Guard of honour at the golded doors to the Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Rating of the Popularity of Power
Vlast magazine presents its regular rating of the popularity of politicians, officials and businessmen of Russia compiled on the basis of the frequency of mentioning their names in the central Russian mass media. In this issue we sum up the results of the second quarter of 2005. From this rating you'll learn about the coefficient of Vladimir Putin's influence on the mass media, what helped Mikhail Evdokimov retain his governor's post, what the leading VIPs of the country discussed, and how Anatoly Chubais manages to balance between cynicism and professional inadequacy.
The past quarter of the year was packed with various events. The celebration of the 60th anniversary of Victory in the last war, the sentence passed on Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the energy crisis in Moscow and the region, and the selling of Gazprom shares to the state, all these events were widely discussed in the mass media. Perhaps, they will also be entered into text-books on history in the future. However, today, as President Putin is wont to say, “we have gathered together in order to analyze the actions of those who should work effectively in accordance with their duty.” Let's see how actively Russian political figures, officials and businessmen worked during the past quarter of the year and what results they achieved.
The President himself, according to the post he holds, shows the best example of efficiency. In any case, the name of Putin was mentioned, on average, in one of ten publications in the central Russian mass media during the past three months, that is, the coefficient of his influence on the mass media can be assessed in 10%. True, the efficiency of the internal combustion engine is 12-15%, and so the President and journalists can still strive for further goals. Meanwhile President Putin is mentioned in central newspapers in the following volumes: Nezavisimaya gazeta, 15.8% of all its publications; Izvestia, 11.0%; Kommersant, 10.0%; Vedomosti, 9.7%; Gazeta, 8.7%; Komsomolskaya pravda, 7.9%; Argumenty I fakty, 7.7%; Moskovsky komsomolets, 6.0%.
No matter what other participants in our rating could do, they are unable to come close to the head of state. Even despite the successful completion of the Khodorkovsky case for the General Prosecutor's office, Vladimir Ustinov, the general prosecutor, was mentioned almost 20 times more seldom than the President. The tycoon himself sentenced to nine years in prison was mentioned four times less frequently than Vladimir Putin. Khodorkovsky's name was used in headlines three times less frequently than the name of the head of state. Journalists were more interested in how closely the former head of YUKOS was connected with money and the President; in the columns “Money” and “Beside Mr. P” Khodorkovsky took third and fourth places respectively. The public was much less interested in the view of the tycoon on various problems. Despite his loud statements during the trial and after the sentence was announced, in the frequency of being cited Khodorkovsky held 11th place, after Viktor Khristenko and Sergey Ivanov.
If other participants in the Khodorkovsky trial had been singled out in our rating, the barrister Genrikh Padva with 2.57% frequency of mentioning his name as against the president's name, would have taken a place between Mikhail Evdokimov and Andrey Illarionov (47th and 48th lines), the state prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin (0.78% frequency of mentioning his name) between Pyotr Latyshev and Sergey Darkin (115th and 116th lines), the judge Irina Kolesnikova (1.48%) between Konstantin Pulikovsky and Sergey Baburin (83rd and 84th line and 84th lines). The highest place would go to Platon Lebedev (9.54% frequency of mentioning his name) between Boris Gryzlov and Sergey Ivanov (10th and 11th lines). It's indicative that by the end of the second quarter Platon Lebedev had been in prison 728 days, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky 613 days. However, the mass media mention the name of the former head of MENATEP 2.5 times less frequently than the name of the former head of YUKOS.
Vlast has already written that the delay in announcing the sentence on Khodorkovsky placed the mass media in a difficult situation. The court sitting on May 16 at which the reading of the sentence began was described in 8.5% of the material of the central press, by the end of the second week of the monotonous reading the journalists seemed to have lost interest and the number of publications on the subject decreased to one-fourth. The announcement of the prison terms on May 31 was reported in 6.7% of the mass media material.
The celebration of the 60th anniversary of Victory was not postponed or dragged out. As a result, during the first two weeks of May, 16.4% of the mass media material dealt with the subject. 46.7% of press materials were devoted to war veterans, guests of Moscow, 36.9%, and Vladimir Putin, 20.8%. Among the guests present George Bush took up 13.2%, Gerhard Schroeder 4% and Silvio Berlusconi 1.9%. Among those who did not arrive the President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili (5.2%) and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair (4.3%).
The cascade outage of electricity in Moscow and the region on May 25 evoked particular interest. If the energy crisis had been included in our rating on a par with politicians and businessmen, it would definitely have taken one of the first ten places. This event was discussed by 1,216 materials in the mass media, which amounted to 13.1% of mentioning the President's name. The Chagino substation No 10 (4.69% frequency of mentioning), which went out of order, proved more popular thanYuri Baluyevsky, Alexander Voloshin and Mikhail Fridman taken together. Chagino was ahead of such noted political figures as Valentina Matvienko, Sergey Shoigu and Dmitry Medvedev. Prior to the power failure the name Chagino has never been mentioned in the Russian mass media.
On July 4, President Putin pointed to the “cynicism and obvious professional inadequacy” of the management of Mosenergo. As a result the general director of the company Arkady Evstafiev, his deputy Vladislav Nazin and chief engineer Igor Goryunov have resigned. Right after the breakdown Evstafiev has publicly stated that energy tariffs should be raised in order to prevent such mishaps. This statement was the pretext for the harsh criticism of his activity on the part of the President.
Meanwhile, before the outage the words “cynicism” and “professional inadequacy” with regard to Evstafiev's name have never been mentioned in the central Russian mass media. As for the head of the RAO EES ROSSII Anatoly Chubais, the word “cynicism” could be seen in one of thirty publications about him, and the words “professional inadequacy” in one of 93 publications. Besides, after the energy crisis Chubais spoke more frequently than Evstafiev: the frequency of mentioning the latter's name is only 5.6%, that is, one-third of Chubais. The sentence “Chubais is to blame for everything” can be seen in present publications (during the first four months it was quoted 13 times by the central mass media, which is 0.8% of all publications about Anatoly Chubais.)
It would seem that Chubais should resign. Almost one in five publications of the mass media mentioned it. However, he managed to find appropriate words in each of his public statements. Largely due to this fact (judging by how President Putin rebuked some officials in the power industry) the actions of the management of RAO were regarded more efficient than those of the management of Mosenergo.
We publish a list of 50 most frequently mentioned newsmakers. The full version of the rating can be seen on the site .
We publish a list of 50 most frequently mentioned newsmakers. The full version of the rating can be seen on the site www.kommersant.ru/k-vlast/vlast-rate.asp.
| President's absolute showings (total for three months) |
| Frequency of mentioning |
Headlines |
Quotes |
Money |
Beside P. |
| 9,251 |
4,172 |
1,636 |
957 |
9,251 |
| All material in mass media: 90,921 |
| Leaders of growth |
| Index |
Name |
Progress* |
| Frequency of mentioning |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky (3) |
13.37 |
| Headlines |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky (3) |
22.40 |
| Quotes |
Sergey Lavrov (8) |
6.52 |
| Money |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky (3) |
31.54 |
| Beside P. |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky (3) |
3.41 |
| *Change of index compared with previous quarter, in % In brackets after name is place in freq. of mentioning. |
| Leaders of drop |
| Index |
Name |
Regress* |
| Frequency of mentioning |
Mikhail Zurabov (13) |
-10.31 |
| Headlines |
Mikhail Zurabov (13) |
-8.76 |
| Quotes |
Mikhail Zurabov (13) |
-13.20 |
| Money |
Mikhail Zurabov (13) |
-31.04 |
| Beside P. |
Mikhail Zurabov (13) |
-3.11 |
| *Change of index compared with previous quarter, in % In brackets after name is place in freq. of mentioning |
| Russian newsmakers in % of President's rating |
| Place |
Name |
Frequency of mentioning |
Headlines |
Quotes |
Money |
Beside P. |
| 1 (1) |
V.Putin |
100.00 |
100.00(1) |
100.00(1) |
100.00(1) |
100.00(1) |
| 2.(2) |
M.Fradkov |
26.42 |
22.08(3) |
19.38(5) |
33.75(5) |
8.29(2) |
| 3(11) |
M.Khodorkovsky |
24.38 |
30.35(2) |
11.49(11) |
51.10(3) |
6.63(4) |
| 4(10) |
A.Chubais |
19.40 |
17.69(4) |
16.69(7) |
21.53((7) |
4.89(7) |
| 5.(6) |
Y.Luzhkov |
18.90 |
11.39(6) |
18.64(6) |
21.32(8) |
3.38(10) |
| 6(5) |
H.Gref |
16.42 |
8.65(8) |
23.84(3) |
38.98(4) |
5.63(5) |
| 7(3) |
A.Kudrin |
16.14 |
9.42(7) |
26.83(2) |
56.64(2) |
4.82(8) |
| 8(13) |
S.Lavrov |
13.78 |
11.94(5) |
22.37(4) |
4.18(34) |
5.19(6) |
| 9(8) |
B.Yeltsin |
12.76 |
2.64(28) |
1.65(67) |
10.14(13) |
6.70(3) |
| 10(7) |
B.Gryzlov |
10.90 |
5.35(10) |
15.95(8) |
7.63(19) |
3.12(11) |
| 11(9) |
S.Ivanov |
8.98 |
8.08(9) |
14.73(9) |
7.94(18 |
3.47(9) |
| 12(12) |
A.Zhukov |
8.72 |
3.88(17) |
10.88(13) |
18.39(10) |
2.38(19) |
| 13(4) |
M.Zurabov |
8.36 |
4.94(11) |
10.57(14 |
24.35(6) |
2.56(17) |
| 14(14) |
S.Mironov |
7.72 4. |
17(14) |
11.37(12) |
6.17(23) |
2.83(12) |
| 15(16) |
V.Zhirinovsky |
7.30 |
2.42(33) |
4.58(32) |
6.79(22) |
2.27(20) |
| 16(23) |
V.Khristenko |
7.23 |
3.95(16) |
11.74(10) |
6.79(21) |
2.81(13) |
| 17(17) |
M.Gorbachev |
6.93 |
2.37(34) |
3.00(47) |
4.70(32) |
2.78(14) |
| 18(15) |
D.Rogozin |
6.57 |
2.66(27) |
8.19(17) |
2.72(50) |
2.61(15) |
| 19(18) |
R.Abramovich |
6.26 |
4.24(13) |
2.14(60) |
19.75(9) |
1.83(24) |
| 20(22) |
G.Zyuganov |
5.90 |
2.04(39) |
6.11(21) |
3.55(42) |
2.61(16) |
| 21(19) |
B.Berezovsky |
5.51 |
3.07(22) |
4.89(26) |
10.34(11) |
1.96(22) |
| 22(33) |
D.Kozak |
5.32 |
3.19(21) |
5.32(24) |
1.15(87) |
2.27(21) |
| 23(21) |
A.Miller |
5.23 |
2.52(30) |
6.97(19) |
9.61(15) |
1.46(30) |
| 24(20) |
V.Ustinov |
5.22 |
4.91(12) |
5.44(23) |
2.93(46) |
1.68(25) |
| 25(30) |
Alexiy II |
5.19 |
3.26(20) |
2.63(51) |
1.25(82) |
1.59(27) |
| 26(32) |
A.Fursenko |
5.07 |
2.73(25) |
7.33(18) |
10.24(12) |
1.16(38) |
| 27(64) |
A.Veshnyakov |
4.94 |
2.95(24) |
9.11(15) |
2.72(51) |
1.24(33) |
| 28(25) |
I.Levitin |
4.80 |
2.97(23) |
8.25(16) |
8.36(17) |
0.83(54) |
| 29(28) |
V.Matviyenko |
4.67 |
2.33(35) |
3.79(41) |
6.06(24) |
1.53(28) |
| 30(32) |
S.Shoigu |
4.51 |
2.49(31) |
4.46(35) |
3.34(44) |
1.14(39) |
| 31(26) |
L.Sliska |
4.49 |
1.63(47) |
6.48(20) |
3.97(36) |
1.20(36) |
| 32(40) |
D.Medvedev |
4.35 |
2.49(32) |
4.46(34) |
4.08(35) |
2.40(18) |
| 33(35) |
M.Shvydkoi |
4.28 |
2.71(26) |
4.71(31) |
5.96(25) |
0.69(63) |
| 34(31) |
A.Gordeyev |
4.25 |
2.61(29) |
4.83(29) |
4.91(31) |
1.37(31) |
| 35(63) |
A.Dzasokhov |
3.88 |
4.12(15) |
0.18(153) |
1.15(86) |
1.66(26) |
| 36(38) |
G.Fadeyev |
3.87 |
2.16(37) |
4.95(27) |
5.12(28) |
1.12(40) |
| 37(27) |
M.Kasyanov |
3.80 |
1.70(45) |
3.18(44) |
4.60(33) |
1.92(23) |
| 38(48) |
V.Fetisov |
3.51 |
1.58(50) |
3.00(46) |
3.55(41) |
3.55(41) |
| 39(34) |
B.Nemtsov |
3.25 |
1.25(58) |
1.71(66) |
3.03(45) |
1.24(42) |
| 40(54) |
V.Chernomyrdin |
3.16 |
0.70(79) |
1.77(64 |
2.30(58) |
1.07(41) |
| 41(88) |
A.Khloponin |
3.13 |
1.39(53) |
4.52(33) |
5.85(26) |
1.03(44) |
| 42(73) |
A.Sokolov |
3.12 |
3.67(18) |
5.75(22) |
7.00(20) |
0.40(87) |
| 43(24) |
R.Nurgaliyev |
3.08 |
1.94(40) |
2.51(52) |
1.04(89) |
0.94(48) |
| 44(45) |
O.Deripaska |
2.73 |
1.13(61) |
0.18(154) |
4.91(30) |
0.79(57) |
| 45(29) |
S.Stepashin |
2.71 |
1.61(49) |
4.22(37) |
5.75(27) |
0.81(56) |
| 46(65) |
N.Patrushev |
2.63 |
1.63(46) |
3.30(43) |
2.40(56) |
0.96(47) |
| 47(71) |
M.Evdokimov |
2.63 |
3.60(19) |
0.92(92) |
1.67(70) |
1.21(35) |
| 48(44) |
A.Illarionov |
2.48 |
1.15(59) |
5.32(26) |
5.12(29) |
1.22(34) |
| 49(62) |
V.Gusinsky |
2.45 |
0.86(66) |
0.55(113) |
10.03(14) |
0.85(53) |
| 50(125) |
V.Pekhtin |
2.43 |
1.84(43) |
4.22(38) |
2.61(53) |
0.25(112) |
Headline-makers
 |
| Photo: Pavel Smertin |
The governor of the Altai Territory, Mikhail Evdokimov, became a headline-maker due to his unwillingness to resign.
|
During the past three months Mikhail Khodorkovsky made headlines in 56% of cases. No wonder, because the former head of YUKOS is a typical newsmaker. For comparison’s sake: Boris Yeltsin gets in headlines once in ten cases, that is, the former Russian President is mentioned more often when other persons are written or spoken about by the mass media.
But there is an official in Russia who was mentioned in headlines more often than Khodorkovsky. It is the governor of the Altai Territory, Mikhail Evdokimov. During the past quarter his name was mentioned in headlines in 62% of cases. The reason was his conflict with the territorial parliament. On March 31 most deputies adopted a votum of no confidence in him. The conflict continued to develop in the second quarter and journalists forecast a speedy resignation of the governor who was accused of improper management and neglect. However, Evdokimov was not going to resign, and the Kremlin did not finally decide his future.
As a result, a paradoxical situation has arisen which could well be called “the Evdokimov effect.” In any case, his unwillingness to resign has drawn greater attention of the mass media than the resignation of the President of North Ossetia, Alexander Dzasokhov. The Altai governor made headlines 1.3 times more frequent than the North Ossetian leader.
| Table 2 |
| Place |
Name |
Headline-makers |
Headlines |
| 1(--) |
Mikhail Evdokimov |
61.73 |
19 |
| 2(18) |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky |
56.14 |
2 |
| 3(--) |
Alexander Sokolov |
52.94 |
18 |
| 4(--) |
Alexander Dzasokhov |
47.91 |
15 |
| 5(4) |
Vladimir Putin |
45.10 |
1 |
| 6(19) |
Vladimir Ustinov |
42.44 |
12 |
| 7(3) |
Anatoly Chubais |
41.11 |
4 |
| 8 (5) |
Sergey Ivanov |
40.55 |
9 |
| 9 (6) |
Sergey Lavrov |
39.06 |
5 |
| 10(8) |
Mikhail Fradkov |
3768 |
3 |
| 11(--) |
Vladimir Pekhtin |
34.67 |
43 |
| 12(17) |
Roman Abramovich |
30.57 |
13 |
| 13(47) |
Mikhail Shvydkoi |
28.54 |
26 |
| 14(20) |
Rashid Nurgaliyev |
28.42 |
40 |
| 15(21) |
Alexiy II |
28.33 |
20 |
| 16(--) |
Nikolai Patrushev |
27.93 |
23 |
| 17(14) |
Igor Levitin |
27.93 |
23 |
| 18(10) |
Alexey Gordeyev |
27.74 |
29 |
| 19(25) |
Yuri Luzhkov |
27.17 |
6 |
| 20(26) |
Dmitry Kozak |
27.03 |
21 |
| 21(--) |
Alexander Veshnyakov |
26.91 |
24 |
| 22(2) |
Sergey Stepashin |
26.69 |
49 |
| 23(16) |
Mikhail Zurabov |
26.65 |
11 |
| 24(29) |
Alexey Kudrin |
26.32 |
7 |
| 25(38) |
Dmitry Medvedev |
25.87 |
32 |
| 26(27) |
Gennady Fadeyev |
25.14 |
37 |
| 27(32) |
Boris Berezovsky |
25.10 |
22 |
| 28(--) |
Sergey Shoigu |
24.94 |
31 |
| 29(43) |
Viktor Khristenko |
24.66 |
16 |
| 30(13) |
Sergey Mironov |
24.37 |
14 |
| 31(12) |
Andrey Fursenko |
24.31 |
25 |
| 32(30) |
Herman Gref |
23.77 |
8 |
| 33(37) |
Valentina Matviyenko |
22.45 |
35 |
| 34(35) |
Boris Gryzlov |
22.12 |
10 |
| 35(11) |
Alexey Miller |
21.69 |
30 |
| 36(33) |
Andrey Illarionov |
20.96 |
59 |
| 37(42) |
Vyacheslav Fetisov |
20.31 |
50 |
| 38(24) |
Mikhail Kasyanov |
20.17 |
45 |
| 39(31) |
Alexander Zhukov |
20.07 |
17 |
| 40(--) |
Alexander Khloponin |
20.00 |
53 |
| 41(45) |
Oleg Deripaska |
18.58 |
61 |
| 42(34) |
Dmitry Rogozin |
18.27 |
27 |
| 43(36) |
Boris Nemtsov |
17.28 |
58 |
| 44(46) |
Lyubov Sliska |
16.39 |
47 |
| 45(--) |
Vladimir Gusinsky |
15.86 |
66 |
| 46(44) |
Gennady Zyuganov |
15.57 |
39 |
| 47(40) |
Mikhail Gorbachev |
15.44 |
34 |
| 48(39) |
Vladimir Zhirinovsky |
14.96 |
33 |
| 49(--) |
Viktor Chernomyrdin |
9.93 |
79 |
| 50(48) |
Boris Yeltsin |
9.32 |
28 |
Authorities
Judging by the table “Authorities”, during the past quarter many people in Russia heeded the views of the President’s adviser Andrey Illarionov, the head of the Central Election Commission, Alexander Veshnyakov, and the Minister of Culture, Alexander Sokolov. Why did the mass media become interested in what these newsmakers said?
Last April Alexander Sokolov explained his order on changing the structure of the Ministry of Culture, and in June he complained in parliament about a great shortage of money. Alexander Veshnyakov commented on amendments to laws and discussed the possibility of holding a referendum on the initiative of the Russian communist party. Andrey Illarionov ceaselessly criticized the government for its economic policy which leads to “distortions, degradation and decay.” He accused the government of a “children’s left-wing disorder” and called the sentence on Khodorkovsky “a result of the diseases which had deep roots in our economy and society.” He was so deeply carried away by his own eloquence and critical attitude that certain mass media even supposed that he would soon be fired. However, Andrey Illarionov talked much but is still working as the President’s adviser, whereas Alexander Dzasokhov did not speak publicly at all, but lost his presidential post.
Ex-premier Mikhail Kasyanov, who has also criticized the government for its erroneous economic course, retains the modest 35th place in the table of the main authoritative figures of the country.
It should be noted that the head of the Kremlin administration and the chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom, Dmitry Medvedev, has made a steady rise upward by 17 lines. Last April he gave an interview to Expert magazine which was later quoted by other publications. At the end of June he announced the final transfer of Gazprom under the Russian government’s control.
| Table 3 |
| Place |
Name |
Authorities |
Frequency of Quotes |
| 1(20) |
Andrey Illarionov |
37.99 |
26 |
| 2(--) |
Alexander Veshnyakov |
32.60 |
15 |
| 3(--) |
Alexander Sokolov |
32.53 |
22 |
| 4(--) |
Vladimir Pekhtin |
30 67 |
38 |
| 5(5) |
Igor Levitin |
30.41 |
16 |
| 6(13) |
Alexey Kudrin |
29.40 |
2 |
| 7(3) |
Sergey Ivanov |
29.00 |
9 |
| 8(11) |
Sergey Lavrov |
28.71 |
4 |
| 9(19) |
Viktor Khristenko |
28.70 |
10 |
| 10(7) |
Sergey Stepashin |
27.49 |
37 |
| 11(4) |
Sergey Mironov |
26.05 |
12 |
| 12(12) |
Boris Gryzlov |
25.89 |
8 |
| 13(10) |
Herman Gref |
25.67 |
3 |
| 14(8) |
Andrey Fursenko |
25.59 |
18 |
| 15(30) |
Lyubov Sliska |
25.54 |
20 |
| 16(--) |
Alexander Khloponin |
25.52 |
23 |
| 17(17) |
Alexey Miller |
23.55 |
19 |
| 18(15) |
Gennady Fadeyev |
22.63 |
27 |
| 19(22) |
Mikhail Zurabov |
22.38 |
14 |
| 20(--) |
Nikolai Patrushev |
22.22 |
43 |
| 21(18) |
Alexander Zhukov |
22.06 |
13 |
| 22(16) |
Dmitry Rogozin |
22.04 |
13 |
| 23(14) |
Alexey Gordeyev |
20.10 |
29 |
| 24(36) |
Mikhail Shvydkoi |
19.44 |
31 |
| 25(6) |
Vladimir Ustinov |
18.43 |
23 |
| 26(34) |
Gennady Zyuganov |
18.32 |
21 |
| 27(44) |
Dmitry Medvedev |
18.16 |
34 |
| 28(32) |
Vladimir Putin |
17.68 |
1 |
| 29(26) |
Dmitry Kozak |
17.68 |
24 |
| 30(--) |
Sergey Shoigu |
17.51 |
35 |
| 31(21) |
Yuri Luzhkov |
17.54 |
6 |
| 32(29) |
Boris Berezovsky |
15.69 |
28 |
| 33(27) |
Anatoly Chubais |
15.21 |
7 |
| 34(39) |
Vyacheslav Fetisov |
15.08 |
46 |
| 35(38) |
Mikhail Kasyanov |
14.77 |
44 |
| 36(23) |
Rashid Nurgaliyev |
14.39 |
52 |
| 37(33) |
Valentina Matviyenko |
14.35 |
41 |
| 38(28) |
Mikhail Fradkov |
12.97 |
5 |
| 39(41) |
Vladimir Zhirinovsky |
11.11 |
32 |
| 40(--) |
Viktor Chernomyrdin |
9.93 |
64 |
| 41(24) |
Boris Nemtsov |
9.30 |
66 |
| 42(42) |
Alexiy II |
8.96 |
51 |
| 43(43) |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky |
8.34 |
11 |
| 44(45) |
Mikhail Gorbachev |
7.64 |
47 |
| 45(--) |
Mikhail Evdokimov |
6.17 |
92 |
| 46(49) |
Roman Abramovich |
6.04 |
60 |
| 47(--) |
Vladimir Gusinsky |
3.96 |
113 |
| 48(50) |
Boris Yeltsin |
2.29 |
67 |
| 49(47) |
Oleg Deripaska |
1.19 |
154 |
| 50(--) |
Alexander Dzasokhov |
0.84 |
153 |
Bigwigs
We have noted time and again that the money belonging to others is one of the most favourite subjects to be discussed by journalists. The courageous workers of the press and TV often look into other people’s pockets because too many readers and viewers are interested in the subject. Even President Putin often asks about the incomes of others which is not directly connected with his duties. For instance, at a meeting with the TsSKA football team which won the UEFA Cub, held on May 21, he asked, for some reason or other, about the club’s budget, and got an answer: $20 million.
Thus, the “Bigwigs” nomination is one of the most important in our rating, because it helps determine who of newsmakers is mentioned more often in the context of some or other sums of money. Vladimir Putin himself is usually named in the middle of the list of the 50 bigwigs mentioned most often, and on top of the list there are tycoons and government members. This time the first ten bigwigs include five ministers and three tycoons. Among them are the head of the Auditing Chamber Sergey Stepashin and the economic adviser of the President, Andrey Illarionov. The rating is headed by Vladimir Gusinsky who began to give evidence to the Israeli police on March 30 in connection with the case of money laundering at the 535th affiliation of the Hapoialim Bank in Tel Aviv (Gusinsky was one of its clients). But the main thing which made it possible for him to head the rating of bigwigs was 2.6 billion roubles which, according to the data of the General Prosecutor’s Office, had been embezzled by Khodorkovsky and placed on the account of the firms belonging to Gusinsky.
Mikhail Fradkov demonstrates very weak positions in the “Bigwigs” nomination (20th place). In the absolute “Money” index the premier stands below not only President Putin, but also Alexey Kudrin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Herman Gref.
The President’s representative in the southern administrative region, Dmitry Kozak, holds 50th place. He had to deal mainly with political problems during the past quarter. He saved the President of Karachai-Circassia, Mustafa Batdiyev, from the wrathful crowds of his fellow-countrymen several times. So, the financial questions were far removed from him.
| Table 4 |
| Place |
Name |
Bigwigs |
Money |
| 1(--) |
Vladimir Gusinsky |
42.29 |
14 |
| 2(1) |
Alexey Kudrin |
36.30 |
2 |
| 3(2) |
Roman Abramovich |
32.64 |
9 |
| 4(3) |
Mikhail Zurabov |
30.14 |
6 |
| 5(10) |
Herman Gref |
25.56 |
4 |
| 6(--) |
Alexander Sokolov |
23.18 |
20 |
| 7(5) |
Sergey Stepashin |
21.91 |
27 |
| 8(9) |
Alexander Zhukov |
21.81 |
10 |
| 9((7) |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky |
21.69 |
3 |
| 10(13) |
Andrey Illarionov |
21.40 |
29 |
| 11(23) |
Andrey Fursenko |
20.90 |
12 |
| 12(20) |
Boris Berezovsky |
19.41 |
11 |
| 13(--) |
Alexander Khloponin |
19.31 |
26 |
| 14(33) |
Alexey Miller |
19.01 |
15 |
| 15(17) |
Oleg Deripaska |
18.58 |
30 |
| 16(8) |
Igor Levitin |
18.02 |
17 |
| 17(19) |
Mikhail Shvydkoi |
14.39 |
25 |
| 18(15) |
Gennady Fadeyev |
13.69 |
28 |
| 19(6) |
Valentina Matviyenko |
13.43 |
24 |
| 20(14) |
Mikhail Fradkov |
13.22 |
5 |
| 21(16) |
Mikhail Kasyanov |
12.50 |
33 |
| 22(26) |
Alexey Gordeyev |
11.96 |
31 |
| 23(18) |
Yuri Luzhkov |
11.67 |
8 |
| 24(24) |
Anatoly Chubais |
11.48 |
7 |
| 25(--) |
Vladimir Pekhtin |
11.11 |
53 |
| 26(39) |
Vyacheslav Fetisov |
10.46 |
41 |
| 27(27) |
Vladimir Putin |
10.34 |
1 |
| 28(21) |
Viktor Khristenko |
9.72 |
21 |
| 29(48) |
Dmitry Medvedev |
9.70 |
35 |
| 30(34) |
Boris Nemtsov |
9.63 |
45 |
| 31(38) |
Vladimir Zhirinovsky |
9.63 |
22 |
| 32(--) |
Nikolai Patrushev |
9.47 |
56 |
| 33(37) |
Lyubov Sliska |
9.16 |
36 |
| 34(11) |
Sergey Ivanov |
9.15 |
18 |
| 35(28) |
Sergey Mironov |
8.26 |
23 |
| 36(32) |
Boris Yeltsin |
8.22 |
13 |
| 37(--) |
Sergei Shoigu |
7.67 |
44 |
| 38(--) |
Viktor Chernomyrdin |
7.53 |
58 |
| 39(36) |
Boris Gryzlov |
7.24 |
19 |
| 40(44) |
Mikhail Gorbachev |
7.02 |
32 |
| 41(--) |
Mikhail Evdokimov |
6.58 |
70 |
| 42(42) |
Gennady Zyuganov |
6.23 |
42 |
| 43(25) |
Vladimir Ustinov |
5.80 |
46 |
| 44(--) |
Alexander Veshnyakov |
5.69 |
51 |
| 45(46) |
Dmitry Rogozin |
4.28 |
50 |
| 46(22) |
Rashid Nurgaliyev |
3.51 |
89 |
| 47(50) |
Sergey Lavrov |
3.14 |
34 |
| 48(--) |
Alexander Dzasokhov |
3.06 |
86 |
| 49(49) |
Alexiy II |
2.50 |
82 |
| 50(45) |
Dmitry Kozak |
2.24 |
87 |
Courtiers
Summing up the results of the previous quarter, we have found an interesting circumstance: the governors covered by our rating who have been appointed by the President remained on their post if their rating in the “Courtiers” nomination exceeded 50%. The resignation of the President of North Ossetia, Alexander Dzasokhov, has confirmed this rule. By the results of the first three months of 2005 his name was mentioned in the mass media together with Vladimir Putin only in 27.3% of all publications. During the first two months of the preceding quarter this index was 27.8%.
Last time we also pointed to the relatively low courtier status of governors Mikhail Evdokimov and Mikhail Lapshin. By the results of the first quarter their names were mentioned in the “Courtiers” column in 26.3% and 13.9% of all publications respectively. During the past three months these figures grew to 46.1% and 35.5%. However, these results do not guarantee their career inviolability. But their coming closer to the President made it possible for them to remain on their posts, despite harsh criticism on the part of their local parliaments.
In the next quarter ex-governors Dmitry Ayatskov, Vassily Starodubtsev and Alexander Dzasokhov will leave our rating, if they do not receive high posts.
| Table 5 |
| Place |
Name |
Courtiers |
Close to P. |
| 1(1) |
Vladimir Putin |
100.00 |
1 |
| 2(4) |
Dmitry Medvedev |
55.22 |
18 |
| 3(5) |
Boris Yeltsin |
52.54 |
3 |
| 4(7) |
Mikhail Kasyanov |
50.57 |
23 |
| 5(12) |
Andrey Illarionov |
49.34 |
34 |
| 6(--) |
Mikhail Evdokimov |
46.09 |
35 |
| 7(11) |
Gennady Zyuganov |
44.14 |
16 |
| 8(--) |
Alexander Dzasokhov |
42.90 |
26 |
| 9(22) |
Dmitry Kozak |
42.68 |
21 |
| 10(16) |
Mikhail Gorbachev |
40.09 |
14 |
| 11(23) |
Dmitry Rogozin |
39.64 |
15 |
| 12(15) |
Viktor Khristenko |
38.86 |
13 |
| 13(17) |
Sergey Ivanov |
38.63 |
9 |
| 14(18) |
Boris Nemtsov |
38.21 |
32 |
| 15(13) |
Sergey Lavrov |
37.65 |
6 |
| 16(32) |
Sergey Mironov |
36.69 |
12 |
| 17(--) |
Nikolai Patrushev |
36.63 |
47 |
| 18(14) |
Boris Berezovsky |
35.49 |
22 |
| 19(--) |
Vladimir Gusinsky |
34.80 |
53 |
| 20(19) |
Herman Gref |
34.30 |
5 |
| 21(--) |
Viktor Chernomyrdin |
33.90 |
41 |
| 22(21) |
Valentina Matviyenko |
32.87 |
28 |
| 23(--) |
Alexander Khloponin |
32.76 |
44 |
| 24(40) |
Alexey Gordeyev |
32.32 |
31 |
| 25(36) |
Vladimir Ustinov |
32.09 |
25 |
| 26(29) |
Mikhail Fradkov |
31.38 |
2 |
| 27(25) |
Vladimir Zhirinovsky |
31.11 |
20 |
| 28(30) |
Mikhail Zurabov |
30.66 |
17 |
| 29(26) |
Alexiy II |
30.63 |
27 |
| 30(24) |
Rashid Nurgaliyev |
30.53 |
48 |
| 31(34) |
Sergey Stepashin |
29.88 |
56 |
| 32(30) |
Alexey Kudrin |
29.87 |
8 |
| 33(45) |
Roman Abramovich |
29.19 |
24 |
| 34(50) |
Gennady Fadeyev |
29.05 |
40 |
| 35(35) |
Oleg Deripaska |
28.85 |
57 |
| 36(27) |
Boris Gryzlov |
28.67 |
11 |
| 37(41) |
Alexey Miller |
27.89 |
30 |
| 38(31) |
Alexander Zhukov |
27.26 |
19 |
| 39(33) |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky |
27.18 |
4 |
| 40(37) |
Lybov Sliska |
26.75 |
36 |
| 41(38) |
Anatoly Chubais |
25.18 |
7 |
| 42(--) |
Sergey Shoigu |
25.18 |
39 |
| 43(--) |
Alexander Veshnyakov |
25.16 |
33 |
| 44(28) |
Andrei Fursenko |
22.81 |
38 |
| 45(44) |
Yuri Luzhkov |
17.91 |
10 |
| 46(49) |
Igor Levitin |
17.34 |
54 |
| 47(43) |
Mikhail Shvydkoi |
16.16 |
53 |
| 48(46) |
Vyacheslav Fetisov |
16.00 |
75 |
| 49(--) |
Alexander Sokolov |
12.80 |
87 |
| 50(--) |
Vladimir Pekhtin |
10.22 |
112 |
Result: the premier has rolled back
At the end of the quarter, on June 25, the Minister of Culture, Alexander Sokolov, stated in the “Postscriptum” TV programme that both the previous Ministry of Culture and the present Federal Agency on Culture and Cinematography used the practice of "some people going from one floor to another with envelopes in which there was money as a compensation for various services rendered by appropriate officials." The head of the agency Mikhail Shvydkoi became outraged, threatened his boss with court procedure and even declared the sum of one rouble as a compensation for moral damages. Both participants in this scandal gained in rating immediately. Shvydkoi reached the 30th line from the 45th and Sokolov was raised from 68th place to 18th.
Meanwhile, our table has registered several steps back of government members. For one, the position of Mikhail Zurabov (from 3rd to 8th place), Sergey Ivanov (from 6th to 10th place), Alexey Gordeyev (from 26th to 33rd place) and Rashid Nurgaliyev (from 24th to 48th place). However, the most noticeable roll back fell to the lot of Premier Mikhail Fradkov. In the first quarter of 2005 he held 4th place in our rating, whereas now he is in 5th place. This is a record low showing of the Prime Minister since early 2002.
In any case, the weak position of the head of government cannot but put us on our guard. You will find out whether the Premier continues to go down in our rating, as well as further changes in our tables in three months’ time.
| Table 6 |
| Place |
Name |
Rating |
| 1(1) |
Vladimir Putin |
3441 (-132) |
| 2(2) |
Alexey Kudrin |
976 (-407) |
| 3(14) |
Mikhail Khodorkovsky |
829 (+556) |
| 4(5) |
Herman Gref |
627 (+5) |
| 5(4) |
Mikhail Fradkov |
552 (-252) |
| 6(10) |
Anatoly Chubais |
416 (+119) |
| 7(13) |
Sergey Lavrov |
382 (+98) |
| 8(3) |
Mikhail Zurabov |
367 (-552) |
| 9(7) |
Yuri Luzhkov |
348 (-69) |
| 10(6) |
Sergey Ivanov |
283 (-271) |
| 11(9) |
Alexander Zhukov |
266 (-52) |
| 12(11) |
Roman Abramovich |
251 (-46) |
| 13(8) |
Boris Gryzlov |
236 (-123) |
| 14(25) |
Viktor Khristenko |
196 (+76) |
| 15(12) |
Sergey Mironov |
181 (-113) |
| 16(16) |
Igor Levitin |
167 (-32) |
| 17(20) |
Andrey Fursenko |
166 (+27) |
| 18(68) |
Alexander Sokolov |
159 (+144) |
| 19(21) |
Alexey Miller |
151 (+14) |
| 20(62) |
Alexander Veshnyakov |
140 (+123) |
| 21(27) |
Boris Berezovsky |
139 (+20) |
| 22(50) |
Vladimir Gusinsky |
136 (+108) |
| 23(19) |
Boris Yeltsin |
128 (-16) |
| 24(35) |
Andrey Illarionov |
120 (+42) |
| 25(18) |
Dmitry Rogozin |
114 (-51) |
| 26(17) |
Vladimir Ustinov |
110 (-79) |
| 27(15) |
Sergey Stepashin |
100 (-129) |
| 28(85) |
Alexander Khloponin |
97 (+87) |
| 29(40) |
Lyubov Sliska |
95 (+26) |
| 30(45) |
Mikhail Shvydkoi |
95 (+37) |
| 31(32) |
Gennady Fadeyev |
93 (+7) |
| 32(34) |
Gennady Zyuganov |
92 (+11) |
| 33(26) |
Alexey Gordeyev |
92 (-27) |
| 34(46) |
Dmitry Medvedev |
90 (+51) |
| 35(31) |
Vladimir Zhirinovsky |
89 (-10) |
| 36(22) |
Valentina Matviyenko |
84 (-39) |
| 37(39) |
Dmitry Kozak |
83 (+13) |
| 38(130) |
Vladimir Pekhtin |
74 (+70) |
| 39(28) |
Mikhail Kasyanov |
72 (-43) |
| 40(53) |
Sergey Shoigu |
1 (+48) |
| 41(38) |
Mikhail Gorbachev |
70 (0) |
| 42(76) |
Mikhail Evdokimov |
66 (+55) |
| 43(79) |
Alexander Dzasokhov |
62 (+51) |
| 44(75) |
Nikolai Patrushev |
57 (+45) |
| 45(41) |
Alexiy II |
55 (-11) |
| 46(49) |
Vyacheslav Fetisov |
51 (+19) |
| 47(48) |
Oleg Deripaska |
47 (+12) |
| 48(24) |
Rashid Nurgaliyev |
41 (-80) |
| 49(37) |
Boris Nemtsov |
40 (-33) |
| 50(83) |
Sergey Ignatyev |
34 (+24) |
| 51(67) |
Viktor Chernomyrdin |
31 (+16) |
| 52(30) |
Aman Tuleyev |
23 (-78) |
| 53(23) |
Yuri Trutnev |
21 (-100) |
| 54(54) |
Leonid Reiman |
19 (-3) |
| 55(73) |
Konstantin Kosachev |
19 (+7) |
| 56(29) |
Alu Alkhanov |
18 (-93) |
| 57(55) |
Alexey Mitrofanov |
17 (-5) |
| 58(70) |
Vladimir Yakovlev |
17 (+4) |
| 59(65) |
Vladimir Potanin |
17 (+1) |
| 60(72) |
Konstantin Titov |
17 (+5) |
| 61(59) |
Grigory Yavlinsky |
16 (-2) |
| 62(96) |
Vladislav Surkov |
15 (+8) |
| 63(44) |
Dmitry Ayatskov |
15 (-44) |
| 64(84) |
Vyacheslav Volodin |
15 (+5) |
| 65(90) |
Pavel Borodin |
15 (+7) |
| 66(69) |
Murtaza Rakhimov |
15 (+1) |
| 67(42) |
Konstantin Pulikovsky |
15 (-46) |
| 68(52) |
Georgy Shpak |
14 (-11) |
| 69(78) |
Viktor Zubkov |
14 (+3) |
| 70(93) |
Murat Zyazikov |
14 (+6) |
| 71(60) |
Vladimir Lukin |
13 (-5) |
| 72(109) |
Mikhail Seslavinsky |
13 (+7) |
| 73(58) |
Oleg Morozov |
13 (-5) |
| 74(47) |
Sergey Kiriyenko |
13 (-25) |
| 75(--) |
Vladimir Yakunin |
13 (--) |
| 76(104) |
Pyotr Sumin |
13 (+7) |
| 77(80) |
Pavel Krasheninnikov |
13 (+3) |
| 78(51) |
Yegor Gaidar |
12 (-15) |
| 79(63) |
Mikhail Fridman |
12 (-5) |
| 80(77) |
Alexander Rumyantsev |
12 (+1) |
| 81(43) |
Boris Gromov |
12 (-48) |
| 82(57) |
Igor Ivanov |
12 (-7) |
| 83(--) |
Anatoly Perminov |
12 (--) |
| 84(--) |
Nikita Belykh |
11 (--) |
| 85(66) |
Yevgeni Primakov |
11 (-4) |
| 86(123) |
Dmitry Zelenin |
11 (+6) |
| 87(--) |
Teimuraz Mamsurov |
11 (--) |
| 88(126) |
Sergey Yastrzhembsky |
11 (+7) |
| 89(82) |
Vagit Alekperov |
11 (+1) |
| 90(129) |
Alexander Voloshin |
10 (+6) |
| 91(56) |
Alexander Shokhin |
10 (-10) |
| 92(--) |
Sergey Baburin |
10 (--) |
| 93(33) |
Mintimer Shaimiyev |
9 (-73) |
| 94(155) |
Valery Yazev |
9 (+7) |
| 95(157) |
Andrey Kazmin |
8 (+6) |
| 96(61) |
Ilya Klebanov |
8 (-10) |
| 97(117) |
Vladislav Reznik |
8 (+3) |
| 98(115) |
Yuri Chaika |
8 (+3) |
| 99(147) |
Vladimir Chub |
8 (+5) |
| 100(127) |
Anatoly Kvashnin |
8 (+4) |
&Leader of growth in general rating is Vladimir Pekhtin, 92 places
Leader of downfall in general rating is Vladimir Butov, 84 places
Pavel Chernikov
All the Article in Russian as of July 11, 2005
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