| The Prime Minister presented the country's new chief railway worker The last of the three main natural monopolies in Russia was headed by a man from St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg residents Anatoly Chubais (RAO UES of Russia) and Alexey Miller (Gazprom) were joined by Vladimir Yakunin. Last Friday, his presentation as president of the company took place at the office of Russian Railways.
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov came specially for this ceremony. He briefly recommended Mr. Yakunin (who at that moment stood at attention) as a person “with sufficient experience, capable of coping with high tasks in a new capacity.”
What followed was a melodramatic digression. Mr. Fradkov decided to publicly pay tribute to the retired head of Russian Railways, Gennady Fadeev, who on that day was placed at the right hand of the prime minister. He noted that the ex-president of Russian Railways will not leave his active work: “We are not allowing him to retire.” From now on, Mr. Fadeev, as an adviser to the prime minister, will be responsible for transport in the White House. Having informed the audience that Mr. Fadeev “was awarded everything we can at the government level,” the prime minister unexpectedly announced President Putin’s promise to give the retired head of Russian Railways the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree.
The new head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, was also brief in his response. He declared “a sense of the greatest responsibility” and promised “not to profess the psychology of a poor person - only a rich one.” But still, I decided to get from the government everything that the company is entitled to by law. According to him, a letter with the first requests has already been sent to the White House.
His predecessor, on the contrary, did not skimp on presentation. He spoke about all the victories achieved during his reign. About streamlining the budget leapfrog, about full payment of debts to the state. The fact that in three and a half years the Russian Railways company transported four million passengers “without losing a single person.” And I didn’t forget about increasing investments by 15-20% per year. In general, it was clear from everything that Mr. Fadeev was fired in vain. And he himself doesn’t understand why. “You are taking over the company at a very good pace,” Gennady Fadeev did not skimp on complimenting himself, addressing Vladimir Yakunin. And he wished his successor “to manage all this wealth in this difficult work for you.”
Then, having already received a bouquet of flowers and the government’s gratitude from the hands of the prime minister, Mr. Fadeev unexpectedly ascended to the podium again. And then it became completely clear how offended he was. “Mikhail Efimovich, you just reminded me to go to work on Monday. “I’ve never been late for work,” Mr. Fadeev said angrily. “And thank you for finding the opportunity to smooth out this transition a little.” The diplomatic prime minister was even embarrassed. Vera KUZNETSOVA |
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