Nikolay Tonkov, vice president and executive secretary at RSPP
Photo: Dmitry Lekay
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Volsky Not Willing to Resign
Arkady Volsky, president of the Russian Union for Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), has denied in public all rumors about his resignation. Nevertheless the issue of his presidency at RSPP is on agenda of the board meeting to be attended by vice premier Alexander Zhukov and Economic Development Minister German Gref.
Volsky said yesterday, August 22, the RSPP management is actually at odds. “Rather sharp contradictions are developing into a conflict,” he said, pointing out exactly those contradictions along with his presidency are highlights of the board’s extraordinary meeting slated for September 30.
According to Volsky, he met President Putin last week, who advised the RSPP to independently tackle the problems, meaning, perhaps, the Kremlin doesn't object to today’s management of the Union.
The conflict could be attributed to the serious gap in the wealth of the RSPP members, which, in its turn, leads to “the gap in understanding the Union’s objectives,” Volsky specified. Around three dozens of oligarchs joined the RSPP in 2000. In awe because of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Mikhail Kasyanov’s cases, the oligarchs feel unprotected and seek renewal for the Union’s management. Volsky made it clear yesterday he is not leaving the RSPP and linked all problems of the Union to the opposition between the oligarchs and the ordinary members of the Union.
Past spring, however, Volsky has actually agreed to resign from RSPP. His future ouster was blamed on Novolipetsk Metal Works owner Vladimir Lisin, Interros head Vladimir Potanin and RAO UES CEO Anatoly Chubais. At that time, Nikolay Tonkov, today’s vice president and executive secretary at RSPP, was tipped as Volsky’s successor.
But there is one more powerful group in RSPP – the one headed by Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska never minds Arkady Volsky as the RSPP president, the more so that their relations are obviously built up on the mutual trust. For instance, Deripaska was the only one in the RSPP board who had read a certain letter sealed by Arkady Volsky in 2003 before it was served to the Kremlin. In that letter addressed to Vladimir Putin, Volsky advocated transfer of the gold and currency reserves to a certain guarantee fund of attracting investment for economy promotion.
In view of the above, Volsky’s general unwillingness to resign today signals that Deripaska’s roots in RSPP have become much stronger.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 23, 2005
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