"We will definitely change the structure of the government, but I’m not going to change the structure of authority," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Putin Talks of 5 Possible Successors
At least five people stand a real chance to run for president in 2008, Russian President Vladimir Putin told an annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Group on Friday. Kommersant special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov reports from the presidential residence of Bocharov Ruchei in Sochi where Mr. Putin met with foreign journalists and visiting Russia experts.
“Unfortunately, Members of the Government are Only Human”
The first question at the annual meeting of the Valdai discussion club came from the BBC’s Bridget Kendall who last met the president in Novo-Ogarevo and asked some difficult questions about the Litvinenko case.
“Why did Mikhail Fradkov’s resignation come at this moment?” she asked. “Wouldn’t it be more democratic to wait and let Russians to express their opinion in the presidential election?”
Ms. Kendall meant that the new president should have an opportunity to shape his own government.
“And why Viktor Zubkov?” the journalist added. “It is because the premier’s seat is good start for the presidential race?”
“It has nothing to do with democracy [those present gave gloomy understanding smiles] or with anti-democracy [the same kind of smiles],” Mr. Putin responded. “Democracy can’t be separated from respecting the law. The thing that I did was fully in line with legislation.”
“I did the same thing in 2004,” the president said referring to the dismissal of Mikhail Kasyanov’s government.
The Russian leader made a surprise statement saying that there was a possibility to keep the same government through the presidential election.
“I would have liked things to develop under this scenario,” he said. “But, unfortunately, members of the government are only human. They started forgetting about their job and thought about their lives after the election. I would like the government in Moscow, regional authorities and federal officials to work like a Swiss watch. I need it to be a well operating mechanism without any faults or respites.”
Vladimir Putin said he wanted to show those who can and want to go on working in the government that they can retain their posts beyond the election.
“I did not push the prime minister to do this,” the president said. “It was his decision. He is a man of responsibility, and he clearly saw the mood of his collective. He came to me with the proposal, and I accepted it.”
“At Least 5 People Can Run for President”
The president found some time to describe Viktor Zubkov to the journalists and experts. I cannot recall Vladimir Putin speaking about somebody in such a delighted state.
Viktor Zubkov is highly professional. He is a man of integrity with sound judgment, responsibility and wisdom. He is also a man of strong character and expensive experience, according to Mr. Putin.
“Can he become the president?” Vladimir Putin echoed a journalist’s question. “Yes, he can… Like any other ordinary Russian citizen!” The thing is, he is not an ordinary Russian citizen, really.
“Zubkov didn’t say he would run, though, Vladimir Putin remarked. “He said he may. It was a well-considered reply.”
Vladimir Putin related Viktor Zubkov’s biography in an enthusiastic vein that he would be doing if he was recommending the man for the Soviet Communist Party membership.
“They sent him to the worst collective farm which was on the verge of collapse, and he made it the best in the Soviet Union,” the president said. “He is a modest man. He never talks about this.”
“They say that there is no one to choose from,” Vladimir Putin said referring to the upcoming presidential election. “But now there are at least five people can run for president and can be elected. It’s good that another person [Viktor Zubkov] has appeared. Russian citizens will have a selection of candidates to choose from,” the president made a remark which confused the succession question even further.
“I am Here to Ask Questions!”
Doors of the meeting closed for us at that. I had some time to put down interesting facts about relations between Vladimir Putin and the Valdai discussion group, related by Dr. Nikolay Zlobin, a participant of the meeting and director of the Russia and Eurasia Project at the World Security Institute.
One day before the meeting with Mr. Putin, Valdai club met First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov. Nikolay Zlobin said he thought that the government’s dismissal had rather shocked Sergey Ivanov who looked quite nervous.
Dr. Zlobin asked Sergey Ivanov two years ago if he was going to succeed Vladimir Putin. The defense minister waved his hand in protest and said, no, under no circumstances. Nikolay Zlobin believes that Mr. Ivanov was quite frank then.
At the very first meeting of the Valdai club in the Kremlin Nikolay Zlobin actually made Vladimir Putin put his signature to promise that he would not amend the Constitution and run for the third term. Nikolay Zlobin was sitting next to the president. Vladimir Putin was talking about merits of the Russian Constitution and that it is inviolable when he saw the man next to him reaching out his hand, apparently wanting to ask a question. Dr. Zlobin asked the president if he was going to run for the third term.
“Is this a suggestion, or what?” the Russian president inquired. He was going to turn away to listen to a more pleasant question, as Dr. Zlobin recalls, but the expert suddenly banged his fist on the table and shouted:
“I am here to ask questions!”
Dr. Zlobin says he thought the president would rather like this trick which was reminiscent of the way KGB investigators talk to their clients. Mr. Putin, however, did not get the joke. He turned back to Nikolay Zlobin slowly looking rather perplexed, the expert recalls.
“What do you want from me?” the Russian president asked.
“The answer – are you going to run for the third term? Yes or no. Just ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”
“No,” Vladimir Putin replied. “Is that all?
“No, it’s not. Are you going to amend the Constitution? Yes or no?”
“No.”
“Good, thank you,” Nikolay Zlobin responded. “Then how about giving your signature that you won’t?”
Vladimir Putin wrote a note as Dr. Zlobin asked and handed him the pen obviously feeling that it was a historic moment.
The club members like to recollect the very first meeting with Vladimir Putin. At first, the president did not feel like meeting with foreign journalists because he was rather skeptical of their opinions and also because the meeting was scheduled shortly after the siege of the school in Beslan in 2004. The meeting had a slowly start, but Mr. Putin got engaged later on and got into conversation. It was well past midnight when the president’s aides recommended him to wrap up the meeting. Members of the club were exhausted, and some of them were already sleepy after their trans-Atlantic flights. Since then Vladimir Putin has not failed on any meeting of the Valdai discussion group.
“I’m Not Going to Change the Structure of Authority”
An hour and a half after the official meeting was over, Vladimir Putin and the club members left a room after stand-up buffet. Some participants of the meeting told Kommersant what the president had said in that informal setting.
“When we were busy with administration reform, we copied examples of other countries and introduced several agencies and oversight services… Some ministers who were promoting this idea took up command of these agencies when the work was done.”
Mr. Putin is not happy about this situation.
“We will definitely change the structure of the government,” he said. “But I’m not going to change the structure of authority.”
At this point, the tireless Dr. Zlobin pestered the Russian leader with more questions. He asked if Mr. Putin was going to be back as Russian president after 2012.
“I don’t know. I haven’t left yet… I don’t know. I haven’t made my decision. It’s hard to say right now.”
Dr. Zlobin sent a couple of notes to the president and finally got the reply.
“I hope to find something more interesting to do until 2012,” Vladimir Putin said.
That is, he will be back if he doesn’t find anything more interesting – though it’s hard to find a more interesting job than his.
Mr. Putin also touched upon Russia’s foreign policy:
“Russia shouldn’t put on airs of a great power and look for troubles.”
The statement obviously shows that Russian foreign policies may soon change dramatically.
Dr. Zlobin related his conversation with the president during the buffet.
Asked about the next president, Vladimir Putin said he would not want to see a weak president. He would like to see someone all-sufficient, effective and able to live up to expectations.
“I haven’t been slaving so many years to give Russia to a weak president,” he noted.
Finishing the conversation, Nikolay Zlobin asked Vladimir Putin if he was going to meet with Valdai members the following year.
The Russian president was taken aback by the question:
“Maybe you’d better meet with the new president?”
He was assured that the club would.
“I will meet with you,” Mr. Putin said, “but under some terms – you add my name to the club list. Then I’ll be sitting on your side and ask the new president questions.”
When the meeting was over the president said goodbye to Mr. Zlobin and reminded him about the earlier promise:
“Nikolay, please don’t forget to add my name, will you?”
Nikolay promised to do everything he can for the Russian president.
Andrei Kolesnikov
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 15, 2007
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