Physiology of rumors: Yeltsin “sent” Putin, Putin - government Marina France05 July 17:00 MCK

Rumors have resurfaced that any day now President Putin will dismiss the entire old government team led by Mikhail Kasyanov , immediately updating the economic bloc. This is exactly what the president did about two years ago with the security forces, starting to mold the government team to suit himself.

Then everyone was waiting for new resignations, weekly “firing” Prime Minister Kasyanov, but neither he nor the head of the presidential administration Alexander Voloshin lost their positions. A year later, following Kasyanov, Kudrin and Gref “retired”, and the configurations created at the same time (with the alternating “nomination” of one or the other as prime minister) looked so intriguing that they forced us to closely monitor all the demarches of the leading economic troika of the government.

The current series of versions about an imminent change of cabinet is apparently explained by the latest correspondence skirmish between two presidents - the current and the former, after which, as stated, Putin, willy-nilly, will have to demonstrate the ability to separate "cutlets from flies." The expectation from the president for active action today is so great that if he hesitates, they promise a rapid drop in his rating.

Meanwhile, the spread of rumors about a possible sharp shake-up of the cabinet amazingly coincided with the two-year anniversary of V. Putin’s tenure as president. According to one version, it was precisely for two years, and not a year, as previously stated , that Putin allegedly promised Boris Yeltsin to move in the wake of the designated economic policy, keeping members of the old, “family” team “to be faithful” in their places. This version has been confirmed for many by the president's recent sharp statements that he and Yeltsin are different people who have different visions of the present and future of the country. It is curious that the interpretation of this statement is also not unambiguous: either Putin was forced to react to the Minsk demarche of the retired president, or, indeed, time has given him a free hand.

It is possible, however, that it is both. If the “presidential agreement” took place, then both the family oligarchs and the government are probably well aware of it. Based on this logic, the former hastened in advance to acquire gubernatorial powers or representatives in government structures, and the latter to take control of key business structures affiliated with the state, such as RAO, MPS, etc. This, by the way, was the commentary on the White House’s attempts to promote Yuri Sukhanov to the leadership post of Slavneft. Numerous attacks on presidential nominee Alexei Miller , who, according to a number of publications, failed to cope with the functions assigned to him, and, according to rumors, will resign today or tomorrow can be viewed from the same angle. By the way, Miller’s absence at the company’s last shareholders’ meeting only fueled these rumors.

Meanwhile, the president’s harsh tone (“you’ll be tired of swallowing dust”) hardly inspires optimism among the “family.” On the other hand, all attempts by M. Kasyanov to contradict the president are met with deliberate silence from the Kremlin. By the way, according to one version, we are dealing with professional “Chekist logic”: take a pause, and then strike an unexpected blow.

By the way, according to some analysts, Putin has actually formed a new structure for governing the country. We are talking about the duplication system that has been discussed recently, i.e. autonomous functioning of two parallel and competing structures in each direction. For example, “family” and “St. Petersburg”, Kasyanov - Illarionov , Voloshin - Sechin , etc. According to rumors, the president only has to lift a finger, and the “St. Petersburg” “shadow cabinet” will replace the “family” one. This version is indirectly confirmed by the frequent attacks on the president’s henchmen: they say they know nothing except the KGB business and do not understand macroeconomics. If in this case we are talking about a targeted PR campaign of the “family,” then, obviously, the prospect of losing their seats for them is not a journalistic “canard.”

To some extent, rumors about the imminent resignation of the government are confirmed by various versions of the confrontation between the president and the prime minister: either the interest (growth) was “not divided”, or Kasyanov is going to the elections as an alternative to Putin. Perhaps the Kremlin is thus preparing public opinion for the resignation of, as previously stated, one of the most successful governments. There is another version: the president is deliberately pitted against the prime minister, motivating him to make a decision whispered by someone. In this case, the president’s silence is a manifestation of his political independence, his reluctance to follow the lead of rumor makers.

One way or another, the process of changes in the highest echelons of power is already in full swing. At least in law enforcement agencies. The other day, Vladimir Putin dismissed the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and the head of one of the main police structures - the Criminal Police Service (SKM) - Nikolai Bobrovsky , appointing in his place a career security officer, Deputy Director of the FSB Rashid Nurgaliev . Another equally symptomatic resignation occurred in the Ministry of Defense: Colonel General Vitaly Azarov , the head of the Main Directorate of Educational Work, who was close to Aksenenko , said goodbye to his position. At the same time, the head of the Main Administration, Lieutenant General Nikolai Pankov , who worked for many years in the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Security Council, was elevated to the rank of Deputy Minister of Defense for Personnel. Castling, you understand... It is curious that these changes, which the rumor makers, by the way, predicted in advance, gave rise to the version that the “chekists” are strengthening their positions in the Ministry of Defense for a reason, but because ┘ Sergei Ivanov is going to leave the military department, heading either the government or the presidential administration.

After a series of illnesses and ailments, the media are expecting a new rise up the career ladder from Sergei Ivanov. But for the other Ivanov, Igor , according to rumors, things are not so rosy: the main Duma and Federation Council “geopoliticians”: Dmitry Rogozin and Mikhail Margelov are regularly named as the closest hunters for the post of head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, according to another version, a low-initiative, “technical” head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suits the president quite well, allowing the head of state to make striking foreign policy demarches from time to time.

Ex-President Boris Yeltsin loved and still loves to do the same thing, after whose trip to Belarus there are rumors of nothing more or less than a coup d’etat being prepared by the former “guarantor” (or under him), during which Boris Nikolayevich is “prophesied” as the head of the Union (with Belarus) state, and Lukashenko as vice-president and prime minister. In this combination, Putin is nothing more than a third wheel, which, according to rumors, the Duma may “inform” him about this already this fall by impeaching the president. But, apparently, not only Putin, but also Kasyanov, who, again according to rumors, is being prepared by the oligarchs as an alternative to Putin in the 2004 elections, will not agree with this course of events.

However, if someone wants to create the illusion that the ground is shaking under the president, it means ┘ They want to put Putin before a choice: “either we them, or they us.” It is obvious that if Vladimir Putin makes a knight's move, both of them may end up in the toilet. Realizing this, some are already in a hurry to smooth out the awkwardness, claiming that the “bloody” version (the confrontation between the “family” and the “St. Petersburg people”) is nothing more than rumors: there are no intrigues in the “united Putin team”. By the way, both of them, according to some information, have already begun preparations for Putin’s elections in 2004. However, for some reason, still two teams.

Meanwhile, analysts argue that if we should expect the government to resign, then, in any case, not earlier than the fall. Rumor has it that the country is facing a “hot” August, and some are even threatening default. It is then, according to rumors, that it will be easiest for Putin to “blame” Kasyanov, blaming the “family” for both the flaws of the government’s economic policy and the machinations of the oligarchs. In any case, it will be possible to verify these rumors in the next two months.

PS It is very symptomatic that Mikhail Kasyanov’s press rating over the past 2-3 months has been increasingly approaching the presidential rating. A year ago, the prime minister could only dream about this.

Read the newspaper version of the article on Monday in the “Top Secret Version”

Physiology of rumors: Yeltsin “sent” Putin, Putin - the government