Flew for Libya

United Russia deputy Konstantin Zatulin lost his post as deputy chairman of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs. As Kommersant writes from his words, this decision was made at a “higher” level than the United Russia faction, and he suffered for his position on the issue of the international operation in Libya. Zatulin supported Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and believes that the presidential entourage is dealing with him. He added that he would not “sin against the president,” expressing the hope that Dmitry Medvedev himself had nothing to do with Zatulin’s loss of his post on the committee, “but only well-wishers from his circle.” Let us remember that Putin called the operation in Libya a crusade, and Medvedev condemned this comparison. On March 25, Zatulin said that Putin showed courage, and he, the deputy, “does not attribute everything else to courage, but to another quality.”

Zatulin's place will be taken by Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Alexander Kozlovsky. First Deputy Speaker Oleg Morozov told the newspaper that Zatulin’s removal from his post is just an “intra-factional rotation” (although Zatulin will not receive any other seat, but will remain an ordinary deputy). Zatulin himself noted in a conversation with Kommersant that this is a “very elegant formulation” that has no relation to reality.

The deputy remained true to his position, saying that Russia reacted “to the circumstances of the Libyan crisis” “very superficially.”

Zatulin’s faction comrade Sergei Markov told the newspaper that the former deputy chairman of the CIS Affairs Committee went beyond the scope of the discussion set at the meeting on Libya. Markov also recalled that Zatulin is generally a “conflict politician” who, in particular, opposed the positions of the chairman of his committee Alexei Ostrovsky (LDPR).