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RIA Novosti
September 14, 2004
UNITY AND INTEGRITY OF RUSSIA - PUTIN'S TOP PRIORITY

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Ilyashenko) - It would be wrong to assume that the measures announced by President Vladimir Putin at yesterday's enlarged session of the government are directly spearheaded at fighting terrorism. No, Putin's suggestions aim above all at strengthening the unity and integrity of the state. "The unity of the state is the main condition for defeating terrorism; it will be impossible to attain this goal without such unity," said the president.

This statement is not an improvisation but a trend, which American political scientist Nikolai Zlobin noted after a recent meeting with Putin. "As I see it, his main idea is that the dissolution of the state is quite possible and probable, that there are hidden conflicts, and that the situation is not as well controlled as many people think it is. This is why he is thinking above all about measures that could strengthen the unity and integrity of the country."

It is not the first time that Putin has addressed this subject, but the Beslan tragedy and a series of terrorist attacks before it showed clearly that the power is weak in Russia and that Russia is weak. The symptoms of this disease are the ineffective political system, corruption in law enforcement agencies, inadequate attention to security, open borders, and misunderstanding of the processes that determine the situation in Russia and the world. The authorities "showed weakness," the president admitted on September 4. On September 13, he presented his method of fighting that weakness.

Putin's statement on the appointment of governors and transition to the proportionate system of election to the State Duma was a bombshell. Most politicians, experts and journalists interpreted it as a reform of Russia's political system, though the idea of proportionate election was voiced long ago and the issue of appointing governors resurfaced every time when an odious person with contradictory, to put it mildly, political or criminal past won gubernatorial elections.

This decision is also part of the president's policy of weakening the influence of oligarchic structures on the authorities, this time in the regions. The battles waged by major Russian monopolies for gubernatorial chairs and their attempts to have their puppets elected to the Duma in single-mandate districts did not strengthen the Kremlin's influence in the regions, no matter what was said about the administrative resource of the presidential staff. It is true that the new idea paves the way to stronger centralisation. But "to God the things that belong to God," and to the president the things that belong to a strong president - especially the president of such a large country as Russia.

We should remember that it will take years to renew the gubernatorial corps. The law on the actual nomination of governors cannot be backdated, say sources in the presidential staff. This means that at least partial renewal of the gubernatorial corps will take 2-3 years and the proportionate system of elections to the Duma will be applied no sooner than during the next elections in 2007.

In short, Putin's political reform is a task for the future.

On the other hand, he suggested creating a Public Chamber - but we had one under Yeltsin and we also had a Civil Forum under Putin. At a glance, the president is trying to balance the centralisation trend in the political system. Maybe this is so, but, "in fact, the point at issue is civil control of the work of the state machinery, including law enforcement and security services," which is "extremely important" today. It looks like the president does not see a more effective instrument in the struggle against corruption.

As for the other weaknesses, they must be fought today because we are facing an undiminishing threat of terrorism. The main tasks of mending holes in national security are entrusted to administrative agencies. Putin's formula concerning themis extremely vague but it is clear that he plans to "improve the system of internal security in the country as a whole and in the South Federal District, in particular."

A special Federal Commission for the North Caucasus, which will be set up there, will take over "some powers in the sphere of security." Putin has also charged the chairs of district and regional anti-terrorist commissions with the task of co-ordinating the operation of territorial divisions of the federal structures and the efforts of regional and local agencies to cut short the actions of illegal armed groups and prevent subversive terrorist acts.

In accordance with the above instructions, the regional heads will have a first deputy - an officer of the Interior Troops, who will have the right to use the forces and resources of all agencies located in the said territory for a quick and effective reaction to all forms of terrorism.

Speaking about security measures at the federal level, Vladimir Putin suggested creating a crisis management system "designed for the conditions of the terrorist war that is being waged against Russia." The president also deems it necessary to create a joint security system that would be responsible for comprehensive protection of international security and the struggle against terrorism. This reminds me of the US decision to create the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 tragedy. And why not, if not a single terrorist attack happened in the US in the three years since then?

This is only a short list of security measures that can, in the opinion of Vladimir Putin, strengthen the country, ensure success in the war against terrorism, and, ultimately, preserve the unity and territorial integrity of Russia, whose guarantor is the president.