| Chechen President Alu Alkhanov addressed parliament for the first time For the first time in the history of the Chechen Republic, its President Alu Alkhanov addressed a message to parliament. Alu Alkhanov himself was elected to his post in August 2004, and parliament appeared only in November 2005, so last year the president simply had no one to turn to.
The President, as expected, outlined the priorities: political stability, maintaining law and order, public, economic and environmental safety of citizens. Mr. Alkhanov rated the achievements in the field of stability and security quite highly. In his opinion, the situation in Chechnya has become less criminal. Moreover, in 2005, law enforcement agencies managed to destroy the unified command system of militant detachments. Nevertheless, threats remain. “The main reason for the growth of extremism and Wahhabism in the region is not only someone’s machinations, but also miscalculations in domestic politics,” the president noted.
Alu Alkhanov spoke most pessimistically about the economy. The unemployment rate in Chechnya, according to his data, is more than six times higher than the Russian average, the gross regional product of the republic is two to three times lower than that of its neighbors in the North Caucasus, and investment attractiveness is “15-16 times lower than in Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and North Ossetia, and 11.5 times lower than in unstable Dagestan.” How exactly Mr. Alkhanov calculated the indicators of investment attractiveness was not explained in the message.
The president sees a way out of the situation in “not slowing down the pace of anti-terrorist measures,” fighting corruption and theft of budget funds and reviving the local economy. “You cannot get used to having all problems assigned exclusively to the federal center and avoiding responsibility for what you are able to do yourself,” said Alu Alkhanov. But the federal center can also make its contribution to improving the situation in Chechnya: according to its leader, the introduction of tax breaks for the republic would be less unprofitable for the federal treasury than the direct financial support currently provided. The regime for such benefits should be fixed in the agreement on the division of powers between Moscow and Grozny, which, however, remains a draft for the fourth year.
Despite the successes in the fight against terrorism, Alu Alkhanov does not rule out that Chechnya will face a “humanitarian catastrophe” - when he spoke of it, he meant the gigantic drain of intellectuals that has occurred over the past decade and a half. The President drew the attention of deputies to the fact that the diaspora - that is, Chechens living outside the republic, especially beyond the borders of Russia - is mentally very different from their compatriots who remained at home. Overcoming this mental fracture, from the point of view of Alu Alkhanov, is extremely important for the survival of the Chechens as a nation.
The fight against clanism is no less important for Chechnya. “Not only the Chechen Republic, but all the North Caucasus republics need reforms that would change their primitive political system,” the president believes. Combating clanism must be a long-term priority. Only qualified managers and civil society, which Mr. Alkhanov is ready to help form, will be able to win it.
It is characteristic that the “primitive political system” responded to the president proactively. On the day of his address to parliament in Moscow, an interview was published with the speaker of the lower house, Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, who said that the deputies are certainly ready to support the candidacy of the current Prime Minister of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, if the head of state invites him to become president. According to Mr. Abdurakhmanov, the conflict between Kadyrov and Alkhanov is exaggerated by Chechnya’s ill-wishers, but if “their relationship has really shaken, then Alkhanov is to blame.”
Let us recall that Alu Alkhanov himself was nominated in the presidential elections after the death of his predecessor by “Kadyrov’s team,” and it was practically no secret that he was considered by the “clan” as a regent until Ramzan’s “political coming of age.” Ramzan Kadyrov will turn 30 in October of this year: after this date, he will formally be able to count on the presidency, and if Moscow agrees with this idea, Alu Alkhanov’s first message to parliament may be his last. True, after the meeting of the chambers, the President of Chechnya met with the Prime Minister. After which Mr. Kadyrov announced that the government he headed had already adopted the basic principles of the presidential message. Ivan SUKHOV |
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