First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov left the Nashi camp not only with pleasant memories, but with a new T-shirt as well.
Photo: Kirill Tulin
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Shuvalov Acknowledges Nashi
The pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi (Ours) is holding its annual camp at Lake Seliger. It admitted journalists to its open house yesterday. The guest of honor this year is First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. The camp was decorated with exhibits such as the president of Estonia portrayed as a pig and Mikhail Khodorkovsky as a squirrel (although the actual squirrel was lost). There were also recreations of Russian government headquarters and the Kremlin’s Spassky Tower. They symbolized the fact that “Vladimir Putin is the national leader, and Dmitry Medvedev is the leader of the country,” according to State Duma member from the United Russia Party Sergey Belokonev. Head of the Central Elections Commission Vladimir Churov was also on hand.
Shuvalov arrived by helicopter. Flag-bearing Nashi encircled the landing area, but the first deputy prime minister chose a different landing spot and walked to the camp. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that read “Home. Wife. Children. I love my family.” Former leader of Nashi and current head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Vasily Yakemenko gave Shuvalov and his bodyguards a tour of the camp. The training center for voluntary youth crime patrols and an exhibit of girls in bikinis posing with the Russian Constitution particularly caught the first deputy prime minister’s interest.
Some Nashi members were selected to have a private meeting with Shuvalov. “It’s great that there are young people who want to make something of themselves,” Shuvalov commented later. “They want to work with us and they show specific projects. There are several specific suggestions that I took as homework.” He bought a T-shirt that read “Reproduction is beneficial and pleasant” for 800 rubles.
The camp will last another week. Chief of the presidential executive staff Sergey Naryshkin was originally scheduled to visit the camp. His absence was unexplained. Attendenace at the camp was originally expected to be over 10,000, but it turned out to be less than 5000.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 21, 2008
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