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#15
The Economist (UK)
December 15-21, 2001
The Kremlin
Old versus new
Civil war in President Putin's camp

THE Kremlin runs Russia. But who runs the Kremlin? Around President Vladimir Putin, the snowballs are flying in a battle for power and money.

On one side is the "family", mostly well-connected leftovers from the Yeltsin era. Notable among them are the head of Mr Putin's administration, Alexander Voloshin, and the prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, but also included are the central-bank chief, the top prosecutor and other worthies. On the other side are the siloviki, the hard men, brought in by Mr Putin, mostly, like him, from St Petersburg, and with KGB or similar backgrounds. They include Sergei Stepashin, who runs the Audit Chamber, the state's main anti- corruption watchdog, and Nikolai Patrushev, head of the internal security service, the FSB.

Both sides claim the argument is about how to run Russia. The old guard talk experience and stability. The newcomers say they want a stronger state and less crookery. Cynics say the Yeltsin-era lot are really just trying to hang on to their juicy, ill-gotten assets and incomes, whereas the newcomers just want to get their hands on the loot, and the sooner the better.

The weapons in this struggle are blackmail, feigned illness (which can keep you out of jail), the legal system, and accusations of banditry and incipient totalitarianism. Oddly, both sides more or less count on the president's support. The feud has been simmering since Mr Putin took power. Now it is becoming open war.

One battle is over jobs. The railways minister, Nikolai Aksyonenko, a "family" member, suffered the indignity of a late-night visit from anti-corruption investigators during his granddaughter's birthday party. Exaggeratedly, his side claimed to find echoes of Stalin's purges in this. The rumour mill has been hard at work. A television station owned by a banking tycoon close to Mr Putin reported that Mr Voloshin, an efficient administrator who seemed to have settled down with the new regime, had been dismissed. The tale was widely repeated in other media, in what looked suspiciously like planted (and paid- for) articles. So far, in fact, Mr Voloshin remains in place.

Business is a second battlefield. A would-be putsch at Gazprom, Russia's biggest (and grossly mismanaged) company, failed when Mr Putin stepped in, reluctantly, to keep his newly appointed man in the top job, where he had been making little headway. Another row concerns the customs service (see article). Its bosses are mainly people from the Yeltsin era. But two now face corruption charges. The siloviki want full control.

Some of the old guard are saving their own skins by turning on former friends: the prosecutor's office, a "family" bastion that the new men have tried and failed to capture, has recently given zealous support to Mr Stepashin's sleaze-hunts.

Mr Putin has shown he can act fast and toughly when he wants. But he has mostly stayed out of the fight. He may be biding his time. Or maybe, understandably, he just finds both camps unappealing.

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