Translated material
"Pre-election appointments"
Evgeniy YASIN:
— I welcome the fact that Alexey Kudrin retained his post in the government. He is one of the best finance ministers ever. Maintaining macroeconomic stability in the country when petrodollars are pouring in is a real feat in an environment where everyone around was just saying “give, give, give.” Now he has been promoted, and I regard this as recognition of his merits.
German Gref was a controversial personality, but he was a bulldozer who broke barriers to reform. I think there will be a good place for him and he will still work for the good of his homeland.
I can only be happy for my student Elvira Nabiullina. She combines feminine charm and deep knowledge of the issue. I’m only afraid that it will be difficult for her to maneuver in political matters. But with all my heart I wish her success.
You can also be happy for Tatyana Golikova. Although it must be admitted that it will be difficult for Alexei Kudrin without her. She was the nerve of the budget process. I will not hide that I am disappointed by the decision not to split this department into two independent ones. I believe that healthcare has recently been in oblivion not only because of the personality of Zurabov, on whom all the dogs were blamed, but also for the reason that urgent social issues arose all the time.
Alexey MAKARKIN:
- I think there will still be changes in the structure of the government. There was a lot of talk about the resignation of Minister of Culture Alexander Sokolov. But it would be strange if one of the regional troikas of A Just Russia included a person without certain occupations (Mr. Sokolov heads the list of this party for Moscow). And after the Duma elections, he may well go to parliament. There has been talk for a long time about the resignation of the Minister of Agriculture, a member of United Russia, Alexei Gordeev, and that he is preparing to lead some region. But when the communists put former agrarian Nikolai Kharitonov in the top three, appointing a new minister of agriculture for power would mean calling into question the mechanism that connects United Russia with agricultural voters.
They removed Mikhail Zurabov, against whom there were many complaints from the population, and against Vladimir Yakovlev - from the regional elites. Thus, the pre-election tasks have been resolved; these were just pre-election appointments. But I don’t think this is the end; personnel decisions may mature on the eve of the presidential elections.