteract
the oligarchs, and Putin did promise to do it, so now just deal with
it!"
The paper believes that "the mind-boggling developments of the
situation with
Media Most" do not have (at least, not yet) anything to do with
encroachments
on freedom of speech, and are nothing but a crusade against the
oligarchs.
On the other hand, if the situation does not develop further than the
affair
with Gusinsky, it would mean that the current advocates of Media Most
are
right, "and in that case we will witness a struggle against freedom
of
speech, revenge, police arbitrariness, and political pressure". In
that case
"all decent people" will be obliged to support "Gusinsky,
a fighter for the
truth" against "the satrap Putin, the strangler Voloshin, and
the intriguer
Berezovsky".
It is obvious that, firstly, the paper is warning its readers against
making
any hasty appraisals of the action against Media Most, and secondly,
that it
is trying to convince those readers that the said action, which is aimed
against specific oligarchs (or at least one of them), will in no way
affect
the interests of other Russians.
Segodnya, which is part of Gusinsky's holding, is certain that the order
to
search Media Most's premises was issued by the state, "a power
which does not
like the fact that Media Most's media refuse to toe the line".
The question arises, continues the paper, as to what type of state is
currently being formed: "Is it the type of state in which all will
really be
equal before the law? Or one in which some will be more equal than
others,
and economic arguments will be settled with the help of police
task-forces?"
Segodnya publishes a selection of quotes from the foreign press on the
Media
Most situation. "The Washington Post", "The Daily
Telegraph", "The Guardian",
"Die Berliner Zeitung", and other influential Western papers
and magazines
consider the action against Media Most to be a violation of democratic
norms.
They remind President Putin of his own words about the need for a
"dictatorship of law" and about his readiness to take
responsibility for the
situation in Russia. Apart from that, Segodnya quotes a letter sent to
President Putin by Robert Menar, Secretary General of Journalists Sans
Frontiers, an influential international organization. In the letter,
President Putin is called on "to put an end to the practice of
searches, and
start to observe the obligations to provide for freedom of the press
which
Russia undertook before the Council of Europe".
Leonid Radzikhovsky, a Segodnya political observer, is sure that the
attack
against Media Most is nothing more than "another foolishness"
on the part of
the FSB, General Prosecutor's Office, or other federal departments. The
identity of those who committed this foolish act is immaterial to
Radzikhovsky: "Well, they are still living in the happy era before
the
invention of radio (not to mention TV), they believe naively that it is
possible to stop information flow by fists and batons."
Radzikhovsky notes
that the only positive element of the entire Media Most saga is that the
new
Russian president has been offered an opportunity to gain advantage for
himself from somebody else's stupidity: "Putin can now play the
role of
protector of freedom of speech, and then the entire ridiculous incident
will
improve the image of post-Yeltsin Russia rather than worsen it."
Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes that the attack against Media Most was
"evidently
poorly planned from the viewpoint of public opinion's possible
resistance to
the actions of law enforcement agencies". The paper states:
"Although
Gusinsky's influence on the Kremlin and the government has by now
considerably weakened, it still needs to be reckoned with." The
paper
considers Gusinsky's international contacts to be the greatest source of
danger for his opponents. Nezavisimaya Gazeta reminds its readers that
Gusinsky is vice president of the World Jewish Congress and chair of the
Russian Jewish Congress. In addition, he is the only representative of
Russian business who has been granted an audience with French President
Jacques Chirac. That is why, the paper believes, the Western media are
sure
to start talking about "the political nature of the grudges the
Russian
government bears against the only opposition TV network in Russia".
And
against the West's general disapproval of Russia's actions in Chechnya,
and
"an evident weakness of Russia's position on restructuring its
foreign debt",
such an attitude by public opinion may be used "for making
decisions
undesirable for Moscow".
In one of its later issues, after the president's press service had
released
statements regarding the Media Most scandal, Nezavisimaya Gazeta noted
graciously: "One can hardly believe that President Putin and his
closest
confidants had not been informed beforehand about the impending searches
in
Media Most's offices."
In an article published by Novaya Gazeta Andrei Piontkovsky quotes one
of
President Putin's statements which contributed to his enormous
popularity:
"Those who happen to insult us will not last three days." It
has previously
been unclear, Piontkovsky writes, which day one should begin counting
from.
"December 31? March 26?" As it turned out, it was May 7,
inauguration day.
"Three days after the inauguration, police lieutenant-colonels,
stunned by
the power they had suddenly been entrusted with, invited the Russian
people
to attend the execution of freedom of speech in this country."
In the same issue of Novaya Gazeta Yevgeny Savostianov expresses the
opinion
that the operation against Media Most is nothing other than
self-assertion by
the security services: "They are demonstrating to themselves that
they are
powerful. The election of Putin, a KGB officer, as president was
perceived by
the security services as 'their' man coming to power. Well, now that he
is
'theirs', it means the new era is also theirs!" Savostyanov voices
the
opinion that this country is slowly drifting along the path of "a
senseless
Pinochet". "In other words, our economy is liberalized, but
the possibility
remains that independent civil institutions may be wound up and closed
down.
This is a deadlock of development." Another obvious point is that
this
ridiculous operation will inevitably have a negative impact on the image
of
President Putin.
However, the magazine Itogi maintains that President Putin's approval
rating
still remains fairly high: the new president has not yet done anything
that
might "alienate part of the electorate." It is not by chance
that prior to
the presidential election, when enumerating the would-be president's
positive
features, poll respondents tended to mention caution first.
Meanwhile, the magazine writes: "The impression is created that
President
Putin does not fully understand what business in general a president
should
handle." Especially since he still has no team of his own; one of
the
consequences of Putin's skyrocketing career ascent is that he had no
time to
gather around himself a team of economic and administrative aides.
Therefore,
even after his victory in the presidential election, and even after the
inauguration, he is doomed to remain "a puppet in the skillful
hands of the
Kremlin manipulators".
In reality, despite expectations, the change of power has not resulted
in a
change of the mechanism of political decision-making: "The same
people remain
in the same posts they held under President Yeltsin; and, as before, are
'settling questions' and 'solving problems'. President Putin has readily
granted the right to make political decisions to 'the old guard of
intriguers'."
As for the president's protracted silence, Itogi explains it by the
simple
assumption that "Putin still has nothing to say to his
electorate".
Alexander Bekker, a Vedomosti observer, holds the opinion that the
discreditation of Herman Gref and his national development program
"has
become an important element of the struggle for power in post-Yeltsin
Russia." Everything began with Berezovsky's February interview, in
which Gref
was called "a shallow person too weak to play the role of the
president's
court strategist". Early drafts of Gref's program started being
published in
the press, and Gref himself was subjected to strong criticism.
In addition, Bekker continues, Gref was accused of thinking up
impracticable
schemes: his program stipulated GDP growth of 8% to 10% per year,
whereas
Mikhail Kasianov viewed the Economics Ministry's program, which is based
on
growth of 4% to 5.5% per year, as more realistic. In the end Gref gave
up and
adjusted his calculations with those of the government, thus putting in
doubt
his reputation as "the major economic strategist". "By
deposing Gref, the
Yeltsin elite ingrained in the federal structures prevented a radical
renovation of the higher echelon of power," Bekker states.
"Strangers were
pushed into the background, although it appears that Putin counted on
fresh
blood among his aides." It became clear that the Gref team had been
too busy
working on economic tasks set by President Putin to realize in time that
it
had been outflanked. Kasianov, "supported by the Presidential
Administration,
the ministries, and a group of Duma lobbyists headed by Yury Maslyukov",
came
to the fore. Vedomosti asserts that Kasianov owes his success to the
oligarchs' support.
Anna Fedotova
*******
|
|