Alexey Borev. Vinaigrette of ministers

Vinaigrette of ministers
Alexey Borev

Publication date: March 10, 2004

Peter Baker, a Washington Post columnist, noted in an article on Wednesday that the new Russian government is a mix of reformers and former KGB bosses. Putin retained the most influential supporters of liberal reforms in his cabinet, while at the same time leaving the power bloc in the hands of former KGB officers. The president replaced the ministers who worked under Yeltsin with people who were loyal to him personally. The latter include the new prime minister and Dmitry Kozak, the new chief of staff of the government. Among the liberals who joined the government, Peter Baker singles out Alexander Zhukov, “who has Harvard behind him.”

Vladimir Rushailo, the former Security Council secretary who lost his job on Wednesday, was not considered a serious figure by the American political establishment. Mikhail Lesin, who lost his post as Minister of Press, did not prevent (but rather contributed to - editor's note) the closure of the only independent national television channel.

This is a domestic political aspect. But the most high-profile resignation occurred in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Igor Ivanov, who had been responsible for contacts with the outside world in recent years, was forced to leave his post. Why?

The newly appointed head of the Russian foreign policy department, notes Peter Baker, has represented the country at the UN for the past ten years, where, in particular, he took a distinctly anti-American position on Iraq during last year's crisis. Perhaps Putin’s plans include some tightening of Russian foreign policy, which has been criticized for being too soft for the past decade.

Western diplomats, as Peter Baker reports, consider Sergei Lavrov a tough but qualified negotiating partner. As a negative feature, his desire is noted for Russia to be treated as a superpower.

On the other hand, the American journalist refers to a statement by Sergei Lavrov himself, in which he did not link his appointment with changes in the country’s foreign policy course, determined by the president. Igor Ivanov was appointed head of the Foreign Ministry by Yeltsin in 1998, and many analysts believed that Putin was simply not satisfied with his work.

Peter Baker cites the opinion of the famous Russian sociologist Olga Kryshtanovskaya. In her opinion, Putin continues to maintain a balance between the security forces and liberals. He needs the first to strengthen his own power within the country, the second - to create a favorable image of Russia in the West.

Such an assessment is apparently not far from the truth. Putin's program is often compared to a patchwork quilt, where everyone has their own favorite color. Such tactics are, of course, nothing new. Suffice it to recall the election campaign of Alexander Lebed in 1996. Its development was entrusted to three different companies, which developed and advertised three largely dissimilar images of the general. Lebed had to be a liberal and a statist at the same time. Moreover, some Russian regions also had their own Swan, unlike others, whose specifics were taken into account by PR specialists. As we remember, the experiment ended brilliantly. It seems that diversity has been considered an indispensable weapon not only in the hot election period - Putin will win the election anyway - but also for the upcoming four-year term.