Troubles in the government house

Unity is not averse to shaking up the Duma

The head of the Duma apparatus, Nikolai Troshkin, is in trouble. They want to fire Nikolai Troshkin from his job. And not just anyone, but representatives of the “party in power” - deputies from the Unity faction. There is probably only one thing that can console Mr. Troshkin: his personnel fate is tightly linked to the package agreement on the distribution of Duma posts. The agreement also applies to Mr. Troshkin’s immediate superior, the Speaker of the Chamber, Mr. Seleznev. Perhaps it is the scale of the internal Duma changes conceived by the group of “bears” that will save Mr. Troshkin from resignation.

Representatives of the pro-presidential factions have been wanting to shake up the Duma for a long time. The formal motive is to clear the leadership of the chamber of leftists who are hindering the implementation of reforms. There is also a more prosaic justification for the desire for change: in the distribution of posts in January 2000, the pro-presidential factions gave too much to the left. For example, the Economic Policy Committee. The naive “bears” cannot be blamed for this. Almost all the deputies from Unity had no experience of parliamentary work a year and a half ago. Both the Duma as an institution of power and Duma positions were treated without much reverence. The insidious but experienced communists took advantage of this and grabbed important positions for themselves.

For a year and a half, the “bears” and their allies have become accustomed to the Duma. The sacrifices made in January 2000 now seem to Unity in vain, and the influence of the left in the lower house seems excessive. That is why the question arose about the redistribution of Duma positions.

True, Unity will apparently not succeed in removing Gennady Seleznev. The speaker suits almost all deputies and, more importantly, the Kremlin, which is able to influence the majority of Duma members. Therefore, the desire of the “bears” to see a non-communist in this post can only be realized if Mr. Seleznev leaves the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

It is somewhat easier to take away the Duma committees from the communists. However, this very fact can paralyze the work of the lower chamber. If today the package agreement does not protect the communists Sergei Glazyev (Committee on Economic Policy) or Valery Saikin (Committee on Social Policy), then tomorrow it may be the turn of Alexander Zhukov or Andrei Nikolaev. That is why the redistribution of posts is unlikely to receive unconditional support in the chamber. The “bears” themselves understand this, which is why they say that it is better to postpone the issue until the fall.

The easiest way is with Nikolai Troshkin. There is no deputy who does not think that the apparatus could work much better. And many complaints have accumulated against Mr. Troshkin in the ward. However, his immediate superior, Gennady Seleznev, stands closely behind him. Mr. Seleznev understands: by handing over the chief of staff, he will seriously undermine his position in the chamber. That is why there is still a completely cloudless sky above Nikolai Troshkin.

Anatoly VESLO