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Putin Treats Cabinet to a Game of Musical Chairs
// Agenda
Russian President Vladimir Putin held his usual Monday meeting with the administration. Kommersant special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov was impressed by the level of chaos that seemed to arise from the mad shuffling of places there. But by listening to Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov, who made a billion dollars for Army officers in that one morning at the Kremlin, Kolesnikov solved the complex political puzzle.
The ministers have places at the table at those Monday meetings that are already traditional. Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sit on one side and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov and Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref sit on the other. The seats in dangerous proximity to the president are taken by the prime minister on the right and the chief of staff of the presidential executive office on the left. Presidential aide Igor Sechin is always one of the last to arrive before the meeting begins. He shakes hands with everyone present, including members of television crews. The prime minister and chief of staff always arrive together. They are followed by the presidential press secretary and, moments later, after the tension in the room has reached terrific proportions, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin appears.
That order had been maintained for years.
Yesterday it was violated.
It was all over before the journalists got there. The only people I saw in their usual places when I arrived were presidential economic advisor Andrey Illarionov (I assume, given his strength of character that he simply refused to move) and Minister of Health and Social Development Mikhail Zurabov (it's always better to leave him alone).
The rest of the political landscape in the room had been altered beyond recognition. Lavrov, Zhukov, Ivanov, Gref – in different places on different sides of the table. Even the number of them had been changed. First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had joined them.
The meaning of yesterday's rearrangement remains as much a mystery to me as the one that took place a week ago with job titles. Maybe analysts will find some deep topics for discussion in it, but I looked hard and couldn't find anything.
Sechin at least provided a little comforting routine when he came in at the usual time, greeted everyone as usual and took his usual place at the end across from Illarionov.
My imagination was running wild. I would have understood if all the security officials gathered at one end around Sechin. But why did they need they ballast of Zubarov? Did the forces that let loose this migration really control its outcome?
And Gref and Zhukov… Tragic events have deprived them of comrade-in-arms Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin (he's in the hospital). What are they without him? Can they hold out? Why is new chief of staff Sergey Sobyanin heading up their ranks?
Something doesn't make sense here. Nothing makes sense here. But there has to be some answer to this puzzle! What can it be? Think, Andrey, think! Time is running out. Time is on their side. They are going to kick you out of here soon, along with all your colleagues who have already figured the whole thing out…
Then suddenly it occurred to me. Lord! It can't be! The mind can't take it in. All of them, except Sobyanin and Fradkov have been placed in alphabetical order! They are lined up around the table counterclockwise: Gref, Zhukov, Zurabov, Ivanov, Lavrov, Yakovlev… The order of the Russian alphabet. Only Sechin and Illarionov break the chain, but they aren't ministers, so they stayed where they were.
Thus I solved the political puzzle.
With unbelievably (even to myself) cold-blooded logic, I found the algorithm. The key to the solution of any problem. It's always the same: Everything is simpler than it appears. That key will open any door.
I calmly listened to the president talk about the referendum in Chechnya, how the citizens of that republic showed strength of character and splendid organization in their choice, and the law enforcement organs did everything they could to ensure the safety of those around them. And now I understood that that there was no subtext of the need to inform our society and international society of the preliminary results of the referendum, lest anyone have any doubts about them, the president was simply giving their due to all those brave people.
Putin announced suggestively that he had spoken with new German Chancellor Angela Merkel “about several measures to implement projects that were scheduled earlier.” An hour ago, I would have assumed that Merkel didn't want to implement the projects and Putin was forced to take certain measures to make her do it. Now I understood that that was not the case. It meant nothing more than that the North European Gas Pipeline Project would be completely on time, and probably ahead of schedule.
Fradkov spoke about how much easier his life has become since the new position was created in the administration. And I understood that there were no hints here that he might soon resign his post for health reasons. Just the administration can breathe easy at last. It's working at full capacity.
And when Putin began speaking about housing for the military, I still didn't go on the alert. He explained that officers need 480,000 apartments, but there are only 250,000 and about 30,000 are being built per year, with that number increasing somewhat every year. Ivanov said that only 5 percent of officers agree to live in Moscow and the surrounding area with the housing certificates that every officer is entitled to, because the certificate is based on housing prices if 11,600 rubles per sq. m., and real prices are two to four times higher.
Putin divided the servicemen into three categories: those who can receive an apartment on mortgage when they join the service (everything is all right with them – the state doesn't owe them anything yet and they owe the state only as much as they receive from it), those who receive apartments when they leave the service (everything is all right with them too, as long as continue to serve the homeland) and those who should receive housing with that certificate.
“If we take that long to solve the problem, that is, at least 12-15 years,” Putin said, “what kind of shape will those people be in who want to receive housing with the certificate? They offer it to them and say do what you want. What is that? Who are we trying to fool? Take it if you want, leave it if you want… If you don't want it, then go head on, Vasya. We'll mark you off the list and won't owe you another thing…”
The president suggested that the 2006 budget be immediately reexamined and another 15 billion rubles be allocated for officers' housing certificates. That's the amount that the defense minister estimates is needed to make the certificates effective – for a year. The next year, another 15 billion, at least, will be needed for them.
Gref watched the proceedings glumly. He knew too much. And the rest he could guess.
But did he know what I now know? Everything is a lot simpler than it will seem to the majority of people, or even could seem to them. Putin just returned from his tour of Japan and Korea, stopped by Magadan, talked to some of the border forces, and got a tan.
Finding billions in the budget is a cinch.
Andrey Kolesnikov
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 29, 2005
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